Walmart Sells Shirts, Not Pants Amid Coronavirus

When you teleconference, no one can see your pants—and that's driving a spike in shirt sales as more Americans work at home during the coronavirus pandemic, USA Today reports. "We're seeing increased sales in tops, but not bottoms. So, people who are concerned, obviously, from the waist up," Dan Bartlett, Walmart's EVP of corporate affairs, tells Yahoo Finance. "These behaviors are going to continue to change and evolve as people get accustomed to this new lifestyle, if you will." He also sees "massive volume" in American online orders and, in some states, brick-and-mortar sales as well. For more:

• Songs that reflect our changing times are rising on the charts—like Disturbed's "Down with the Sickness," Global News reports. The 20-year-old song hit Billboard last week with a 31% increase in sales. Also on the rise are REM's "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" and Fifth Harmony's "Work From Home."
• UK book sales are rising as Brits hunger for education and escapism, the BBC reports. Fiction went up a third and children's education titles a stunning 234%. "The sales data suggests that the UK population has indeed been preparing for long periods of isolation," says Nielsen Book, which tracked the sales.
• A Florida real estate agent says COVID-19 has damaged the market: "Last week we felt everything grind to a quick stop while people were figuring things out," Joel Schemmel tells Sarasota. That echoes an LA Times report on SoCal's withered housing market. But Schemmel says buyers are also asking if it's time to scoop up undervalued properties.
• Alcohol is flying off the shelves at liquor stores as wine sales spike 27% and spirits 26%, according to Nielsen. "It's more to calm the nerves," a Brooklyn store owner tells Eater. "This is a catastrophe, what we're living through ... wine is delicious, and it takes the edge off."
• The Wall Street Journal reports that new-vehicle car sales plummeted 29% last week, so auto makers are pursuing online buyers. "Maybe coronavirus concerns will bring us customers we would have not otherwise seen," says a Florida dealer.

(Sales of this product are definitely surging.)