Burst of Demand due to Covid-19 Shifts Production in the Disposable Gloves Market

Burst of Demand due to Covid-19 Shifts Production in the Disposable Gloves Market 

Disposable gloves market passed through a golden phase for growth in 2020, thanks to the covid-19 global pandemic. According to the UK’s National Health Service report, over 300 billion gloves were used globally in 2019. Moreover, the NHS also determined that UK alone spent over £80m in 2019 to purchase 1.5 billion boxes of disposable gloves in the same year.  The figure rose substantially during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

As the pandemic raised its head globally, the WHO issued a warning that shortages of protective gear remained an urgent threat to virus containment efforts. This warning, and other supply chain issues resulted in reversal of Malaysia’s nationwide lockdown order. However, despite the reversal, countries like US recognized the need to produce disposable gloves market indigenously to support virus-combating efforts. Hence, in 2020, the Disposable gloves market underwent a tremendous transformation in supply chains as major countries like the US produced masks in industrial units close to the US borders, or China. It remains to be seen if these changes will become a permanent fixture in the global disposable gloves market. However, the rising precautionary attitude of global consumers will likely necessitate need for low-cost, and indigenous production in the near future.

E-Commerce Emerges as a Clear Winner Amidst the Pandemic 

As the covid-19 altered the manufacturing of disposable gloves significantly, it also altered the distribution channels. According to a study published in the International Journal of Future Generation Communication and Networking, 52% of consumers worldwide avoided visiting brick and mortar stores to avoid crowded areas. Moreover, over 36% people plan on avoiding the brick and mortar stores completely until vaccination. Moreover, due to financial challenges created by Covid-19, the pattern of consumer behaviour also varied significantly. For example, spending on health-related products like air purifiers, disposable gloves, toilet paper among others increased substantially. Furthermore, websites like Amazon witnessed over 4059 million visitors over the year, followed by Ebay.com with 1227 million visitors. 

Health Concerns Rises Among Emerging Nations to Propel Growth

The pandemic also forced emerging regions of Asia, Africa, and Latin America to engage in e-commerce providing a new stimulus to growth in the disposable gloves market. The e-commerce witnessed substantial uptake in countries like Pakistan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and India during the global lockdown period. Moreover, countries like Pakistan witnessed a daily surge of over 10% visitors to e-commerce websites, and as much as 15% surge in overall internet users. The rise in e-commerce, and threat of the coronavirus led to a surge of over 30-40% health-related products in countries like Pakistan.

Shortages, and Recycling Concern May Pose a Challenge to Growth 

The rising shortages of disposable gloves, and recycling problems posed by the products remain a plaguing challenge in the global disposable gloves market. This may present an important opportunity for players in the disposable gloves market. The research for disposables gloves which can be disinfected continues to rise, and promises to make an important venue for growth in areas like food handling. According to recently published notification from OSHA, the agency is considering the use of disposable gloves in food handling optional for food makers. This will likely help with significant shortages in the disposable gloves market, and also lead to new opportunities for products as people with infectious diseases, asthma, and other medical illnesses will continue to need disposable gloves while handling food products. Food chains will also remain vigilant in their use of disposable gloves as concern for food safety continues to drive growth of disposable gloves market.

Credible Market Insights projects a promising growth period for disposable gloves market during 2020-2025 period as demand for products continues to skyrocket, and new opportunities make their way into various sectors including healthcare, food & beverage, and manufacturing.