The Dixons Carphone group has been one of the beneficiaries of the imposed lockdown brought about by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with its e-commerce sites enjoying a 23 per cent increase in sales over the past three weeks, according to Internet Retailing.

It is reassuring to hear that although the organisation has been forced to close its bricks and mortar stores, it will be keeping staff on the payroll for the foreseeable future. Since so many products are flying off the shelves via safe shopping online, this makes total sense.

The uptick in sales activity comes down to a combination of consumer needs, with people having to stay home to work as well as needing new ways to keep themselves entertained now that they are not allowed to leave the house for all but the most essential reasons.

Everything from home office equipment to new high-definition televisions and games consoles has been snapped up in greater than average volumes for this time of year.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there has actually been a 24 per cent drop in mobile phone sales at the Carphone Warehouse arm of the organisation, since there is little incentive for people to upgrade if they have no choice but to remain cloistered at home.

No doubt the sales of all portable gadgets will take a similar hit, meaning that there is a need to balance spending on stock procurement and make sure that there is not an overabundance of specific products at a time when demand is fluctuating so significantly.

There were fears about supply chain disruption in the electronics sector due to the disease’s outbreak in China, although as that country gets back to normal following months of movement restrictions, such concerns may be eased, even if the knock-on effect of the economic downturn means that consumer demand is tempered in 2020 and beyond.