How COVID-19 has Changed eCommerce Forever

While businesses have found their physical presence eliminated during national lockdowns, online purchases have surged. New customer behaviors, such as bulk-buying and shifting priorities, have also emerged. All of this has necessitated a shift in focus, and while the surge in online sales provides a welcome boost for online retailers, it also brings with it a new set of challenges. Only those businesses that can adapt to tackle those challenges will continue to succeed in fluid and uncertain circumstances.

Digital transformation

The term ‘digital transformation’ has been on everyone’s lip for several years, covered in depth everywhere from hastily written LinkedIn articles to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Digital transformation is all about encouraging organizations to keep step with the pace of technological change, emphasizing the importance of transitioning from legacy systems to new structures with a digital identity.

Many business leaders charged with leading this transformation have come up against countless challenges, and discovered that many organizations are wedded to outdated means of operation. In industries traditionally reliant on a physical presence and consumer footfall – such as retail - the transition has been difficult.

Enter Coronavirus. The global pandemic has been a brutal wake-up call to those that might have viewed digital transformation as optional, or of low priority. Since the outbreak in early 2020, organizations have scrambled to implement remote-working systems and redesign the way their customers find and interact with their products. Where before, a successful ecommerce presence might have meant an edge on the competition, it can now mean the difference between failure and survival.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the urgency of digital transformation, making ecommerce an essential part of every business. Whether you’re selling to the general public or servicing a niche sector, you can no longer afford to let digitization pass you by.

As ecommerce becomes ever more central to a successful business operation, the ability to deliver innovative consumer marketing and customer experience will set the best apart from the rest.

D2C (direct-to-consumer marketing)

With brands able to deliver directly to the consumer without the need for an intermediary, the importance of direct-to-consumer marketing (D2C) has been drastically elevated. The surge in online sales and the difficulty faced by smaller businesses has given birth to a new desire in consumers to support local businesses with which they feel a closer connection.

This came about primarily for two reasons. Firstly, there were several high-profile campaigns encouraging support for local businesses especially vulnerable to fluctuations in the market. More importantly, however - and what sustained this – was that customers found their contact experience much richer and more convenient than with many larger or more rigid businesses.

Local businesses often sell directly from their own social media pages, and customers can interact with them directly on instant messaging platforms, engendering a feeling of connection which in turn inspires brand loyalty. Bigger companies can learn from this kind of D2C marketing to design a customer experience with a more personal touch.

Customer experience

Customer experience (CX) has always been important, and not just in ecommerce. But since the outbreak of Coronavirus, it’s taken on a fresh urgency and new dimensions.

In times of crisis, consumers often look to organizations that show genuine care and concern for community wellbeing, and the actions of a business – good or bad – can leave a lasting impression. It’s vital for business leaders to keep touch with changing customer preferences if they’re to survive and excel in the future.

With ecommerce, it’s become essential to be able to meet customers where they are: in their homes. Successful ecommerce enterprises have expanded their home delivery options and implemented contactless operations to keep customers and employees safe.

The ability to tap into consumer moods in real time has also risen to the forefront. eCommerce businesses haven’t been able to rely on the traditional survey model during the pandemic. Instead, using social media to ‘read the room’ is essential to a successful CX strategy, as is building robust and scalable models with agility at their core.

McKinsey also reiterates the importance of authentic company values that take consumer concerns into primary consideration. Companies that offer support over marketing and prioritize the welfare of their employees and the communities they operate in are now better positioned to succeed.

As significant consumer backlashes against companies that go against this mode have demonstrated, the future for ecommerce relies heavily on the ability to deliver a conscious and exceptional customer experience.

The future of ecommerce

The evidence is incontrovertible: the global Coronavirus pandemic is going to have a lasting impact on the way we live and work, and ecommerce has changed forever. As the world recovers from this crisis, businesses that are able to master D2C marketing and offer continual improvements to the customer experience will thrive, but the development of an agile business able to withstand the uncertainties of fluid market conditions will be just as important.

Although the majority of sales still occur in physical locations, it’s likely that COVID-19 will serve to accelerate the shift to online commerce, and its resonance in the psyche of consumers will demand that businesses maintain an emphasis on cause and community within their product offering.