The COVID 19 crisis has affected every industry out there and eCommerce is no different. Fortunately, the impact has been mostly positive for businesses that had the resources in place to handle the influx of customers ordering online from home.
Take the British online grocery delivery service Ocado as an example. In the month of April, the eCommerce giant reported a 40% increase in sales compared to the same month last year. While some of that growth might be a result of their excellent marketing, the current pandemic has fueled the bulk of it, no doubt.
The same holds true for eCommerce companies across the world. For instance, a recent analysis by Digital Commerce 360 found that the top 2000 eCommerce companies saw, on average, a 125% increase in traffic between March and June 2020.
Let’s see what’s driving that growth.
Why eCommerce is Booming During COVID 19
The easiest way to understand the sudden uptick in eCommerce adoption is to take a step back and consider things from an average customer’s perspective.
The nationwide lockdowns left consumers with no choice but to order online from the comfort of their homes. And they did so gladly as ordering online meant minimal, if not zero, contact with any outsiders — thus bringing their risk of contracting the coronavirus down to almost nothing.
It’s true that some people didn’t feel the need for total isolation and took more liberties. Yet they ordered online all the same as local retail stores were closed during the lockdown and still struggle to maintain stock today.
Now, you might think this growth will vanish once the pandemic is finally over. But experts suggest otherwise. That’s because a lot of the growth has come from customers who were reluctant to try eCommerce before.
Now that they’ve experienced the comfort and competitive pricing of modern eCommerce, consumers are highly unlikely to give up on buying online anytime soon.
Time to Go Online
To sum everything up, there are more customers online than ever and your business can tap into that growth by launching an eCommerce store.
That said, starting an online store is not easy. Running one successfully is even harder. To set your store up for success, you need to provide a great online shopping experience. Here are a few tips on how to do that:
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Keep Customers Informed. Whether it’s the product information or the delivery date, you need to keep it clear, up to date, and easily accessible for your customers. For instance, if your logistics provider is struggling to deliver on time, be sure to let your customers know in advance.
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Provide a Modern Shopping Cart. Modern shopping carts let customers easily keep track of their items, relevant taxes, and shipping costs. All of this ensures that there are no surprises later.
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Offer Helpful Suggestions. By adding features like related products and search suggestions, you can directly elevate the shopping experience for your customers and revenue for your business at the same time. Talk about a win-win!
As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into setting up an online store. So if you’d like to work with a website designer that knows the ins and outs of both design and eCommerce, get in touch today.