Back in the Before Time, the home was a sacred space. It was designed to be a refuge from the stresses of our labors, the lone spot in a hectic world where we could retain a modicum of control. We distilled its domestic charms into four soothing syllables: My house, my rules.

But the age of quarantine has stretched the home far beyond its purpose, even beyond recognition. The inner sanctum must now serve in multiple roles beyond its original intent: an office, a school, a gym, a salon, and a bar. For the stricken, even, a makeshift clinic.

Yet capitalism, while under the weather, still remains far from its dying breath. So companies have adapted nimbly — and we’ve all experienced new ways of working, shopping, exercising, and interacting as business models morph in real time.

But brands are used to being in control of the experience they deliver, down to the smallest detail. The best excel at creating an expectation and meeting it with their reality. Now, with the locus of commerce shifted to the home, sellers no longer enjoy the authority they’ve always had.

So in recent months, a curious thing happened. While the shutdown first caused us to lose control of our domiciles, brands soon delivered their wares to our turf — and with that, the balance of power shifted again. Our homes remained multi-functional, but the businesses we needed — from food to fitness to live entertainment — came to us.

Now an unexpected alliance has emerged. The customer is always right has become one with My house, my rules. After decades of lip service, the buyer is finally at the center. Even the stuffiest old-school capitalists have, however begrudgingly, delivered power to the people.

After the pandemic is over, what if we don’t feel like giving it back?

Once power is ceded, it’s hard to reclaim it. So in the year ahead, as life normalizes, a segment of society will emerge that rather enjoys this new paradigm of domestic life. Many will continue to spend an abundance of time at home — not by force or by fear, but by choice.

For our purposes here — with due reverence to baseball and ancient Greece, and apologies to Mr. Simpson — let’s refer to these folks as homers.

Some will choose to become homers out of caution for their health, particularly those in high-risk categories whose immune systems make outside risks intolerable. Certain students will opt in, having recently discovered that remote education is a better fit for their learning style.

But most homers will stick to their quarters because quarantine has revealed that they are actually happier, healthier, and more productive within their inner sanctums. They have found their natural habitat where they least expected it — right beneath their feet.

Some of this ilk may recall a predisposition to domestic life even before the plague hit. Maybe they felt sidewalks were too chaotic, people too cacophonous, and talking too complicated. Perhaps they chose technology for the home over the persistent effluvia of others.

Importantly, the vast majority of homers will consider their domiciles as a preference, not an all-or-nothing requirement. They will not consider themselves as reclusive, or shut-ins. One’s presence in the home will be viewed upon a spectrum, and they will merely choose to calibrate differently than others.

Rather than a matter of introversion or rejection of others, the homer’s calculus will be influenced by the possibility of greater control. Crisis breeds opportunity, and when the world transforms to grant people further dominion over their work, social life, and identity, many will accept that offer.

Most, to be fair, will not. Society’s general appetite to return to pre-corona life grows more voracious by the day. History shows us that when the virus finally recedes, a majority will be inclined to act as though it never happened.

And the wheels of commerce must roll on. When two types of consumers ultimately emerge — homers and everyone else — the notion of companies reverting to their pre-pandemic offerings may not be advisable, or even possible.

With this cleaved customer base in mind, brands now face a pressing challenge: surviving the crisis today while preparing to serve both the home and the outside world tomorrow.

Any brand will gladly chirp that their people are their most valuable assets. So keeping their commercial machinery in motion will first require that companies take the next step in enabling their employees to work from home. First an option and then a necessity, telework will become an essential advantage — benefiting both homers and their employers.

Nearly half of Americans are now fortunate enough to work from home — more than double the figure from a few years ago. The current experiment has begun to reveal the positive effects of a remote workforce, from cost reduction and efficiency to work-life balance and engagement. Longer-term possibilities of greater inclusion and emission reduction are likely.

Working from home will never be possible — or preferable — for every industry or employee. But now that infrastructure is in place and results are being realized, companies are beginning to lean into a new, homer-friendly reality over the long haul. Facebook and Google are permitting telework through year’s end — and Twitter has authorized it “forever.”

This challenge offers companies a microcosmic dry run at their dual customer bases to come. Along with extending telework privileges, most must also accommodate workers with the preference or requirement of working onsite again — all while protecting their people’s safety and managing their own liability. That’s a logistical riddle like few have ever faced.

Yet it’s great practice for developing the new muscle of serving two constituencies at once. Companies that can keep both homers and conventional employees happy and productive will be the ones whose cultures and balance sheets survive intact — now and, someday, in the After Time.

But for the moment, most of us are still stuck here, in the During Time. And brands of all stripes need to stay afloat now while readying for whatever might come next.

As allowed, service providers will do their best to bring customers back to their establishments, however reconfigured for safety. But expect them simultaneously to take their show on the road as soon as restrictions dial back. Over time, homers will jump at the chance to summon their favorite providers to them — personal trainers, hair stylists, massage therapists, and beyond.

Again, short-term survival will come down to striking a balance. A service business may not be able to survive on in-house or remote delivery alone — but in combination, serving both customer sets at once could be enough to stay afloat.

The great irony of this evolution is that physicians — the profession that invented the house call in a bygone era — have been forced in the opposite direction, embracing telemedicine. For a time, the virus may cause the good doctor and the favorite barber to trade places.

For business-to-business brands, where so much relies upon relationships and in-person networking events, virtual gatherings are appearing by necessity. Trade shows will return in time, but companies are busy building high-touch digital options for now. Having both venues available will help them connect to both conventional customers and homers over the long haul.

Consumer brands face a challenge of a different flavor. While the sales of their goods surged 15-fold in March — and grocery prices rose accordingly — it’s become tricky to promote their products in familiar avenues. Stores are configured for emergency use, while the reach of television advertising has shrunken beside an ever-growing abundance of streaming.

Across both grocery and retail settings, product-led brands are fortunate to have strong delivery channels in place. Their ongoing issues will be finding creative ways to stand apart from competitors, wielding digital marketing campaigns with savvy, and building more muscular digital commerce engines.

Particularly in lean times, such moves are critical for getting customers to part with their dollars. And doing that work now ensures that when the economy brightens, brands will be ready for all varieties of customers — whether in-store, in-home, or somewhere in between. Most companies can’t afford to delay, and they can’t do it on their own.

Who knows? Maybe the design and digital agency is an essential business after all.

Amid all this turmoil, here’s some good news. The rise of homers will fuel new growth, and maybe even ignite some positive cultural change.

Remote work has already begun a wave of investment in proper office furnishings — creating strong results for certain sectors. Organizing services are going virtual, helping homebound pros Kondo from their condo. And while videoconference technology still has room for improvement, its ubiquity has helped bond companies, connect generations, and rekindle relationships.

The design of new homes is already beginning to evolve, applying the hard lessons learned in the During Time. Look for dwellings to incorporate more flexible spaces, greater access to the outdoors, and better technology — from touchless interfaces to healthier ventilation.

At the moment, the tailwinds are strong for homers-in-making. Employers are becoming more flexible, brands are creating better experiences, and new tools are equipping a promising future for those who choose it.

But one daunting challenge still looms ahead: social acceptance.

For homers to live the life they choose, we must all agree to remove the cultural stigma associated with the homebound. We must acknowledge that this category of peers is making a conscious and respectable choice to spend more time at home. That they are not agoraphobes or hermits, but fellow humans who have discovered a different way to work, socialize, and thrive.

It may take time, but we must recognize that the homer is not an opponent to traditional life, but rather, a complement to it. As a way of life, this path will transcend boundaries of age, race, and even politics. (Class may be another matter at first, but not forever.)

For one more seismic change will result from the homer’s emergence. When a person is tethered to a broadband connection rather than a physical office, a newfound level of geographic freedom suddenly becomes available. We’ll see an exodus from crowded urban centers to less dense exurbs and rural communities.

While those pioneers will be most comfortable in their homes, they will also become part of their new communities. And over time, perhaps new neighbors will begin to see more of each other’s similarities than differences.

That new normal might be hard to envision today. But before long, it will feel like home.