People have been turning to the internet for their shopping needs more than ever before, as recent data shows that e-commerce has surged during the pandemic era, according to Axios. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that e-commerce sales are up by 31 percent from the previous quarter, and 44.5 percent compared to this time last year. At this point, e-commerce accounts for 16.1 percent of all retail sales, compared to 11.8 percent in the previous quarter, a growth in just three months that's bigger than in the past five years combined.

This surge can be at least partially attributed to the stimulus payments sent out to most Americans at the start of the pandemic. Retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart saw sharp increases in consumer spending, as shoppers suddenly had more to spend. Sales were likely also lifted by the supplemental federal unemployment payments; the abrupt end to the program, according to a recent economic study, will likely severely reduce how much people spend. Specifically, the paper says cutting the supplement from $600 to $400 would serve to reduce local spending by 12 percent; cutting it to $200 would reduce local spending by 28 percent; and getting rid of the supplement entirely would reduce local spending by 44 percent.