The coronavirus that has caused chaos since 2020 isn’t just affecting people’s lives but also the way they have been living for years. It is also affecting businesses and the eCommerce landscape. Changing the way we do business, how we shop, and how we work.
But, do we really know how Covid-19 has changed the eCommerce landscape and how the pandemic has influenced the business world in general? This is some information about how this pandemic changed the way we are doing business, and how we are shopping online today. And, it might be changing forever.
Understanding panic buying with Covid-19
You might have heard about panic buying everywhere when Covid-19 started. In the USA, UK and everywhere else, as the countries got locked down, people start panicking about not getting enough supplies for food. Out of fear, people started buying essentials to ensure that their families will not die of hunger. Everyone started buying hand sanitizers, masks and household essentials like toilet rolls, bread, etc. Some people started buying so much that there wasn’t any left for those that didn’t buy it in bulk.
The shops ran out of stock, people started buying online and overloading the systems, the couriers and online stores. This started causing panic everywhere and the eCommerce system started changing for good.
eCommerce shopping statistics during the pandemic
In order to understand how eCommerce shopping changed and increased during the pandemic, it is easier to show it by giving some statistics. These statistics are real and show an increase and overload in buying online since the pandemic start and as the year progressed.
1. During 2019, the eCommerce sales were 12.7% during the year. This is estimated online spending is at $266.84 billion. During the same period of 2020, sales increased to 30.1%, and spent about $347.26 billion on online shopping. This is a huge increase. Especially, if you consider that import and export were at a standstill during the first half of 2020.
2. One of the eCommerce stores that showed a huge increase in traffic and sales during 2020 was Amazon. Their site traffic was increased by 28.1% and their sales increased by 40%. This was compared with the sales and traffic for the same period during 2019.
3. More than half of the world’s population started buying online. This was due to social distancing and lockdowns where stores were shut down for a certain period. Ecommerce was able to meet consumers urgent needs and help them with their day to day requirements.
Immediate problems businesses faced with the pandemic
To give you an idea about why the eCommerce landscape was overloading, we will provide some details on what problems businesses had to face during the pandemic. During the first months of the pandemic, businesses struggled a lot. They were closed, workers were afraid to go to workplaces and panic buying caused stock shortages.
Businesses that were making use of international import and export, were at a complete standstill. Shipping containers were stranded at harbours that were closed off. Nothing was allowed in and out of most borders in the world. Airplanes were grounded, and no stock could be transported to the stores. Fresh food and food with expiring dates were lost, and businesses lost money and needed to shut down.
Even when things got back to normal, it took weeks for all shipping and airlines to ship stock. For couriers to get their backlog delivered causes delays, money loss and a shortage of stock. This is why most people started looking for online stores where they could buy their essentials, there is no shortage of stock, and things could be delivered to their doors without risking getting Covid-19. Even those that had never purchased online before, started to look online for their essentials. This is where the increase of the eCommerce landscape started.
Online shopping started increasing
During the first couple of weeks during the pandemic, online shopping increased. Even with the ports and couriers that were shut down as well. People realize that online shopping for essentials, sanitizers and personal protection equipment, is easier than going from store to store. Store stock was running low and people find it impossible to find essentials in-store.
This is one of the reasons why online shopping started to increase. The other reason was that people were, and still are, afraid of going to the stores and risking getting infected. Online shopping meant staying at home and still being able to get all your essentials delivered to your door, lowering the risk of getting infected. The eCommerce landscape started forming, even in countries where online shopping wasn’t as popular before.
The e-commerce system is more flexible, safer and more convenient in the COVID-19 pandemic, where social distancing is a new word that is being used all over the world. Where doing window shopping, going for a coffee with friends, and enjoying a day shopping in markets is something of the past. The markets and stores needed to find a different way of making money and being able to pay their workers. They started selling their products online; when the stores opened, they started providing click-and-collect options to pay online and collect in-store. The less time you spend outside and the more at home the better. These are all the reasons why online shopping started to increase and why the eCommerce landscape started to get overcrowded. More orders online, but still the same number of couriers and delivery guys to deliver goods.
Benefits that the eCommerce had during the first weeks of the pandemic
IWith the pandemic closing shops, eCommerce was a lifesaver for so many people. However, even if many didn’t believe in online shopping, they start looking into the options for buying their essentials online. But this isn’t the only benefit that eCommerce had for people during the first couple of weeks during the pandemic. There are some other benefits that the eCommerce system had for the people living in the pandemic.
1. Lower prices. The moment that the pandemic was declared a world disaster, food prices skyrocketed. Especially for basic food items like bread, milk, flour, toilet rolls, etc., people were buying double the price for the essential items they couldn’t go without.
2. However, with the eCommerce landscape, most of the prices stayed the same for a couple of weeks. Studies have shown that some online stores had to lower their prices to get more customers and more profit. It was only after the first couple of months, that the prices start to increase online as well due to the shortage of essential items.
3. It was convenient and safe. For years, we never had thought that going to the shops for buying groceries and essential items was going to be life-threatening. And suddenly this is something to consider. Those that were making use of online shopping realize that it was not only convenient and easier, it was also safer. You don’t get into contact with anyone and the delivery companies need to comply with Covid rules and regulations.
4. This was decreasing the risks of getting covid, especially if you fall into the high-risk category. And, you didn’t have a problem finding essential items. It was still available online, even if people couldn’t find it in shops.
5. It was saving consumers a lot of time. One of the Covid rules and regulations was to limit the number of customers per store to reduce the chance of getting in close contact with people who might have covid. However, this means that you might have to stand for hours outside the store, waiting for a turn to do shopping. In the cold, rain and maybe behind someone that had covid anyway.
6. With online shopping, you sit at home, safe and click on your computer that only you are using. There are no risks there. Browsing on your own time, not worrying about the people waiting outside for a turn. And, for sure not be tired of standing outside for hours. Within an hour or so, all your shopping will be done online, and you didn’t get into close contact with anyone.
Businesses had some benefits with offering online services during the pandemic as well. Especially, if they were able to offer all the essential products in one place, at a great price. The stores still made money, even if their walk-in stores were closed.
They were still able to pay their workers and get on with business. This happened while they were all working from home, and assisting customers online. And, those with the better online service, would get the most online customers.
Problems reported with online shopping and eCommerce
Even if there were so many benefits for customers and businesses by making use of the eCommerce landscaping during the Covid-19 pandemic, there were some problems as well.
Problems that you as the consumer didn’t realize. You were just getting impatient with your goods not delivered on time, or because there weren’t the same number of varieties to choose from. There were lots of problems reported with the online shopping and eCommerce system during the pandemic, such as :
1. Not all businesses had online presence yet. Some businesses didn’t believe in online stores as well. Even if online shopping is something that is done for years now, there were still stores that didn’t believe in having an online feature yet.
2. The moment that the pandemic strike, they scramble to get online fast. To make sure that they don’t lose customers and money. To ensure that they are still able to deliver their products and services online. This caused problems with the online market. Some stores didn’t function correctly, while others were overcrowded and couldn’t handle all the online orders.
3. Delivering fresh food on time was a struggle. The online stores couldn’t always deliver fresh food in time. Meaning that customers didn’t get their products before the sell-by date. Making customers furious. Stores needed to become creative to ensure that deliveries are getting done faster, more effectively, and to ensure that fresh food arrives fresh.
4. This wasn’t always possible, with the number of orders that were coming in per day. Many businesses stopped selling fresh food because of the delay in delivery and offering other food instead. There were just too many online orders and not enough deliveries to deliver in time. Delays were the norm of the day.
5. Shipment deliveries were cancelled. This caused a lot of problems for eCommerce landscapes that were selling products that were imported. People needed to get their money back or needed to wait for their shipment to arrive.
6. All international products from all over the world, were on hold. If the stock had finished, there was nothing that any online store could do about it. And, the product bought and already shipped out were lost, or needed to be refunded, causing a huge loss for online businesses and the whole eCommerce system.
Click and collect started getting popular
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, there weren’t really many stores that were offering click-and-collect. You might not even know what this meant. Buying online and collecting it in-store sounds like a waste of time. If you are going to the store to collect the item, you can just as well buy it there as well.
However, this was before the pandemic. Now, click and collect is very popular all over the world. It saves you time standing in queues waiting to pay, risking standing around someone with COVID-19. You are browsing online; find the product you want and buy it. Then, you are just going to the store, go to a different department and collect your order.
You don’t wait for the delay in deliveries. You are in and out of the store in just a couple of minutes. In most cases, the product will be ready the same day, and they will send you a notification when your products are packed and ready. Even now, a year later, click and collect stays popular. It just saves time and prevents you from getting in contact with Covid-19 patients.
What businesses have learned during the Covid-19 pandemic
What have businesses learned during the Covid-19 pandemic? Especially when it comes to eCommerce landscaping.
Firstly, they learned that having an online store option is always best. For those that don’t want to go in-store to buy their groceries. That click and collect can be a great option for those that are busy and that doesn’t have the time to go to stores for shopping.
Services learned that they can work remotely as well. With all their workers at home, they can still deliver the same quality service, but from different locations. That the technology has improved so much, that work from home option is getting more acceptable.
Stores have realised that they should consider other methods of delivery to ensure that products are getting delivered as soon as possible. When the world is standing still because of a pandemic, people still need to eat and have their basic needs met. This was where the eCommerce landscape was beneficial for both the consumer and the business.
What can consumers expect with post-pandemic and eCommerce
For some countries, the pandemic is under control. For others, it might seem that it will never be under control again. But what will happen when everything is over? When normal is really normal again? How will the eCommerce landscape be? Will everything goes back as it was before the pandemic, or will things change?
Many believe that things will change and that the normal that we know will never come back. This is the same with the eCommerce landscape. What can you expect with post-pandemic and eCommerce?
1. More businesses will start doing business online.
2. Going to the stores to shop will no longer be a normal activity.
3. Click and collect will still be just as popular as it is at the moment.
4. People will ask for online options a lot more. Especially if they can work from home, instead of working in an office, risking their health.
5. Most importantly, businesses will start looking for local stock instead of importing it.
Conclusion
Whether you want to believe it or not, the Coronavirus has been changing e-commerce landscaping from the day the first case was reported till today, when some countries are operating normally again.
In the beginning, eCommerce landscaping was overcrowded, backlogs were reported, and delivery was late. Changes were made, people were getting their products more regularly, and click-and-collect options got more popular. After Covid, eCommerce will still be operating as you know it today. People will still rather order online than visit stores. Every business that is opening its doors, will have a website and online store with delivery options. We have given you a look at how COVID has affected the businesses, the eCommerce landscaping and what they have done to make life easier for us, the consumers, to ensure that we are still able to buy food, clothing, etc.
