It has been over a year since the novel coronavirus infected its first victims in Wuhan, China. Cities and entire countries faced lockdowns, restrictions and economic downfall which is sadly just the tip of the iceberg that was 2020.
Businesses have all been hit hard and there is no security of sales during these uncertain times. Online sales, however, saw unexpected changes that were not predicted by anyone. The pandemic has changed ecommerce and online shopping forever.
Let’s discuss the dramatic changes e-commerce and online sales experienced throughout each quarter of 2020.
Q-1
January and February did not see any major hikes in ecommerce, instead, the lockdowns in China disrupted the global supply of goods and ecommerce took a hit in the first quarter of 2020. By March, cases had spread throughout the world at alarming rates and WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.
Travel bans and lockdowns became common around the world and Hollywood celebrities Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson contracted COVID-19 triggering panic among Americans. For the first time, they realized that the threat was very real. Panic buying began to produce a shortage in products everywhere, especially toilet paper.
Q-2
By the start of April, consumer behavior changed drastically and online sales started to see the initial boom from the pandemic after non-essential items reopened. Delivery times doubled and online order volumes increased by a whopping 50% in March compared to 2019.
Categories like ‘New Essentials’ showed up which consisted of feel-good products during stay-at-home restrictions. Businesses started to realize the permanent effects of the pandemic and started to move online in droves to secure sales.
Q-3
The fashion industry withered, unveiling the ugly face of wages and worker conditions during the pandemic. Ordinary people who lost their jobs started small online retail businesses, entering the business world for the first time selling directly to consumers.
By the end of the third quarter, studies showed that more than 35% of all consumers refuse to return to brick and mortar stores till a vaccine is introduced. Almost 70% of U.S. consumers were projected to continue online shopping post-pandemic.
Survey suggested that ecommerce will rise by 18% while in person shopping will drop by 14%. Clothing industries saw a 76% rise in online purchases.
Q-4
Consumer behavior continued to change prompting an increase in online sales of certain products and it became very clear that many brick and mortar retail businesses will likely not survive the pandemic. Despite these concerns, small retail businesses that moved online continued to survive.
By the holiday season, many consumers were stressed about buying gifts because of the lack of stability in incomes. Even though consumer spending was at a low, online sales experienced a remarkable rise during the holidays.
Conclusion
Finally, the world is slowly coming to terms with what seems like an unending crisis.
If the past year and its perils have taught us anything, it is that you cannot limit your business to a single market. Putting all your eggs in one basket will limit your growth when that market is under lockdown or limitations.
This is why you need Wilelink, it is a global online platform that offers you a wide customer base from all around the world. You can continue to conduct business in other parts of the world if your local or primary market is shut or difficult to cater to due to restricted or slow deliveries.
Wilelink offers you security and certainty in a world filled with uncertainty.
Learn more about Wilelink and online shopping by visiting the Wilelink website.
