Chat with us, powered by LiveChat
Coronavirus and ecommerce

With physical retail shops closing their doors indefinitely across the UK, the climate for eCommerce is changing rapidly – especially with millions of people isolating inside their homes all day. While for some, it’s business as usual, for others, COVID-19 has left us with an unexpected amount of free time – and unlimited access to the internet. So, when it comes to the world of eCommerce, what has Coronavirus changed?

Online shopping is increasing

As you might expect, when we can no longer pop to the shops for our goods, online shopping has increased since the start of self-isolation – though not to the degree you might expect. While Italy, China and even India has seen considerable upticks in online shopping, as much as 50%, UK online store usage has risen by 18%. This may not sound like much, but for eCommerce business, this almost 20% increase represents thousands and new customers. Not to mention brand-new opportunities.

Of course, online shopping means anything. It could be ordering your food shopping from Amazon Pantry, for example; or bulk-buying loo roll wherever you can get it. So in reality, these statistics might be more skewed to customer purchasing the basics instead of clothing, shoes or non-essential goods. However, this increase in online shopping isn’t all accounted for by hand sanitiser and face mask purposes; which suggest that eCommerce may be on the rise – if only slightly.

Online store statistics might be skewed

One previously unthought-of effect of the current global climate is how new shopping habits are affecting statistics behind the scenes. Research has suggested that while visitors to platforms are massively increasing; the various statistics that eCommerce businesses have access to are becoming more skewed and less reliable. Reports have suggested very high cart abandonment levels, even for companies whose percentages were previously low. Similarly, click-through versus conversions will also be a stark difference in comparison to previous months.

With more time on their hands due to coronavirus to browse, and in many families less money to buy, window shopping was already a national pastime of many. But in these troubling times, that number is likely to shoot up, with plenty of visitors filling up virtual carts without ever completing checkout.

What can businesses do?

For companies that have had to shutter real-world shops, eCommerce is the single window they have to achieve sales targets and reach their customers. As such, it’s essential to continue to emphasise digital marketing, branding and getting your business seen by the right people. It’s also important to set the right tone; providing a service for customers without appearing overly-pushy in what can be a stressful time for many.

There has been an increase in people shopping online due to the coronavirus. So whether your product is a buy-now essential or a long-term consideration, getting yourself in front of those customers can pay off for your business beyond the current measures in place. With a professional digital marketing agency like CDA, weathering the COVID-19 storm is in reach. Get in touch with our team to find out more about how we could help you.

CDA Contact Us Graphic