The Coronavirus Moves Autos, Antique Sales Online

The antiques business has been slow to transition online, but a confluence of factors, such as COVID-19’s shelter-in-place measure, is changing that reality. One antiques retailer now sells all of its items online, but appointments can be made to see larger and more costly items. And consumers are still engaged in auto purchasing via the web, even though many dealerships are experiencing low traffic and many showrooms have completely shuttered. All this, Today in Data.

Data:

129: Number of dedicated online sales Sotheby’s held in 2019.

80%: Approximate share of Cars.com’s visitors searching and viewing inventory with “high intent to purchase.”

$64.1B: Global sales of art and antiques in 2019.

43: Number of years for which Solvang Antiques has had a large storefront.

17%: Share of non-car owners who have been pushed by the pandemic to consider purchasing a car.