Oh no, you're thinking, yet another cookie pop-up. Well, sorry, it's the law. We measure how many people read us, and ensure you see relevant ads, by storing cookies on your device. If you're cool with that, hit “Accept all Cookies”. For more info and to customize your settings, hit “Customize Settings”.

Review and manage your consent

Here's an overview of our use of cookies, similar technologies and how to manage them. You can also change your choices at any time, by hitting the “Your Consent Options” link on the site's footer.

Manage Cookie Preferences
  • These cookies are strictly necessary so that you can navigate the site as normal and use all features. Without these cookies we cannot provide you with the service that you expect.

  • These cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you. They perform functions like preventing the same ad from continuously reappearing, ensuring that ads are properly displayed for advertisers, and in some cases selecting advertisements that are based on your interests.

  • These cookies collect information in aggregate form to help us understand how our websites are being used. They allow us to count visits and traffic sources so that we can measure and improve the performance of our sites. If people say no to these cookies, we do not know how many people have visited and we cannot monitor performance.

See also our Cookie policy and Privacy policy.

This article is more than 1 year old

You're not fooling anyone on that vid-conference call: Walmart says shirt sales soaring, pants not pulled up

Oh no, we've been rumbled

With workers opting to telecommute and dial into video conferencing amid the coronavirus lockdowns, where possible, sales of formalwear are up... partially.

Walmart, the world's biggest company by revenue with $0.5tn in annual sales, reports that people are buying more dress shirts yet fewer pants (trousers for you Brits, lest anyone get the wrong idea about what's happening here).

Basically, the American retail super-giant says that, following a sudden surge in folks working from home and video-conferencing with colleagues, the store has seen soaring sales for business shirts, but not much demand for leg coverings.

"In one of your previous segments you were talking about people with Zoom, and doing those types of conferencing," Walmart executive VP of corporate affairs Dan Bartlett said in an interview with Yahoo! Finance this month. "We’re seeing increased sales in tops, but not bottoms."

People using a Google Jamboard

Yeah, that Zoom app you're trusting with work chatter? It lives with 'vampires feeding on the blood of human data'

READ MORE

In other words, it seems we are all eager to put on airs about being dressed for success on camera, but down below, not so much.

Full disclosure: your humble hack is writing this passage clad in comfy shorts and a circa-2015 Golden State Warriors playoff giveaway shirt. We are not immune to these trends.

The disparate sales make some sense as much of the US has been pushed to work from home, if possible, and rely on videoconferencing apps in place of daily meetings. Despite its privacy shortcomings, Zoom has seen a jump in its stock price and usage as remote workers have become the norm for many firms. In some cases, VPN traffic is overwhelming corporate networks as workers connect in to show off their fancy tops.

If you thought you were following anyone with the dress-shirt gym-shorts-slash-yoga-pants combo, it turns out you are far less original than you thought. It is an entire trend.

Walmart does not expect this to change, apparently, and the retailer said it is planning for a future where we are all business up top and party in the rear.

"These behaviors are going to continue to change and evolve as people get accustomed to this new lifestyle, if you will," Bartlett said. "And we’re able to accommodate that, both online and in our stores."

In case you're wondering how El Reg is coping with working from home, just follow US editor Iain Thomson and his daily battle to liven up our video conference meetings in these dark times. ®

 

Similar topics

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like