According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, Coronavirus job losses could total 47 million, with unemployment reaching a stratospheric 32%. I don’t need to tell you it’s bleak out there since you’re living it every day, but there are a few industries still hiring. Some of this addition to headcount is of course driven by the Covid-19 crisis, but hiring is still proof of sales and revenue.

  • Hiring in Consumer/Retail (Amazon, CVS, Lowe’s, Papa John’s, Walmart)

In our new reality, ecommerce is king and delivery is his queen. While physical retail has dwindled pretty much overnight to a shred of what it was, we’re seeing an unprecedented ecommerce boom. According to experts, ecommerce accounted for about 15% of total retail sales, but this figure will most certainly reach about 25% far sooner than previously anticipated. If we weren’t before, we’re all well-versed in how to shop online and get our stuff delivered. While we’re stuck in our homes, we are all clicking away and still buying.

To capitalize on this expected 10% jump in online retail sales, outlets both micro and macro will roll-out extensive digital marketing campaigns to customize offers to individual consumers. Mobile and web-to-mobile content and permission-based email solutions will be critical for reaching new customers and maintaining relationships with existing customers.

  • Hiring in Healthcare (Hope Health Services, Metropolitan Jewish Health Systems (MJHS), Moderna, Visiting Nurse Service of New York)

Thanks to an aging population of Baby Boomers, healthcare has been one of the fastest-growing sectors of the U.S. economy for several years, and the Covid-19 crisis has only further fueled this growth. Nurses, long in short supply nationwide, will see their cohort grow by about 12% over the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The pandemic has demonstrated the healthcare sector needs more frontline medical staff, it also needs more digital marketing!

Opt-in email, which I helped pioneer back in the early Nineties, is a perfect way for healthcare providers to reach out to patients. A robust opt-in email strategy can provide patients with crucial health information, prevention guidance and other news and updates, all to keep them involved in their own health and wellness. Opt-in email also gives healthcare providers (clinics, hospitals and smaller medical offices) a way to inspire compliance – remind patients to refill prescribed medications and show up for appointments – to improve patient outcomes.

Online lead generation is also a key benefit of any digital marketing campaign tailored for healthcare providers, insurers, pharmaceutical companies and other enterprises in this massive sector.

  • Hiring in Logistics (Amazon, UPS)

While sheltering at home, we’re ordering everything from groceries to running shoes online, and it’s all showing up at our doorsteps thanks to the brave, committed people at FedEx, UPS and United States Postal Service, who are out on one of the frontlines of the crisis so the rest of us can stay home. I think this message from FedEx sums it up: “COVID-19 has changed the world and our way of life. But rest assured that we’re still here, open and ready to deliver for you.”

Logistics will become ever-more necessary as an industry, as so many other industries will be forced during the crisis and after the dust settles to reevaluate their supply chains and make them more efficient and robust. Mobile and web-to-mobile content solutions will be key here, as logistics companies of all shapes and sizes will need to follow the current Amazon model (Target is doing the same thing) and keep customers informed as to the entire product journey, from purchase to fulfillment to doorstep/mailbox delivery. Direct email will also be important to the industry, as these companies will want to make sure customers have received packages and are satisfied with the service they’ve been provided. This is what digital marketing is: connecting your clients to a targeted audience or, in the parlance of logistics, getting your product delivered to the customer.

In an article I recently published on FoxBusiness.com, “Coronavirus — 5 things entrepreneurs can do to boost success during, after COVID-19 crisis,” I identified what you can do right now to maximize your chances for coming through this crisis ahead of the competition, and maybe with some new retail, healthcare and logistics clients. Good luck – and stay safe!