Groceries and other household essentials are not the only product winners since the global lockdown – there are other products too. A study from growth agency Common Thread Collective, shows the following sectors enjoyed year-on-year sales boosts: medical products (nearly 500%); baby products (nearly 380%); cleaning products (about 200%) and food & beverages (nearly 150%).
Of course, where there are losers too. Despite an overall increase in eCommerce growth, outdoor products, electronics, and sports equipment saw negligible rises in sales. Jewellery, luxury goods, clothes, tools, and travel products all saw year-on-year sales reduce.
The pandemic has spawned a new wave of eCommerce businesses, bringing the future much closer to us. Forbes breaks down the explosion:
- US year-on-year growth reached 68% in mid-April, up from 49% in January
- In the US and Canada, eCommerce orders are up 146%
- February showed a sustained 8.8% rise in online conversions, rates usually seen only on Cyber Monday
It’s thought that customers growing used to the convenience and choice of eCommerce on this scale are unlikely to go back to traditional methods once lockdown and social distancing measures end. In fact, 24% of people say it’ll be another six months at least before they even consider returning to the bricks-and-mortar shopping experience.
So, even if the speed of adoption slows after lockdown, the overall eCommerce landscape has acquired tens of millions of new customers overnight. The news isn’t altogether positive - Q4 2020 could be either a battleground, a laboratory, or a mix of both.
If eCommerce sellers see the next three months as a battleground and compete aggressively for a share of the new market, there could be a bloodbath. There’ll be more products on sale, more competition on price, and more investing in marketing and sales generation.
Others see Q4 as a mid to long-term laboratory. They’ll be fast-tracking and testing new technologies, increasing security measures, and gathering as much data as they can to refine their customers’ path to sale in the long run.
What’s clear is that a thorough understanding of the issues at play, and of the financial performance of the sector, will be key to coming out the other side with a winning business.
Planning carefully is crucial for any plans of international expansion for eCommerce businesses. Adapting your eCommerce business for lockdown
So, we’ve seen that while the impact of coronavirus on eCommerce has been seismic, it’s not all doom and gloom. Some demographics are weathering the storm without necessarily spending less. Some product types are even selling more.
A word from the author:
Our software Profitizer, is an app that makes it easier for eSellers to understand their marketplace profit & loss data from the top of their business right through to individual or grouped product profitability. For Amazon, eBay, Etsy and other marketplace sellers, Profitizer is “Profit and loss, made simple”.
Find out more: https://www.profitizer.app
#profitizer #amazonfba #fba #ebayseller #etsyseller #walmartseller
