COVID 19 outbreak and its effect in different industries are nothing new to us. It has brought the entire world to its knees. And the eCommerce industry is no exception. Nothing has surprises more than the picture of the eCommerce business in this disastrous situation.
That’s the primary reason why the Magento development platform is negatively affected in the past few days.
The gist of the matter
As the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 as a “pandemic”, all shoppers started stocking up essential goods. Be it the groceries or sanitizing essentials, people knocked both online and offline outlets to meet their needs.
However, the picture of the eCommerce business a few months ago was different from the business graphs in these pandemic months.
Here in this article, it is important to discuss how the outbreak has affected the eCommerce industry.
Buyers’ panic &eCommerce – The Relation
The spread of Coronavirus was very rapid and the big moment came when it was declared as a pandemic by the WHO (World Health Organization). Now, going by human psychology, they respond to any crisis situation in more or less the same way, always.
People started stocking up essential items, including masks, sanitizers, and even toilet papers. Online orders of such essentials had shot up, which resulted in suppliers struggling to cope with the high demand. And very soon, both physical stores, as well as eCommerce companies, went out of supplies because of two reasons mainly because of two reasons:
- Extremely high demand
- Low supply due to manufacturers halting production
Now, physical retail stores managed to operate to some levels of its capacity since the retailing of essential items was necessary and manufacturers were also operating on the same, though with a reduced workforce.
But on the other hand, the eCommerce industry took the major hit, reasons being.
- Prevention among buyers about items being delivered from outside
- Non-availability of delivery executives
- Long delivery time wait-time for essential items
How COVID 19 has affected different sections of the eCommerce business?
Grocery eCommerce
In the recent past, only a few online shoppers prefer to buy groceries from popular eCommerce stores. However, the business graph of grocery eCommerce skyrocketed in the month of March.
The huge spike in grocery eCommerce shows that the eCommerce business for grocery is getting popular day by day. And the welcome of the pandemic outbreak has lifted this rate to a certain height.
Subscription services
Though the eCommerce sales graph in this period is negatively sloped, there are categories where still the growth is high. And one fine example is the subscription services.
Online shoppers are now using different subscription services to buy essential goods. As a consequence, both revenue and conversion graphs are significantly getting higher.
Purchase of health and safety products
Healthy and safety products are the immediate essentials in this pandemic situation. People were purchasing masks, sanitizers, and handwashes faster than other goods. Even the suppliers are restocking them keeping this in mind.
One can picture that eCommerce sales in these products are experiencing better growth than others.
Digital streaming
Digital streaming is the most trending feature nowadays. This newly added feature to almost every eCommerce store has become everyone’s partner in this lockdown period.
People are subscribing to digital streaming platforms to keep themselves busy. There is barely anyone who has not installed any such apps to entertain yourself?
Even movies and web series are choosing these online streaming outlets for release to entertain the homebound people. Since people are finding no other external ways for entertainment, they prefer these services most.
We have talked about the certain escalation of eCommerce sales in this pandemic outbreak. But now it’s time to check out the categories that have pulled the eCommerce sales down. That’s what affected the Magento eCommerce development platform a lot.
Luxury products
The effect has been prevalent in the sales of luxury products too. Electronic items, designer items, décor, travel goods, branded apparel, mobiles, etc., are a few examples. There is a significant loss in the luxury goods industry.
One finest example of luxury eCommerce business is the Vogue business. Vogue business illustrates that there is a potential loss of $10 billion during this COVID 19 outbreak.
A decrease in the sales graph of eCommerce luxury goods has not just shaken the Asian market but even affected the entire global market. The loss in the luxury brands is surely an irreplaceable one.
Fashion and apparel
During this coronavirus lockdown, people are having no physical connections with the outer world. They hardly go out for parties, décor themselves for any festive mood.
Ecommerce sales on fashion and apparel are thus growing lower compared to other essential items. The omnichannel sellers are experiencing bigger losses in contrast to other eCommerce marketers.
The latest survey has figured out that there is a 20% overall loss in the last month. One can expect that if the lockdown goes on further, the rate will increase to a great extent.
Is it really safe to buy online?
Answers to this question are quite difficult. According to the government and WHO recommendations, it is not a smart move to walk outside without any urgent need. It is safe to stay safe at home.
Since eCommerce platforms are already there to serve the essential needs of the customers, there is no actually no need to step outside.
To assure 100% safety to the customers, the eCommerce business is offering no-touch delivery with online payment. Above all, the products they sell are all sanitized, including the delivery bags, spreading the very low risk of coronavirus.
Also know!
Are you heading to create an ecommerce website? Magento ecommerce development platform is offering great discounts and offers on its package. During this time of uncertainty, Magneto can be the perfect partner to design an ecommerce business online.