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Typically in a recession, consumers pull back on buying tangible things, though they keep spending on certain services. But during the pandemic, because the federal and provincial governments turned on the income-support taps and because of the way COVID-19 affected behaviour, people ditched services and blew loads of money on things: TVs, cars, bikes, camping gear, cooking equipment, office furniture, recreational vehicles, tennis rackets, gardening tools, crafting supplies.
“The goods sector has been surprisingly resilient,” says Ken Peacock, chief economist at the Business Council of B.C. This past November, exports actually reached higher levels than a year earlier.
