How has the pandemic permanently changed the art market?
The pandemic has caused a massive permanent shift of art sales from offline sources to online channels. During lockdowns, e-commerce sales globally doubled. For art specifically, search volume for terms like ‘buy art online’ went through the roof and has stayed elevated. Many people are not returning to full-time office work—they’re working from home indefinitely—which means they’re spending far more time in their homes and becoming aware of their blank walls and living spaces. Meanwhile, traditional art acquisition channels like galleries, art shows, and fairs are either closed or extremely limited. This combination means art demand isn’t just shifting online temporarily—it’s a permanent behavioral change. People have gotten used to buying online, have more disposable income from reduced spending on entertainment and dining, and have both the motivation (improving their home environment) and the time to shop for art online. The retail gallery world has been fundamentally disrupted, and artists can no longer rely on those channels returning to how they were before.
Asked by general teaching · Answered by Patrick Shanahan and Nick Friend · art-marketing-podcast · 2020-07-03