How e-commerce platforms have become the saviours since Covid-19 Outbreak?

The year 2020 is all about Covid-19. The outbreak made us lock ourselves indoors. The situation became adverse in many nations, and the people could not be even able to step out to buy at least groceries themselves. The situation today, after sixteen months since the outbreak, is not so better. Vaccines are on their way, yet there is no much improvement in the situation. Many businesses had to shut down due to CoronaVirus. During such adverse conditions, the e-commerce platform offered a ray of hope for many businesses.

People who are not prepared to go out started shopping online. So, even the companies started promoting their products online, offering great discounts. Here, the promotional sites and coupon played their part in helping the customers buy their required products or services at affordable prices. OffersnReviews.com is one such website, which helps you in purchasing your loved products affordably.

Shifted Strategies:

The traditional business, like physical stores remaining closed or experiencing less customer footfalls, companies need to look for an alternative to maintain and sustain their businesses. They had to shift their strategies and increase their online presence. Companies started diverting their resources and stocks to the growing online platform and promoted them through affiliate websites.

The growing demand for e-commerce businesses attracted them. The promotional deals attracted the customers in return. Thus, the e-commerce platform provided a win-win situation for both companies and customers. Companies were able to generate business from nowhere. Customers got their required items at ease.

Changes in Revenue across E-commerce:

People have embraced social distancing to slow the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. In actual, ecommerce sales are not so higher across, although some industries witnessed significant growths. The pandemic created a kind of fear in public, which resulted in the phenomenon called panic buying.

It was due to the illusion created in the minds of consumers that the restrictions would result in the scarcity of goods in the near future. As a result, many customers ended up buying 10% to 30% more than their usual purchases. The panic buying took place more in the e-commerce business, especially in household groceries.

Finding that as an opportunity, the companies diverted most of their produced stocks to the e-commerce websites

Industries benefited:

Pandemic made people buy specific goods a lot more than usual. According to the surveys by top research firms like Nielsen, e-commerce business found tremendous growth in the categories like preventive health and wellness, protective gear like Pantry goods, hand sanitisers, masks, disinfectants, and more.

Pent up demand:

The lockdown resulted in the closure of many non-essential industries. The restricted living at home for the customers found the needful resources at home, which they couldn’t buy at that time. The open up of the market resulted in a sudden demand for products like kitchen appliances, grooming devices, Work from home accessories, and many more.

The brick and mortar stores, remaining closed, the ecommerce witnessed a great amount of pent up demand in specific categories.

Role of Third party marketplaces:

Third-party selling platforms like Amazon benefited a lot from the lockdown. They are not the sellers but a platform where sellers and customers confluence. Post lockdown, they experienced many sellers enrolling to do business with them. Many new customers added during and post lockdown restrictions.

Driven by the need for essential items to source them, customers relied heavily on these third party marketplaces as the best possible solution as they get whatever they need at their doorstep. This is driven by the change in the e-payment system trend, which was still at the start phase in many developing countries.

This phenomenon has driven the new business model of the digital payment ecosystem.

Conclusion:

The pandemic reinforced the pre-existing bottlenecks pertaining to the e-commerce ecosystem. Many countries need to address them and gain benefits from e-commerce by enhancing their e-trade readiness.

The Internet is one of the best technical things that has happened to humankind in recent times. It has an equal amount of benefits and adverse effects. The business ecosystem developed around the internet has already made its imprint. Many companies already recognized renascence. The Covid-19 forced many others to march towards online business. Businesses grow when opportunity gaps are fulfilled. Ecommerce is such a big opportunity with vast and deep scope in it.