We will look back at 2020 as the moment that changed everything. The whole World has got upside down as this Pandemic has changed the lives of every single human being but nowhere else has unprecedented and unforeseen growth occurred as much as in the digital and e-commerce sectors. This has boomed manyfold amid the COVID-19 crisis.
The ecommerce ecosystem has changed dramatically over the last couple of years. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed businesses to deal with more change than in the previous two decades.
There is a huge shift in demand from brick-and-mortar retail to e-commerce. The COVID-19 crisis has led people in many OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries to significantly limit physical interactions. …which kind of compelled them to go online.
In the United States, retail and food services sales between February and April 2020 were down 7.7% compared to the same period in 2019.
How Indian e-commerce will grow about 84% in 4 years, due to Covid-19 impact: Study
“The Indian eCommerce industry has witnessed a huge surge due to COVID-19 and there is substantial room for future growth as well,” said Phil Pomford, managing director of Asia Pacific, Worldpay from FIS.
The report said India’s e-commerce market will be driven by online/mobile shopping, projecting it to grow 21 per cent annually over the next four years. Digital wallets to grow 40 per cent, followed by credit cards with approx 15 per cent and debit cards to almost 14 per cent . These are the most popular payment methods online in 2020.
The capability of eCommerce is no longer limited to just traditional websites, as physical retail has blended with the digital world now. The shop floor is now in the palm of our hands and consumers expect the same hassle free and convenient shopping experience whether they are purchasing from an app, or through their social feeds.
“Businesses will be successful if they put customer experience at the heart of every check out process. Those who position themselves with digital payments will be well-positioned to capture the next wave of growth in the retail and eCommerce market in India,” said the report.
Conclusion
The intensity with which the crisis has change the world, the result will be witnessed for in many more coming years. For some businesses, though, COVID-19 has created opportunities as well as challenges. E-commerce, in particular, looks set for a boom that will last far longer than the pandemic itself. Consumers, by necessity, have come further around to the benefits of shopping online. Forward-thinking firms, then, should be preparing now for the upcoming post-Covid era. This is the one that will be more digitalized than ever before.