The COVID-19 pandemic is raising internet penetration via social media use, internet telephony and teleconferencing, and streaming of videos and films. The enforcements of social distancing, lockdowns, and other measures in response to the market crisis has led consumers to ramp up online shopping. The pandemic has highlighted the obvious need to bridge the digital divide and hamper greater participation in e-Commerce activities. Tackling the vulnerability, governments have adopted new measures where all-size producers, sellers, and consumers have acted, to ensure that e-Commerce can help to ease some of the challenges faced in combatting the virus. The world’s e-Commerce business during COVID-19 and its impact may encourage international cooperation and the further development of policies. The online purchases and supply business has made it clear that e-Commerce can be a vital tool/solution for consumers.
The Global E-commerce Nature
As part of retail evolution, B2B and B2C online sales of goods have a surge of demand in certain products due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers have stockpiled medical supplies, including hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and surgical facemasks, as well as household essentials such as toilet paper and non-perishable food products. In the post-COVID-19, consumers are expected to emphasize on both convenience and safety. During the lockdown, brands and shopping centers are seen using WeChat mini-programs, online social groups, and live streaming videos to attract consumers through new channels without the need for foot traffic.
Recent months of e-Commerce business during COVID-19 have seen 47% of internet users spending more time in their day making purchases. The segmentation of internet users worldwide according to their age who spend more time shopping in e-Commerce is as follows:
Age Distribution Of Online Shoppers [%]
46% of users between 16 and 24 years old
53% of users between 25 and 34 years old
50% of users between 35 and 44 years old
42% of users between 45 and 54 years old
32% of users between 55 and 64 years old
According to data, men have increased their time spent shopping online the most i.e., 55% of men versus 50% of women in the age group of 25 to 34 years. On the other hand, the only age range in which women outperform men in terms of time spent most in online shopping is the one that goes from 55 to 64 years (33% women, 30% men).
COVID-19 has influenced e-Commerce worldwide, and as a fact, 41% of US internet users are spending more time shopping online. However, there are glaring differences between the different countries of the world.
In China, 67% of internet users during these last three months have spent more of their time making online purchases, followed by Singapore (46%), USA (41%), Brazil (39%), and UK (37 %). The average increase in the rest of the countries is around 25%.
Most Taping Categories That Generate The Most Interest
The worldwide growth of the e-Commerce business during COVID-19 has clear differences between the different types of categories of interest.
Globally, the food sector has most online growth, with an increase of 33%, followed by household products (29%), personal hygiene (27%), and fashion (19%).
Categories such as leisure products (17%), beauty products (15%), the purchase of chocolate (9.9%), and home and garden products (9.7%) have also seen increased sales during this pandemic.
The sale of alcoholic beverages, purchase of furniture, gifts have also added around 8% more sales. Surprisingly, the reservation of vacation services has increased by 3.6% in recent weeks.
Changes In E-commerce Web Traffic
The main winners in this regard are online supermarkets with an increase of a staggering 251% in their web traffic. In the second place far behind, are the retail tech sales e-Commerce, whose traffic has increased by 78%, followed by the media (56%) and telecom (29%).
Sadly, there are categories that have lost web traffic historically such as tourism (-78%), the sale of luxury items (-28%), and jewelry stores (-7%).
Also, the fitness and health trend boomed in e-Commerce business during the COVID-19 pandemic with an increase of 77% sports equipment transactions, almost the same as online supermarkets (76%) and cosmetics (70%).
On the other hand, the biggest losers of online transactions during quarantine are (as with web traffic): tourism (-92%), jewelry (-20%), and luxury goods (-15%).
Logistics And Supply Chain Facing Disruptions
The major drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic were logistics and delivery services, online B2B wholesalers, and supply chain. The market crisis due to lockdowns has tested the continued supply of essential commodities like no other event in recent history. The noble efforts to contain the further spread of the virus led e-Commerce in foods to face supply chain disruptions. Firms of all sizes have continued to experience supply challenges as a result of the suspension of manufacturing activity, decreased production, and labor shortages. Businesses with warehousing facilities in impacted areas have faced prominent decisions about how or whether to keep manufacturing their products.
International transport and logistics services active on land, sea, and air have been experiencing the limited availability of fast-moving consumer goods. Due to the introduction of new health regulations, all e-commerce and more traditional trade transactions have also been severely affected. More than a million passenger flights have been canceled—6 which were typically used to transport postal shipments and other small consignments—have comparatively reduced transport capacity and increased shipping prices for cross-border B2C and B2B transactions.
Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic may last for a long time, and e-commerce in goods and services will need to focus on adapting the new environment. The environment could trigger further digitalization and the development of policies and rules to regulate online trade. Nonetheless, the COVID-19 pandemic has made e-commerce an important tool/solution for consumers in times of crisis, and that it is also an economic driver, including for small businesses. However, COVID-19 crisis lessons raise a useful question: Should new and practical e-commerce solutions—to enable the fast and secure cross-border movement of goods and services—to be considered, to help recover the economy and create job after the COVID-19 pandemic?
