E-COMMERCE CONTINUES TO SURGE AS THE PANDEMIC PUSHES ON

German statistics portal Statista has revealed that retail platforms across the world have undergone a 6 percent global traffic increase between January and March 2020. A look at the how fashion brands and retailers are capitalizing on this opportunity ...

- Shivam Gautom

As the COVID-19 pandemic made its way around the world, keeping shoppers at home and away from physical stores, web sales have seen a significant spike over the last few months. From a consumer perspective, the shift was obvious – from the initial days of lockdown to now, when stores re-opened, the fear of contagion remained constant and e-commerce quickly became a saving grace for shoppers desperate for products without the stress of stepping out of their homes.

“Given the pandemic, consumers are less confident with shopping offline and are opting for e-commerce sites to shop for fashion and daily necessities. E-commerce has definitely emerged as the strongest retail channel today and has seen a great uplift in the intent of people wanting to buy online,” says Umashan Naidoo, Head of Customer, Westside.

American multinational investment management firm Goldman Sachs has, in its report ‘Global Internet: E-commerce’s Steepening Curve’, noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has driven a doubling of penetration of e-commerce globally. “The pandemic has driven an acceleration in the adoption of countless technologies and consumer behaviours, chief among them being e-commerce. What started at first with panic buying, hoarding and nest feathering out of necessity has turned into an array of adaptations that have driven e-commerce penetration from 16 percent of retail spending in the US in 1Q19 to over 40 percent in May driven by year -over- year growth of nearly 70 percent,” the report documents.

German statistics portal Statista has revealed in July 2020 that retail platforms across the world have undergone a six percent global traffic increase between January and March 2020.