How the Pandemic Triggered the Growth of E-commerce

With little to no warning and time to prepare, the global pandemic has altered our lives and impacted our daily routine. It has influenced how we live, work, and communicate and has changed most habits and routines. Online shopping has been a growing business since it started with the expansion of the internet. Though ubiquitous and appealing, it wasn’t always everyone’s first choice regarding their preferential way of shopping. Ever since the pandemic started, the e-commerce market has skyrocketed. Various health risks and movement restrictions have fast-forwarded the adoption of delivery shopping methods and e-commerce businesses as its main facilitator. Let’s take a closer look at how the pandemic triggered the growth of e-commerce.

A shift to the great online

Panic purchasing was a reality at the start of the pandemic. Hoarding face masks, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, canned food, pasta, rice, and other necessities was an actual and terrifying reality. Companies found it challenging to meet the demand for the products. Deliveries weren’t being made on time, and shelves were empty. Curfews, quarantines, limitations, and complete lockdowns appeared over time. Online buying naturally emerged as the safer and, if done conscientiously, the greener method of shopping. Like never before, e-commerce skyrocketed due to everyone switching to ordering online. Sales in physical stores have drastically reduced as a natural result of social withdrawal and the need to stay at home. Sales have shifted online, and in 2020, the average online order value rose by 10% to 30%.

Staying at home means adapting accordingly

The new reality of the situation led to a significant reduction in social interactions, and people started doing everything from home. Suddenly, our homes became our offices, our supermarkets, our shopping malls, and everything else that used to require us to go outside. If you are working from a home office, one of the most important things about the new home arrangement is finding a way how to create a productive workspace in a space that is your relaxation and leisure environment. After figuring that out, came other challenges, such as shopping, working out, entertainment, and catering to all our other social needs from home. Naturally, we didn’t need to look further than the internet to provide solutions for most of those issues. So seamlessly, the internet took over, and with its help, we started regaining some semblance of the normality we had.

There are many different e-commerce categories and they are all growing

As soon as people got accustomed to online shopping, it was not only food and home supplies that were in demand. Several different eCommerce categories have seen significant growth during the previous months. Compared to before the pandemic, people now spend more time at home. Many people want to improve their living arrangements, which is one reason why sales of furniture, home decor, and DIY arts, crafts, and accessories have risen significantly over the past couple of years. A new trend has been focusing on sustainability and finding eco-friendly alternatives for common household items, such as all-natural cotton tote bags. Many niche categories are yet to surface, and it’s just a matter of time before the people seeking those things build up the critical mass to get them going.