Increase in electronic business during COVID

The hours of confinement have forced us to kill time in many ways. Ideas that were not previously in our heads have flourished and another pandemic has been unleashed: the one of creativity. The virtual space has been filled with new games, songs and even e-businesses that had not been seen before, which shows that the days in quarantine have not been able to defeat the spirit of the most enterprising people, nor with the purchasing needs of consumers.

With half the planet confined, equivalent to more than 3 billion people worldwide, some impact was bound to have on eCommerce. We are going to see what has happened during these months.

This is how electronic businesses grow during the coronavirus pandemic

The COVID-19 arrived when the world was still adjusting to online shopping, but the day we had no choice but to stay at home, an important turning point took place. Electronic shopping immediately began to take off, especially in the pharmaceutical, food and entertainment sectors.

According to Forbes, some data that confirm its growth in different countries are the following:

"In Brazil, computer sales rose by 112% in the first weeks of March, and health supplies by 124%".
"In Argentina, the number of people who made their debut in online shopping increased exponentially (90% of them are adults)".
"Online sales in Chile increased 119% during the last week of March".
"In Bogota, e-commerce grew by up to 28% compared to the weeks prior to COVID-19."

Other data indicate that global e-businesses have grown by 8% and Spain is among the top 10 countries. While some companies have been forced to close down, some others have found the perfect opportunity to expand their businesses and acquire new tailored solutions. It sounds like a paradox, but you'll see it's real.

The anxiety of brands to channel sales through the Internet has unleashed link payment systems in banks such as BBVA (the seller sends the buyer a secure link to make the payment) and Bizum.

The increase of eCommerce in Spain

The coronavirus crisis has impacted our habits, including consumer habits, which has left its mark on digital commerce. From the beginning until the end of the state of emergency, e-commerce sales soared to record numbers:

More than 50% between March and April, although it all depends on the product. In supermarkets and food, for example, they increased fivefold, while sports equipment sales rose by more than 200%. (Cinco Días)
The fall in fashion and footwear (-69%) or pets (-22%) has been offset by the growth in sports sales (191%), furniture (135%), gardening (130%), and pharmacies (26%). (markting4ecommerce)

We can say that eCommerce has matured in record time due to the pandemic caused by the coronavirus. The consumer has increased the number of online purchases and companies have been forced to boost online sales as well as distributors. In fact, it is believed that their pace of work has been similar to that of Black Friday.

COVID-19, an opportunity to digitise your business?

It seems so. Coronavirus has brought some companies the impulse to open their online sales channels. The extension of shopping habits that are increasingly marked by the preference for buying from home has meant that e-commerce has reached more than 12 billion euros in turnover, according to data from the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC).

Regardless of the size of your business, the online universe has become a perfect alternative to enable the sale of your products online. Small family businesses with no online presence have been launched into the world of social networks to generate a new sales channel adapted to current circumstances and new shopping habits.

Did you know that 72% of Spanish people plan to make permanent changes in their shopping habits? Even better, opting for e-commerce. Of course, this is promising news for the eCommerce universe.

Take advantage of this opportunity!

Which sectors have adapted the most to shopping habits?

Since the beginning, there are sectors and activities that, for some reason, have had more presence in the online world. For example: tourism, training and computer science. Now, online demand has expanded to many other sectors that have been forced to adapt their channels and companies to online sales.

A few years ago, many people thought that the food sector and supermarkets were a long way from making such sales, but the COVID pandemic has shown that predictions are not always fulfilled. The same goes for clothes. We all like to go to the shop, see the designs personally and try on the clothes before buying. However, it is one of the sectors that has grown the most in recent years in online shopping.

You don't have to go far to check it out, just take a look at Inditex figures and the announcement of the closure of up to 1200 shops between 2020 and 2022. It seems the company will invest around 1 billion euros in its digitisation.

You don't need to have a business the size of Inditex to bet on the company's digital transformation. What's more, now, we have many possibilities to open an online channel and implement integrated payment gateways with different payment methods. Furthermore, such solutions would help us to increase the number of both domestic and foreign customers in our shop.

These are some of the advantages of betting on online sales in your company: