Covid19 - The Spark that started the Convenience Revolution?

[Chris Levarek]

Throughout history, work industries and employment are defined by technology innovations and shifts. Some examples are the Financial-agricultural revolution (1600–1740), the Industrial Revolution (1780-1840) and the Digital Revolution (1975-2020).

Covid19 has closed down specific industries and employment is shifting already. Those who worked in retail, tourism, restaurants and hotels are shifting to new employment opportunities in the "convenience" or even "automation" space. Labor is shifting to delivery services (Amazon), UPS, etc. 

Companies such as Netflix, EA games, Outschool(Online Learning), Zoom, Slack and other online service providers are hiring and seeing interesting positive repercussions. 

Will this shift cement in the already strong online delivery/remote services and kick off a "Convenience" Revolution? One which shifts employment to these sectors of remote convenience, increases automation processes and further encourages the use of online or delivery services. 

How will this impact our tenant base? Will Class C type tenants be the quickest to bounce back from job loss as they shift to these new employment offerings with greater ease. Will Class A/B type tenants be more affected as the need for higher paying jobs requires higher level of training or lengthier hiring processes?

What are the longer term implications of this whole Covid19 as a whole or is it too soon to tell?