Home working essentials, what is top of the UK's shopping lists?

Purchases of home office devices, including desktops, tablets and laptops, have seen an average 46% surge in popularity as swathes of the British workforce prepare to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our product popularity and customer click out data from 2 March to the 15 March reveals the scale of the rise in popularity of home office devices.

Bedding in for the long haul

The largest spike in popularity was desktop computers, which rose by 243% during 9 March to the 15 March, compared to the previous week. This suggests many Brits believe they’ll be working from home for an extended period of time and are looking to make sure they’ve got the best set up possible set up to do so.

Portable tech still popular

Elsewhere, laptops saw a significant increase in popularity with 84% more clicks over the past week. Tablets have risen in popularity the tune of 20% during the same period with Apple pipping Samsung in terms of popularity. Meanwhile, some shoppers are keen to replicate their office setup to a greater degree, printers have increased by 3%.

Don't forget about the caffeine fix

It’s not just home tech equipment that is seeing a surge in popularity. Our data also reveals that those investing in their home office are still looking to get their daily caffeine hit. Coffee machines are being snapped up at a surprising rate with purchases rising by 167%.

Maintaining human interaction

With self-isolation and social distancing set to become the norm in the weeks ahead, many Brits are looking to alternative ways in order to maintain human interaction both with employees and loved ones. Searches for webcams have increased by 769% last week, compared to the previous week.

Webcams have become a stay at home essential. It's likely that people wanting to keep in touch with friends and family are contributing to this spike, rather than just people working from home.

Many Brits are preparing for an extended period of self-isolation so we'll likely see much more demand for anything that can help make staying indoors more comfortable. Crucially to also make sure they can keep in touch with colleagues and loved ones.