Effects of Covid-19 on eCommerce

As all of us are striving to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a lot of talk about empty shelves and meeting the needs of consumers during this tough time. In general, there is a huge imbalance between supply and demand that isn’t normally considered a possibility.

To fight against the impact of the coronavirus, the two key measures adopted are isolation and social distancing. With several countries in lockdown and workplaces shut, people across the globe have been avoiding public places.

This has given way to drastic changes in the shopping behavior of people. From bulk shopping to online shopping–limited but necessary essential shopping is becoming the new normal.

This blog post, therefore, intends to provide information that can help you make crucial decisions for your brand during these uncertain times. It talks about changing customer behavior, what products people are buying, and which industries need to be more flexible.

Consumer shift to online buying

The online world is changing as quickly as offline. While advertising growth rates in China are forecasted to drop to 3.9% from 7%, eCommerce advertising expenditure is expected to grow by 17.7% and social media expenses by 22.2%, according to a report. This clearly reflects the changes in the buyer behavior as they move from buying offline to online.

The pandemic crisis we are currently facing has given way to another report suggesting that a whopping 76.4% of US internet users said they will only shop online and avoid shopping centres and malls.

Challenges for eCommerce:

Online stores of all sizes tend to benefit from the switch of buyer behavior to online shopping as they are ready to serve the increasing demand for goods and services. Although there are challenges with the product delivery and supply chain, e-tailers have already started resolving them through innovation.

However, If your online store is unable to offer a competitive user experience, you are under the risk of not being able to attract, gain, or retain customers.

Making sure that your eCommerce site or app is completely optimised will be critical for the success of your online store. Also, ensure how competitive you can be in a continuously evolving landscape. According to studies:

• Companies with robust eCommerce offerings will get the best in the recent turmoil
• Retailers with good websites will lose the least

These are clear warnings, and e-tailers need to make sure that their websites are more than just good. This is the time to deliver the best eCommerce experience.

While people in general are worried about the growing pandemic, GenZ is specifically altering their purchase behaviors.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common purchases and ascertain what is driving the uptick for these products online.

Medical Essentials

People are buying over-the-counter-meds online so they don’t have to step out during their quarantine period. According to Adobe’s analysis, eCommerce transactions purchases for cold, flu, and cough have increased by 198%. At the same time, online purchases for pain killers have also increased by 152%.

Grocery eCommerce:

Consumers are buying non perishable foods like shelf stable items, canned goods and more. A report states that the pandemic has “created an inflection point for online grocery shopping.” There is a huge possibility that grocery shopping online may now become a habitual practice among shoppers.

Other eCommerce purchases:

Along with medical and grocery purchases, eCommerce covers a wide array of products. The data broken down vertically in the graph below tells the story with more clarity.

Resource

Final Thoughts:

While the world is reeling from the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, user behavior is changing and increasingly moving online. eCommerce sites have the best opportunity to capitalise on this, but only if they are able to entice and retain customers in the first place.

Since the situation is completely different and user behavior is rapidly changing, businesses should adopt new techniques. It is important to consider investing in analytics, personalized content, and online marketing so that they can meet the needs of the customers and remain competitive at the same time.

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