COVID-19 & Online Shopping
E-commerce or online shopping has been growing at a steady pace, with billions of people stuck in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s on the rise worldwide. Consumers are shopping online like never before. They go to Amazon and other web retailers for groceries, cleaning products, fitness equipment, and other items.
The online tracker shows how fast e-commerce has grown during the pandemic. Pure-play online retailers saw their orders increase. It increased from about 55% to 76% in the US and Canada between March 29 and April 12.
Retailers saw online shopping in the US, and Canada shoots 42% to almost 90% year-on-year between March 29 and April 12 which is a prime phase of COVID-19.
In March, online grocery sales in the US jumped by 233 %compared to August 2019. 31 % of US households used online grocery or pick-up services in March.
Germophobia’s effect on online shopping
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are likely to be more cautious than ever before about germs. Contactless deliveries are a new normal. People are scared of physical stores and human touch.
In-Homing
Consumers who have learned to cook while quarantined at home may continue to do so. Consumers who have broken their daily habits may not return to it. Families may stop going for movies and grocery buying. Families that have added a streaming media subscription may choose to keep it. A large part of the workforce can permanently move from work in an office to work at home.
A dose of reality or New Normal?
The increase in online shopping over the last few weeks is impressive. It is also essential to recognize that many people have lost their jobs during the pandemic. They don`t have any disposable cash to spend on anything except essentials.
While the world is rolling from the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, there is a change in user behavior. As a result, shoppers are increasingly moving online. Ecommerce sites are in a position to capitalize on this, but only if customers can found them in the first place.