How the Covid 19 pandemic changed e-commerce
There are few that are emerging as winners from the Corona pandemic. One is online retail. But how has it changed and what trends are coming up for 2021? This article sheds light on the darkness.
Online retail has experienced great growth. Here, the IFH Cologne expects a further increase despite high turnover figures of 80 to 88 billion euros. According to forecasts, this figure will rise to 142 billion euros by 2024. The reason for this is the existing trends, which are being driven even further by the pandemic.
The Evergreen among the Trends – Social Commerce
This trend first became established two years ago. Robert Jacobi, Head of Activation at Essence, notes an increasing demand in this area. He goes on to explain that social media, especially through Corona, is even more important for interpersonal communication. The resulting high data quality is therefore not only interesting for the consumer. With the help of the right strategy, social commerce can address the target group even better, which can lead to direct sales results. Nathalia Traxel, Senior Account Manager at MSM Digital Communications, agrees with this opinion.
Hybrid Commerce – when Online and Face-to-Face Commerce operate together
Ayden has concluded in a survey that companies are most likely to survive the pandemic if they rely on both, online and face-to-face commerce.
This phenomenon has become an established trend. It can be observed at IKEA, among others, which has now expanded its online offer, for example through Click & Collect.
Suppliers who were previously only available online are now also showing their presence, occasionally through showrooms.
Conversational Commerce – when the Future becomes Reality
China is far ahead of Western Europe in this respect. With WeChat, the whole of life can be organised. From simple communication between friends through text and voice messages or phone calls, to dating and shopping, this app combines everything in one.
However, it was only a matter of time before others followed suit. WhatsApp, for example, wants to integrate shopping into the app with Carts. The cart, which is supposed to be a kind of shopping cart, will establish a new sales channel. The big advantage of this type of commerce is the much more cost-efficient customer acquisition. While brick-and-mortar or online retailers invest large sums of money here, companies that operate conversational commerce can use these funds for customer care.
Furthermore, chatbots become helpful employees. In order to keep up with the increasing number of enquiries or to better plan meetings, the use of so-called chatbots will become widespread.
Direct-to-Customer instead of going to the Retailer
Manufacturers who actually only sell their products through intermediaries are now increasingly starting to set up their own online shops. This can be observed at Microsoft, for example. Manufacturers are no longer competing on the basis of costs, but on the basis of functions. As a result, more and more special editions are being created, giving rise to new unique selling propositions.
This not only helps the companies to better specify their target group, but also the customers, who can thus better identify with the brand.
Cosmi Ene, CEO of the micro-payment start-up Laterpay, shows another way to bypass retailers and gain direct contact with customers. According to his observations, more and more content creators are becoming entrepreneurs themselves. Furthermore, “companies […] will launch tools and solutions that will help creators connect with their fans more directly and also financially.”
Food is now also available online
In addition to the classic supermarkets such as Rewe and Edeka, the pandemic has also led to the emergence of numerous start-ups that have taken up this shipping of food. In the process, these compete with the already well-known brands on a level playing field.
However, many smaller providers also know how to help themselves and have founded their own delivery service.
Whether at the end of the day the large or small providers will be more successful remains to be seen, as currently Rewe is already reaching its limits.
Service and Accessibility – when the Customer takes Centre Stage
The pandemic has forced manufacturers to inform their customers more frequently about the status of their orders, as there have often been delays in delivery. As customer enquiries often reached the company through a variety of channels, they had to find different and at the same time uncomplicated ways to cope.
Customers appreciate this added value, which is why companies should maintain it even after the pandemic, as it positively influences sales growth.
Another point is the accessibility of the companies. Customers strive for easy ways. These include channels such as WhatsApp, chat or telephone. If it is a minor problem, a knowledge database should be available to provide the appropriate answers. Thus, the trend is moving strongly in the direction of automation.
Sustainability and Environmental Protection – also relevant in Retail
According to a study by the shop solution provider Shopify, 47 percent of respondents said that sustainability is highly relevant to their purchases. Especially among 18 to 34 year-olds, this aspect has solidified. Here, it is even 60 percent for whom sustainability is an important factor.
Accordingly, companies must act, as this will be one of the decisive factors for generating sales in the coming year. The sustainable aspects must be recognisable to the customer throughout the entire customer journey. Starting from the supply chain to the packaging material.
In general, the trends are strong in the areas of digitization, e-commerce and direct customer contact. It becomes clear that sales and marketing should act together instead of separately.
Source Cover Image: iStock / marchmeena29
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