Today the outbreak of the novel coronavirus has caused a severe disruption of business across the globe. A lot of companies have stopped instantly, and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on eCommerce isn’t simple yet. The cities are under lockdown, and social distancing has become a new norm. Customers are buying online to meet their daily needs, and this resulted in a 50% increase in online sales and an 8% increase in online shoppers.
No one knows how long this pandemic will last and how many more lives we’ll lose. Unsurprisingly, many stores have decided to shut their shops and adopt eCommerce as an alternative. Year after year, US retailer revenue is growing up to 68% in mid-April, and this year it is increased to 129% in US and Canadian eCommerce orders in April. It estimates that there is a 146% growth in all online retail orders.
The COVID 19 pandemic will change the online market forever and with this initial impact. We can consider eCommerce is creating a challenge to the online market and their provided services. Families are staying at home and ordering online grocery, apparel, and other entertainment shopping. It shows the customer won’t be comfortable following the old shopping habits due to the fear of getting sick. A recent study from Morning Consult says, 24% won’t go to the mall at least for six months, and 16% will be comfortable after three months. Today, customers are more likely to stay home and shop online creating the ideal market conditions to gain new mobile-driven experiences across platforms. You can choose the best eCommerce Development Services for making your e-store attractive and usable as per customer needs.
There was a report about mobile application tracking companies which states that the average daily downloads for popular digital eCommerce web apps such as Instacart, Walmart, and Shipt have increased since March. Focus on getting the top most eCommerce Mobile App Solutions for reaching as much of an audience as you can. Let’s check how this change impact Digital eCommerce
COVID 19 impact on digital eCommerce
The pandemic is accelerating rapidly to digital eCommerce. People around the world are practicing social distancing. Families are relying on home delivery and are likely to use those services once it’s over. We got data from Rakuten Intelligence that online order from March 15 has increased by 210%. Moreover, Amazon is hiring more employees in the US as the operations increased due to a hike in online orders.
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Revenue changes across industries due to COVID 19
With the growing trend of m-commerce shopping, users are becoming highly addicted to shopping and enjoying the whole process. The eCommerce brands are increasing and adapting new changes to meet customer’s needs. More people are staying home to spread the pandemic slow. But the impact on eCommerce will inevitably rise as people are looking for online eCommerce stores and purchase items they might need otherwise. In some industries, eCommerce sales are upsurge, especially for online eCommerce stores that are selling online groceries and household goods.
Also Read: How eCommerce Industry Got Its Existence?
Effect on consumers online behaviour
There is a rapidly changing situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic all around the world. Most of the restaurants, malls, gyms, and bars are shut, and meanwhile, offices are working remotely. People isolate themselves, and there are overnight changes notices in the customer’s shopping behavior. They are preferring bulk buying through online stores and have become more careful in buying things from where, when, and how.
As customer’s buying behavior is changed similarly, the impact on eCommerce stores has also improved. People are ordering Food from Uber Eats, Grubhub, and other food delivery apps to facilitate needs. Peers are preferring to stay indoors and stop spreading the virus. It observed that people had started mobile phones more than 8 hours daily, and it’s the best way to tackle social distancing.
Panic buying also impact eCommerce stores
Nowadays, people due to panic situations are stocking more things like masks, toilet papers, hand sanitizers, and other household goods. We call this panic buying. Customer demand has increased and to keep up with that they are ordering online. As a result, the price of items is increased and selling things without discounts. People respond to this in different ways and tend to buy something in large quantities.
The panic buying is due to people who are hearing uncertain and contradictory information from different sources and advice from multiple people. Therefore, panic buying results in a crowd mentality. Watching these people buy more stuff validates the decision to stock up goods. It’s like a race where no one wants to be left behind and end up buying unnecessary things.
Product categories are changing
Nielsen surveyed that the behavior has changed due to COVID 19 pandemic. Few changes identified in the customer’s buying are:
- Buy reactive health management products, such as masks and hand sanitizers.
- Buy health and wellness products
- Buy household essentials and groceries for pantry preparation
- Product used in quarantine preparation
As the lockdown will increase its stages, these items and product categories will change accordingly. Moreover, the data shows that shopping varies based on gender also. For example, a survey conducted on women shows how COVID 19 impacts more on women than men. Whereas in some reports it says men avoid going in-store and are shopping online compared to women.
Ways to respond to COVID 19 effects on B2B commerce
- Today, all around the world businesses are impacted by a reduction in labor, output, and production disruptions. B2B has started preparing for the long-term effects of the crisis, and here we have listed a few pointers that we can do right to mitigate the impacts on your eCommerce business.
- Firstly, understand the business, create a responsive supply chain leader, and report directly to the CEO. Allocate resources and communication team with ensuring that everyone understands every action needed to carry the plan.
- All B2B customers rely on your business to run smoothly, synchronize the business system, and ensure that they carry online product info updated in real-time.
- Mark all stock items for reassurance that they are in stock if they order soon.
- Review the pricing to ensure that they don’t increase the profit during the COVID pandemic. This perception will affect customer experience and its future sales.
- Inform the customer that you would keep employees safe and handle all products with care. Share new operations with the team and discuss what department will move online.
- Explain to the team about a measure that you’re talking about to maintain a safe work environment. Create a blog or portal to keep the customer updated and encourage them.
- When the demand drops, switch to another market and monitor the sales, stay discoverable through search and suggestions.
- Explain employees’ needs and focus on personal crisis responses. Encourage them to spend more time with family and volunteer their community.
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Adobe releases digital economy index
- The digital purchase increased by 20%
- The computer has seen a 40% increase in average daily sales compared to March month
- Fitness equipment has increased by 55% in this period
- Virus protection products have increased by 807%, and cold/flu medicine has increased by 217%.
Some of the tech update
- Demand for faster downloading speed is increased by 75% from March onwards
- VPN usage increased by 34% and bandwidth usage by 12%
- Web traffic increased by 22% and voice usage by 25%
- Due to COVID 19, television and streaming, services consumption increased
- 21% of consumers have signed up for streaming services
- 60% increase seen on television viewers
- Increasing demand for watching Netflix and YouTube streaming quality
What Google advices?
- Update business hours on your website and update Google profile
- Clarify customers that your business is taking extra precautions with ensuring user’s health and safety
- Provide new services online
- If your business is delaying services, then be kind and explain to the user that you’ll soon fulfill their expectations.
- Add a bar or a message on the header then give customer information about COVID 19 related information and your business update.
Wrapping the thought
Millions of online customers are changing their behavior at the same time and opting to save more time. How they choose to respond will define the future of eCommerce. Few of the businesses are wanting to remove the friction that stands in the way and turn their occasional customer into a loyal customer. Once the stay state home lifts, the eCommerce sale will stabilize at a lower growth rate than today.
We hope these above points have helped you understand a few of the ways that impact eCommerce businesses and the customer’s changing behavior.
If you’re an eCommerce store, then continue to serve them as best as you can. Or if you’re planning to develop an eCommerce development application, then we have the best team during this pandemic to fulfill your requirement. We are a leading mobile app development company that ensures to development of apps of your dreams. Start earning by developing a mobile app and give a new avatar to your online store by transforming it into a mobile app.