On one side there are a number of businesses struggling to find alternatives to continue serving their customers during the coronavirus outbreak while on the other side numerous e-commerce brands are observing substantial growth during the coronavirus pandemic.
Social distancing and lockdown have changed the way many consumers shops, their preferences, and their willingness to shop online. Earlier, most of the consumers were not buying groceries online; they prefer to see things physically and choose their groceries by visiting a grocery store offline as nobody wants to take the risk of getting stale products or items that do not look fresh but this thinking changed quickly when suddenly the scenario changed due to coronavirus there was a shortage of stick in brick-and-mortar stores and going in public places became risky; people opted to search for every product online.
Following are some e-commerce sales trends during coronavirus pandemic:
- A Surge in Online Shopping: Social distancing and closure of brick and mortar stores have resulted in a surge in online shopping and the e-commerce sale has shown an increase in sales numbers and the revenue generated through e-commerce has also increased. Although, an increase in sales has also led to a shortage of products in some industries.
- Supply Chain Concerns and E-commerce Delivery: As the demand for the products online is increasing as people have moved from offline to online shopping there is a concern about whether the supply will be able to meet the demand or not. The disturbance in the supply chain started in some countries in the beginning days of the coronavirus outbreak and there was a shortage of stock. However, in the beginning, it started in China but now China has started to recover and is expected to return to normal very soon but for e-commerce business, in other countries, it is still challenging to fulfill the demands and deliveries on time.
- The halt of E-commerce Orders: Many companies are halting the distribution of a few non-essential items temporarily due to lockdown and order to stay at home due to coronavirus pandemic which is further creating complications for e-commerce companies. Amazon, who is a big name in the retail industry was going through huge stress on its supply chain leading to delay in shipments, labor shortages, and technical issues. It had decided to stop delivery of non-essential items to its warehouse and is open for only medical supplies, household essential items, and only products having high demand.
- E-commerce Stores are Diversifying Products: As the consumers’ lifestyle as well as buying behavior is changing businesses are also observing that they need to change their operational models or diversify their products to stay in the competitive market and adapt to the changing needs and demands of the customers. Many e-commerce sellers are selling soaps, sanitizers, medical supplies, masks, etc. to meet the demand of the consumers. Many others have changed their delivery methods to take-away or curbside pickup to prevent the spread of coronavirus and make their product delivery safe for customers.
- Increase in Purchase of Online Groceries: The risks associated with going in public places and shortage of inventory has been annoying people to leave the grocery stores and move to online stores. So, online grocery delivery services are flourishing gaining new customers. New businesses are adapting On-Demand Grocery Mobile App Development to provide the items at customer doorsteps.
Tips for Adapting Your E-commerce Tactics
Today, we all are in a difficult situation and there is uncertainty floating all around but businesses can use some tips to make their e-commerce business work much better. Let’s have a look at some of the tips outlined below:
- Communicate With Your Manufacturers: As we have already stated above that there is an increase in demand as people have moved to online e-commerce stores for shopping so you may face the issue of supply. So, you should talk to the manufacturers about where they are in their production and how they are going to manage the impact of coronavirus on their business, and will they be able to fulfill your requirements or not. It is necessary to be informed about all the aspects of your supply chain so that you can act accordingly.
- Evaluate the Needs of the Customers: An important thing you need to do is to understand what are the needs and concerns of your customers in the current situation. Once you are able to understand what they need exactly you will be able to serve them. Don’t forget to consider that you have inventory or stock to support their current needs or you must find ways to pivot your operational plans in order to serve them better.
- Keep in your mind that your Audience is staying at Home: People are staying in their homes which is the most evident impact of coronavirus. Everyone is sitting at home much more than ever. Being a business person you must change your strategy to serve them better in this difficult time. For example, restaurants had to close their dine-in services because of the lockdown so in order to serve their customers, they started offering curbside pickup, take-away, and contactless delivery services. Some e-commerce stores have started stocking items that are more relevant to people in their daily lives now when they are staying inside their homes.
- Create New Sales Channels: As people are not stepping out so there is a decrease in foot traffic that goes in brick-and-mortar stores presently so it’s a good time for such stores to shift to an online e-commerce store via eCommerce website development or eCommerce mobile app development where they can sell their products and if they have already an online store then make efforts to increase their online presence by using various methods such as digital marketing.
- Always Keep your Customers Updated: In this time, when there is always a situation of uncertainty, always try to keep your customers updated about everything you are changing. For example, if you have supply chain issues that mean you are running a shortage of products then in that case keep your product pages updated so that customers know about it. If your shipments are taking longer to reach their destinations let your customers know about it so that they will know what they can expect. Sharing every related information with your customers will keep your customers satisfied with your services.
- Provide Opportunities for Special Offer to your Customers: Coronavirus has resulted in financial uncertainty, people have lost their jobs, lay-offs have happened in the organizations. In such a situation, think of offering a special discount to you on some particular items that are in more demand. Also, if your customers are spending less in your store in that case also offering a good discount is a great way to get them back on your store.