In our last blog, we examined how lockdowns have impacted restaurant orders. With the province of Ontario currently experiencing yet another lockdown-slash-stay-at-home order, citizens are relegated to making only essential purchases. Needless to say, this has forced many a consumer to resort to online shopping as their go-to choice for making purchases.
Clearly, the coronavirus pandemic has helped e-commerce to boom over the past year. But what exactly is the impact of COVID-19 and its resulting lockdowns on the world of online shopping?
The pandemic sparked a growth in online shopping worldwide.
As you’re well aware, the pandemic is certainly not Canada’s problem alone. Our nation shares the burden with the rest of the world. When the crisis began in March of last year, people everywhere panicked. You may recall the puzzling surge in toilet paper sales as consumers scrambled for goods in order to stock up for what they believed might be a lengthy lockdown. In addition, people took to the internet in droves to make their purchases.
As reported by GetFeedback.com, Usabilla by SurveyMonkey conducted a study that examined the aspects of e-commerce in the age of COVID-19. The study covered Germany, France, the United States and the United Kingdom. 54 percent of respondents in the U.K. indicated that they did online shopping, followed by the U.S. with 48 percent and France with 45 percent. In Germany, 38 percent of respondents indicated an increase in making online purchases.
The product categories that were being purchased changed.
With COVID-19 posing a threat to our health, consumers showed buying patterns reflective of staying health-minded. A spike in health and wellness products was one of the early results of the pandemic. As Susan Meyer reports for BigCommerce.com, people purchased health management products like masks and hand sanitizers at increased rates. She reveals that data from Nielsen showed that hygienic and medical mask sales went up by more than 300 percent.
“Another category of consumer packaged goods that is booming is shelf-stable items,” reports Meyer, “These fit into the category of people planning for long-term quarantine. According to Nielsen, products like shelf-stable milk and milk substitutes (particularly oat milk) are up by more than 300% in dollar growth. Other items seeing increases are things like dried beans and fruit snacks that have a long shelf life.”
Digital streaming is more popular than ever.
What do people do when on lockdown? Other than eating and reading, sitting in front of the television is a more-popular-than-ever activity. Thankfully, these days we have streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and Disney+. Because of these innovations, people are able to select anything they wish to watch and view it to their hearts’ content.
Evidently, in our pandemic-burdened world, it pays to have your products and services available online. This is never truer than when lockdowns are imposed. Does your business enable its customers to make purchases directly from its website? If not, you’re certainly missing out on the potential of a massive revenue stream.
Is your company in need of a safe and secure e-commerce solution? Unity Payments can help you take advantage of this ever-growing trend. We’ve made selling online easier than ever! Please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-661-3761 or email us at info@unitypayments.ca to learn more.
