Effects of Coronavirus on e-commerce and retail

As  we  follow the news from around the world, we see more and more cases of coronavirus being registered everywhere, including the UK, and governments acting (if not a bit slow) in order to protect the population and contain the virus. The UK Chief Medical Officers have raised the risk to the public from low to moderate 

Due to the  outbreak of coronavirus we expect (offline) retail sales will now drop as less people will choose to go to the shops and have relaxing shopping experience, preferring to stay at the safety (and self-imposed considerate isolation) of their home instead. 

Since  shopping is an important element of our lives, it is only natural  that an even larger amount of customers than usual will be choosing to place their orders online. We are talking not just ordering items like electronics, clothing, toys, etc but most importantly groceries and essentials.

Another interesting trend  is that people tend to stock up a bit, in case of issues with supply - hence we expect that more users will be ordering  a  bit extra of various essential items, just incase. At the same time, luxurious items may not be so popular these days as the focus shifts to goods that help support the day-to-day living of households.

We  expect  certain  delays  with  order processing and dispatching. This is because some or all of the warehouse staff may be asked to stay at home for a short while, and also because of the increase of the sheer number of Ecommerce orders.

We  also expect certain delays in getting orders delivered as the delivery services will be overloaded and also some drivers may too be asked to self-isolate as a precaution measure.

So here is how we see affect of the coronavirus on the

Ecommerce industry

1. Shift of focus from luxurious goods to essentials, especially groceries 

2. Increase in the number of orders across various industries, even those where retail used to be the #1 choice

3. Delay in order processing, dispatch and delivery due to the increased number of orders and  potentially reduced number of warehouse staff members and delivery drivers

Is your Ecommerce business affected by the current situation? Share your thoughts and experiences!