While online shopping and e-commerce models of business already cemented their presence way back before the pandemic hit the world which means there is no doubt it has changed the industry forever.

One of the finest responses to the current global health threat on people has been bulk-buying, buying, when, and how.
According to a recent study by UN News, global e-commerce jumped to $26.7 trillion fuelled by COVID-19.

The digital retail economy experienced tremendous growth. The UK saw a spike in online transactions over the same period whereas this increase was recorded from 15.8% to 23.3%.

China experienced an increase going from 20.7% to 24.9%, and the US-registered 11% to 14% increase. In light of this information.

let’s take a quick look at how COVID-19 caused the e-commerce trends in business.

Brick and Mortar Going Online

One of the most striking reasons why the e-commerce model received a tremendous boost during the COVID-19 initial breakout was that many Brick and Mortar businesses were severely impacted.

With a business model that ran primarily on customers visiting physically located stores, the pandemic ensured that all non-essential businesses shuttered down.

Hence, we observed several Brick and Mortar companies going online to keep their businesses running with nowhere else to go. Some prime examples included the likes of TYLER’s, Sara Campbell, and Lammes Candies, to name a few.

With no option to keep their customers in contact, offering them an online experience while keeping them connected with their brands, products, and services was a reasonable decision indeed.

Digital Transformations of SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises are independent firms with much fewer employees.
During the pandemic, the digital transformation for SMEs saw a definite burst.

While SMEs tend to digitalize for general administration or marketing functions first, however, COVID-19 quickly brought in the will to survive and sustain the business into existence.

No doubt, the pandemic served as an accelerator as sorts.

Hoarding Household Essentials

During a pandemic, buyers showed unique panic buying trends, which soon transformed into meticulous hoarding of household essentials.

In case matters didn’t resolve and took the turn for the worst, their purchases meant that they could bear the storm while it wails outside their humble abode.

This was more of an instinctual decision to survive the unforeseeable, and in dire circumstances, we certainly can’t blame them for thinking for the worst and preparing for it.

There was no wonder in many stores around the planet that there was a marked observance of shortage of tissue papers and hand sanitizers, though the panic attack didn’t last long, and people were quick to come to their senses.

Generational Buying

Behavior Millennials and Gen Z were more concerned about the pandemic and its effects on the economy, which led to cutting back on spending while still stocking up on items and spending less on experiences.

On the other hand, Gen X and Boomers went overboard, and many of them let the pandemic dictate the items they purchased.

More surprisingly, the gender difference in shopping during the pandemic was also an eye-opener as Men were found to be shopping online more often than women, thus avoiding in-store experiences.

Increase in Grocery Purchases

If the pandemic taught anything about consumer behavior, we simply could not live without our groceries.

By the second week of March, e-commerce sales for those offering grocery items simply soared when shoppers decided to turn their attention towards finding goods online.

More Time Spent on the Internet

With people asked to stay at home, businesses offering workers telecommuting and remote work options, and students requested to join online classes.

COVID-19 got everybody crammed up indoors which meant more time spent on the internet and devices and less time spent outdoors, socializing, playing favorite sports, dining out, going to the movie theatres, and whatnot.

Effectively more internet use meant more social media and online interactions.

Brands and businesses who were quick to identify this found themselves in a lucrative position to promote their e-commerce businesses by releasing new content and rolling out ads to get even more attention.

Subscription Services

In the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, people worldwide, including the US and UK, started filling out subscription services like never before.

The subscription business model is designed on the principle where the customer pays a recurring price at regular intervals to continue accessing and consuming the product.

While it initially started for book publishers and periodicals, today, almost every business in the world is more than willing to offer such services.

Not only did subscription services increased for entertainment-related industries such as the boom Netflix got, but it also included retail subscriptions.

This meant that 50% of companies that still had subscription services as an offer up their sleeve did indeed manage to grow with the consumer and customer demand surge during the pandemic.

Young learners who request maestros to write my essay for me would also consider subscription services for the bit of discount they offer in their packages.

Trade Made Safer

With online shopping websites gaining an incredible amount of traffic, home deliveries made shopping convenient and safe during the pandemic.

Not only were people able to maintain proper social distancing measures many services that we’re offering door-step delivery also included options that could make the person delivering your order be reminded and keep their distance from you.

I know this because I recently picked up a meal order for my beloved, and the delivery man simply stayed away while allowing me to pick up the parcel and take it inside our humble abode.