The rapid spread of the Coronavirus globally has affected people and their means of living. Even the education and graduation rites of the students had to be put on halt because of this pandemic and due to the total lockdown implemented in some countries; consumers are sheltering from their own homes. Coronavirus definitely has an impact on the eCommerce crisis.
The Coronavirus undeniably had negative effects on the market and economy but the question is; what are the changes in e-commerce? The virus isn’t only affecting people; it is also an eCommerce virus. According to reports, 36% of sellers predicts that their sales will decline due to lack of demand, shipping delays and also shortage on supplies and products.
Listed below are the changes and impact of the coronavirus.
- Grocery shopping online
Since consumers fear their safety outside because of the possibility and risk of acquiring coronavirus and the implementation of social distancing; purchasing online for their necessities is another way they could think of to be safe. According to a survey on one of CNN’s article last March 2020, 41% of consumers said they were using it for the first time. Grocery deliveries surged so we can say in conclusion that shop owners aren’t suffering from eCommerce crisis since they’re profiting a lot from it though they might experience inventory shortages.
- Delivery delays
The e-commerce stores find it hard to deliver the products purchased because of the influx of online purchasing. Consumers expect fast delivery but due to the sudden rise of online purchasing, even Amazon finds it hard to fulfill their promise of a two-day shipping.
- Sales Trends
An update by Trends Shipbob shows that apparels, jewelry and electronic sales are all down as of March 30, 2020 while baby product sales had increased 237% week-over-week and a 1,197% month-over-month. Food and beverage sales have been 26% monthly and 20% weekly while toys and games had mixed results of 93% weekly and 54% monthly.
- Changes in Demand
Of course, the top priorities of consumers when they shop are the essentials such as food, toiletries and etc. Sellers of unnecessary stuff of course find their sales drop because consumers focus more on what they really need due to the budget they have. Business owners of luxuries are affected by the eCommerce crisis because what they sell is inessential.
The impact of the eCommerce crisis on the sales rate is hard to predict because it will change from time to time. Results won’t be consistent because it will still depend on how the consumers would behave and how sellers think of a strategy to take advantage of this pandemic to make sales. The most important aspect of a business are the clients so building customer trust is important to keep them buying from you. In the meantime, as long as everything’s still not back to normal an effective strategy will help regain sales.
