| Hi folks, it's Shelly. It takes an average of 66 days to cement a new habit, suggesting that some of the behaviors we've picked up in the last two months will become part of a new, post-pandemic normal. For me, new habits include brewing my own coffee and meditating for three minutes each day on Headspace. For others, it's the Peloton bike they're now addicted to, the YouTube shows their kids demand in return for staying quiet or the weekly online grocery order they've perfected. Now, as Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Google and other big tech companies report earnings this week, we might see the first signs that consumers' quarantine coping mechanisms will morph into steady revenue streams. Take groceries: Before the pandemic, only about 3% of U.S. grocery purchases were made online, according to eMarketer data. But as people stayed home to avoid the spread of coronavirus, online orders surged. During the first week of March, 11% of people surveyed by CivicScience said they were doing more grocery shopping digitally. That number swelled to 30% by March 15 and hit 37% a week later. When they make sense, new habits form fast. Even after shoppers return to stores, if online grocery sales reach just 5% of market share, that's about $20 billion moving online, eMarketer's Andrew Lipscomb wrote in a blog post. That could be particularly good news for Amazon, if not for its competitors. "If those dollars flow away from national and regional grocery chains and into Amazon's coffers, it will be a massive top-line haircut on a notoriously thin-margin business," Lipscomb wrote. Amazon is just one example of how the pandemic could help tech behemoths consolidate power. While hundreds of startups have cut more than 30,000 employees, according to layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi, big tech companies have the resources to weather the storm. Cash-rich Apple has said it will continue investing in research and development despite the crisis. And last week, Facebook Inc. made its biggest purchase since acquiring WhatsApp six years ago, spending $5.7 billion for a 10% stake in the digital assets of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd. Facebook is also taking advantage of the millions of people stuck at home scrolling through its site by launching a new group video chat product to rival Zoom. Meanwhile, Netflix Inc., which reported earnings last week, said it added nearly 16 million new subscribers in the first three months of the year, a 64% year-over-year jump in net subscriber additions. Of course, Netflix warned investors that rockier times may lie ahead, Google and Facebook will be hit by lower advertising spending, and Amazon and Apple could face headwinds in a global recession. But as tech products become a vital lifeline to the outside world during quarantines, industry giants are strengthening their hold over global consumers—and their habits. That's likely to leave Big Tech in an even stronger position after the lockdowns lift. —Shelly Banjo | 
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