5 Ways Covid-19 Impacted the E-commerce Industry
The outbreak of Covid-19 impacted every industry and sector in the world in a way or another. Most businesses had to close their doors during lockdown periods to comply with their governments’ decisions.
What was the impact of Covid-19 on the e-commerce industry in particular?
- An overall increase in online sales
With the preventive measures and social distancing requirements, people started relying more and more on e-commerce and online shopping.
Even customers who were not familiar with this kind of shopping were left with no choice other than buying online to avoid public contact.
Consequently, the e-commerce industry witnessed an overall unprecedented increase in sales.
- An increase in revenues for e-commerce businesses dealing with health products and groceries
Online stores selling health products and groceries doubled and tripled their earnings.
Due to the global health issue, people went into a “panic shopping” mode, especially when it comes to health-related products such as masks, hygiene products, and medical supplies.
Considering the relatively long periods of lockdown, customers started piling up grocery products and goods to make sure they won’t run out of basic necessities during the pandemic.
Yet, people were also scared to physically go to shops and wanted a solution to avoid crowded places. This is why they opted for online stores instead.
As a result, e-commerce businesses dealing or selling health products and groceries considerably increased their sales compared to last year’s sales.
- A decrease in revenues for e-commerce businesses selling luxurious goods and products
During Covid-19, people’s mentalities were entirely drifted and focused on the essential needs. The revenues of online stores selling luxurious goods and clothes decreased, contrary to grocery and health products stores. However, compared to the brick and mortar stores, online shops did way better and most retail stores took active steps to move their operations online during this period.
- Supply chain problems
Most companies, including big corporations, get their supplies and raw material from China.
Covid-19 disrupted the supply chain causing a reduction in manufacturing and shipping lanes, and a shortage of products. A lot of companies were not being able to meet their contractual obligations.
Moving forward, companies should figure out ways to mitigate such risks and think of new methods to restructure their supply chains.
- A change in user behavior and thinking
The pandemic forced people to stay home. Employers and employees had to find ways to make work from home an option, and it soon showed that it isn’t that hard given the facilities that technology is now providing. Many companies such as “Twitter” announced that its employees will be working from home till the end of 2020.
This all led to a drastic change in the user’s mindset and behavior. Everyone is seeking to transform his or her work into an online business and integrate technology to be able to mitigate such problems in the future as much as possible.
Final Note:
Today, more than ever, everyone is looking to move their businesses online and carry on with e-commerce. Lexyom encourages you to start planning how to launch your e-commerce business and can help you all the way through. Visit www.lexyom.com and book a consultation with a lawyer to kick-start your venture online.
