The surprising items people are going bonkers for online

Shop shelves may be cleared of everything from toilet roll to exercise equipment but people are also going bonkers for online shopping, with sales of numerous surprising items soaring due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Iconic, a popular online shopping store in Australia, has revealed that one item in particular is flying off their shelves, with people rushing to snap up work from home essentials.

According to the retailer, slipper sales have jumped a whopping 1,435% from April 2019, with the top seller being a pair of $190 mini women’s UGG boots.

It’s not the only thing the company is seeing a big demand for, as loungewear sales have increased by 120% in comparison to the same time last year.

Boohoo has also seen a 94% increase in loungewear sales year on year to date as people search for comfortable clothes to wear from their homes.

Meanwhile, Australian skincare company Jurlique has also seen an ‘exponential rise’ in the demand in their personal and wellness categories.

The company’s $35 Softening Hand Lotion Rose, which hydrates and softens skin, has seen a growth of 1,759% and their Purely Age Defying Hand Treatment, which retails for $60 saw a growth of 919% before it completely sold out online due to the demand.

MooGoo founder and CEO, Craig Jones, said he can barely keep up with demand for items, with eczema creams and hand moisturiser sales up well over 50% in the last few weeks alone.

With many barbers now closed, people are turning to the internet to find their own solution, with Remington's Barber's Best Hair Clippers sales increasing by a huge 234% at the beginning of April.

"Awesome hair cut. I bought this to get a haircut because the barber was closed and it was better than the barber (no joke). Fantastic,” one person wrote on the brand’s website.

Meanwhile at Big W Office items are selling 1.7 times more than this time last year with copy paper, printers and furniture all in hot demand.

Home cooking, blankets and heating appliances are also being snapped up online, as are family entertainment items such as board games puzzles and knitting products.

According to the retailer, copy paper is selling at 70,000 units per week – which includes crayons, pencils, haberdashery and paint by numbers as Australians pick up new isolation hobbies.

Psychologist Dr Amantha Imber previously told Yahoo Lifestyle this could all be down to people feeling like they’re giving themselves a bit of control when everything else around them seems out of their control.

“Be mindful of your motivation for doing things - some things make good logical sense, but if you are doing things out of a need to feel an artificial sense of control, pause and try to do something more constructive,” she said.

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