Online shopping has exploded since Covid-19 came along. And it is not as if it wasn’t already booming beforehand
Since the first online purchase in 1994 (A Compact Disc) online shopping has continued to grow and grow every year as the sheer amount of us buying things online continues to increase. And then the pandemic happened. Suddenly we had to spend a lot of time at home. This and the closing of many non-essential shops meant that online shopping became the only option for a lot of people.
The COVID-19 Effect On Online Shopping
Our shopping habits have changed, possibly for good, and to such an extent that a Bloomberg article on how shopping behaviours have changed for good since the pandemic began states that ‘companies that have prioritized digital will ultimately be the winners in this new era’.
Basically, online shopping is king and will continue to be.
The actual figures of how much online shopping has changed are astounding. For example, as of November 2020 Walmart reported a staggering 79% increase in their e-commerce business in the last quarter. Walmart is a huge company. You can pretty much guarantee that their online sales were already great before the pandemic. Now they are something else.
A survey by the United nations conference on Trade and Development backs up the covid effect as they found that ‘The COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed online shopping behaviours’.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift towards a more digital world. The changes we make now will have lasting effects as the world economy begins to recover,” said UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi.
The evidence is clear. Online business is booming. Just look at Amazon whose global brand value has increased by over $100 billion from 2019 to 2020.
But it isn’t just the global giants who have increased their fortunes. Small businesses that have been quick to adapt have also done well. Businesses like this one which is an online department store..
Read More: 7 Common Mistakes with Online Shopping to Avoid for Beginners
Online Shopping After Covid-19
It seems that the pandemic and the resulting changes in our behaviour and society at large will continue to play a part in our online shopping future.
The traditional form of high street shopping has taken a massive blow after years of struggle against its online competition and one has to wonder if it will ever rise again. People have become afraid, are conscious of any people near them, and would rather not take the risk of getting exposed to a potentially dangerous virus. That is all easily avoided by shopping online, especially for any bulky products relating to home and garden such as beds, or mattresses or other large items..
Regardless of how the after-effects of the pandemic playout you can be sure that enough of our shopping habits have changed that we may just continue to shop that way. Maybe you like getting your shopping delivered and are happy to keep getting it that way. Maybe you’ve found that shopping online can be done pretty quickly and frees up a lot of time to do other things. Maybe you feel safer just avoiding people in public. The reasons we have for shopping online are many and the reasons for not shopping online are few. It is no wonder that we have so easily, and readily, adapted to shopping online. Not only is it extremely convenient and accessible but you also have such an array of choice. A world of goods is effectively at your fingertips. From the global giants of Amazon, to the various leaders in their fields, it isn’t that you are just spoilt for choice. It is also because those choices are also very good.
