Tempur Sealy plans to employ an antimicrobial and antiviral technology to select Sealy, Tempur-Pedic and Stearns & Foster mattresses in 2021.

Here’s another interesting effect of the coronavirus that we didn’t expect or at least use in our estimates for economic expansion or contraction: COVID-19 has greatly reduced the time we spend on the highways.

I have been following America’s economy for more than 60 years and have documented some extraordinary events over that time, but nothing prepared me for what I have witnessed in 2020.

As we continue to navigate our way through business during COVID-19, we have to remind ourselves that it’s imperative to make sure our shopping environments are always safe, informative and upbeat, whether we’re in a pandemic or not. It just makes long-term sense to operate this way.

It was just ten short years ago when businesses had the upper hand in hiring, and finding good employees was as easy as putting up a “Help Wanted” sign or posting something on social media.

In his keynote address at the 2020 Virtual Convention, AVB Merchandising VP Chad Evans suggested that COVID would quell the Black Friday queues that traditionally circle box stores on Thanksgiving.

COVID-19 has certainly altered the retail shopping landscape, at least for the time being.

Replacement sales of home goods have soared during the health crisis, as consumers spend more time at home and imperfections in their appliances and home furnishings become more apparent.

It is a new way of life in America since February of 2020 and I am trying to make predictions about the U.S. economy while I shelter in place here at my home in Washington. Our economy is opening up, but the news has not made it any easier to gaze into the old crystal ball and tell you what is going to happen.

Tom Balistreri and his team at Colders Furniture and Appliance in Milwaukee embraced a new maxim when the COVID crisis first hit these shores: “We need to be flexible; we need to be resilient; and we need to persevere!”