"This was definitely the weekend where you can tell that all of Seattle was freaking out," said one driver who ferries passengers, groceries and packages around the region for Uber, Lyft, Instacart and Amazon.
More than 27% of 1,121 US Internet users surveyed by Coresight Research in late February said they were already avoiding public places such as shopping centers and entertainment venues, while 58% said at the time they would do so if the outbreak worsened. E-commerce companies"have less control if a lot more people are going to start buying online they need to ramp up their capacity," Girotra said.
Gig-economy platforms use algorithms to set prices for discrete jobs, depending on demand. He said Amazon was offering more than normal in recent days, particularly for some grocery delivery routes. Tips from customers can be more of a mixed bag.