Impact of Coronavirus on eCommerce

Negative impacts that the coronavirus has had on multiple industries are quite obvious. Think about all the bars, restaurants, and shops that have been closed for weeks and that are bleeding money. However, online shopping has never been more popular, and if you think about it, it is not that surprising, right?

It promotes social distancing

Without a doubt, this is the biggest reason why more and more people are choosing to order all the items they need online. All they have to do is to find a business that offers those products and that does deliveries to their area. In all honesty, business owners are trying to save their stores, which is why almost everyone delivers. You can even order coffee from your favorite coffee place and it will be delivered to your home.

Since there is no need for you to ever leave the house to get the groceries or any other products that you need, it means that you won’t get in contact with other people, therefore, be at risk of getting infected or infecting someone in your household.

You can get whatever you want

We have already scratched the surface of this one, but today, there isn’t almost anything you can’t order online. We have already mentioned that even coffee shops deliver beverages to their customers. This example might seem a little bit too much, but you have to understand that this is the only option for many companies to survive this pandemic.

Furthermore, there are multiple items such as cleaning products that are almost impossible to find and buy nowadays. One would have to go to numerous stores all around the town, wait in line in front of each of them only to find out that the item is out of stock.

Ordering those goods online might be a better choice. First of all, as already discussed, you wouldn’t have to leave home. Secondly, many online retailers will put on you a waiting list. What does this mean? Well, simply put, it means that even though right now certain items are not available, you will be the first one to receive them when the new batch arrives.

What’s more, online retailers that sell a variety of products like dailysale.com have also become very popular. People tend to shop online when they are bored, have nothing else to do, and of course if they can afford it. This is the reason why so many online retailers offer discounts and coupons that customers can use.

Grocery stores

The first one is obvious since we have already discussed it a bit. We are talking about online grocery retailers. It is completely understandable why these places are thriving during this pandemic. Not only are a lot of people scared of leaving their homes and getting infected, but a large number of them are also on lockdown. This is usually the case with older citizens who are at greater risk of experiencing serious consequences from the virus.

Even though they might not know how online shopping works, their younger relatives do. All they need is a list of groceries that they need to order, they pay for them online and can rest assured that parents or grandparents will get everything they need.

Cleaning products retailers

Is it really necessary to explain why these are seeing a spike in sales? We are fighting a virus after all which means that we use a lot of cleaning products, a lot more than usual. Not only do some people clean every corner of their home almost every day, but they also disinfect all the surfaces.

Because of this, finding disinfecting products is almost impossible. However, can we freely say that this industry is thriving? Yes, their revenue has elevated, but at the same time, pressure on their production to meet all the requirements of the public has also increased.  Unfortunately, not all manufacturers will be able to respond to demand.

Drugstores

Drugstores are shops that are usually always packed with customers. This was true before the outbreak of the coronavirus, and due to the fact that a lot of products cannot be found in physical stores, more and more people are choosing online ones. We have already explained that ‘in stock’ occurring problem, meaning that customers probably have to wait before receiving their orders.

Fitness equipment

We can freely say that retailers who sell fitness equipment are rapidly increasing their revenues and growing their businesses. Some people might argue that this sounds odd, while for others it is understandable. A lot of people do not go to work right now, they either work from home or have taken some days off.

Whatever the case is, it means that they have a lot of free time, a lot more than they used to. After resting and relaxing for the first days, people realized how easily they can get bored, so they have decided to indulge in a new hobby, and most of them choose to go with fitness activities.

The current situation is extremely beneficial for companies that manufacture kettlebells, dumbbells, and other smaller pieces of equipment that are not very expensive.

Shopping apps

Many of the sellers that offer their products via smartphone apps are likely to see a significant change in their sales. The data is already suggesting that more people have downloaded these, and we are not only talking about the ones that are used by previously mentioned retailers, but also numerous others.

Clothes and Toys

Unfortunately, these two industries have already noticed a big negative change, even before the coronavirus got to the USA. Why? Well, it is because a lot of these products are manufactured in China, except for the exclusive, luxury lines.

As you know, China was the first country that was hit by this virus meaning that most of their factories and offices were closed as early as January. Nevertheless, now that the situation is stabilizing there, America is going through the coronavirus crisis.

Conclusion

In this article, we have discussed a few ways of how online shopping has been affected by the pandemic of coronavirus. At the same time, we have mentioned only a few industries that have seen a spike in sales, or on the other hand, have been radically affected by this virus.