Major retailers across America noted aggressive shopping in the last weeks of February as coronavirus fears intensified. Items like hand sanitizer, toilet paper, paper towels, dry foods, and other medical suppliers were in particular demand. Due to this, retailers are reporting strong sales figures for February.

Costco (COST  ) reported a 3% increase in February's sales with the last nine days being particularly busy. While household items are under heavy demand due to coronavirus concerns, the company also said that once customers are in the store, they are also buying higher-priced items like TVs, furniture, and electronics.

Target (TGT  ) also noted increased volumes in the last week of February. It's increasing deliveries of certain products to keep up with demand. So far, the company is seeing little overall change due to the coronavirus but is monitoring developments.

Price Gouging

However, the retailer's fourth-quarter earnings report was marred by a lackluster holiday season due to the weak demand for toys and electronics. Earnings did come in above expectations, and the company's aggressive investments into its e-commerce operations continue to pay dividends as online sales were up 20% compared to the same quarter the previous year. Target's newest offering of same-day pickup saw an 80% increase as it looks to compete with Amazon (AMZN  ) and Walmart (WMT  ).

Due to this "aggressive shopping", many of these products have been out of stock. Some people are trying to take advantage of Amazon and Walmart's third-party marketplaces by either charging inflated prices for selling counterfeit products. Both companies have removed these products from their marketplace.

Retail Armageddon

It's likely that the coronavirus will lead to a bump in online sales at least in the near-term. Companies like Amazon, Costco, Target, and Walmart with a strong online presence will thrive. Potentially, the biggest losers will be retailers that are already struggling like Macy's (M  ) or Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF  ). These companies already had precarious futures as they grappled with a challenging retail environment. Now, these challenges will only be amplified, and these companies don't have the online channel to offset a decline in in-store revenues.