Since the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in November 2019, a lot has changed in the business world. From small businesses to large corporate, entrepreneurs all around the world have had it rough over the past few months of 2020. With many businesses shifting focus to online businesses and others being forced to close shop, those who’ve been in the eCommerce market longer haven’t been spared either. Shopping behaviors have changed drastically and sales have diminished in many businesses. In this piece, we take a look at the various effects of the coronavirus disease on eCommerce businesses.
More Consumers are Shopping Online
With more people staying home, restricted movement, and lockdowns, one thing is obvious: the number of consumers shopping online has increased. This is a good thing for businesses with a good online presence and eCommerce site. Depending on the products they are offering, some are likely to experience surges in the number of orders. This can happen to the point that they run out of stock. More so for essential items like toiletries, sanitizers, soap, and groceries, most consumers are also buying online in bulk.
Competition Has Become Stiffer
Yes, many eCommerce sites are doing well amid the pandemic despite the various challenges. This is because they have an edge over their competitors. Now, with Covid-19 forcing people to stay indoors and minimize trips to the physical shops, most businesses have shifted more of their efforts to e-commerce marketing. Cliff Sarcona and the team from Up Inc. eCommerce Agency assert that to attract the utmost converting users to your site, it is important to invest well in eCommerce marketing. Among other elements, this involves having a strategic plan, launching SEO campaigns, improving your site’s search visibility. This way, you can keep your business running and performing well in the middle of the pandemic.
Some Products are in Higher Demand
Another visible trend when it comes to online shopping amid Covid-19 is that the demand for some products has drastically increased. Apart from the essential products mentioned earlier, cheaper casual clothing and self-care beauty products are also selling like hot cake. As expected, e-commerce businesses selling such products need to find a way to deal with order surges while providing an excellent customer experience.
Some Product Categories are Struggling
On the other hand, sales for product categories like luxury goods, some electronics, office equipment, restaurant supplies, makeup, and official clothing have experienced a downward trend. This is probably due to the shift in consumer priority, leading to lower demand for such products. Having this knowledge can help you make better decisions when it comes to inventory and changing your strategy if need be.
Finally, cybersecurity has also become a bigger concern as fraudsters take advantage of the increased demand and usage of online shopping platforms. Some are actually targeting online merchants selling high-demand products like sanitizers and face masks. This makes it important for e-commerce merchants to be smarter in fraud prevention, order tracking, and dispute management. Still, a significant portion of consumers wonders if it is safe to order stuff online and whether the delivery guys observe COVID-19 prevention measures. All in all, consumer expectations have changed significantly, and the change might prevail even after the pandemic passes.