Are e-commerce stores playing the pandemic lottery?

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I’ve lost track of how many times people have asked me if I think the shift in consumer spending from physical or traditional retail to online retail will continue.

The truth is, the swing was already happening, with online retail already expanding rapidly every year before the global pandemic took hold. Online retail spending has grown rapidly from around 10% of total retail spending to 16% at the start of 2021 (according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics).

Australian Post 2021 Ecommerce Industry Report, published in March, showed that 9 million households had purchased online in 2021, including 1.3 million households that had not purchased online in 2019, for a total of over $ 50 billion, or 57% more than the previous year.

While some online retailers needed to find larger wallets to hold their hundreds, this was not the case for all, as what was widely seen as a tailwind for some online retailers could potentially be viewed as a tailwind for some online retailers. headwind for others. The balance between supply and demand has rarely seen such a shock during this pandemic, as people have reacted in obvious ways, like canceling vacations and restaurant visits, and stocking up on things like … toilet paper .

There is no doubt that some retailers have been offered a helping hand – online stores that sold party products or cocktail dresses, for example, have seen steep declines during closings, losing as much as 80 % of their daily sales overnight during peak closings.

On the other hand, some categories of online retail got the winning numbers in the COVID-19 lottery, such as housewares and home entertainment devices, and of course online gym equipment retailers. .

Brick and mortar retailers generally have the right to feel mistreated. While there is no doubt that some have managed to adapt and thrive – like JB Hi-Fi, which saw a 12.6% increase in their annual income – they also had a winning lottery ticket. COVID, Selling Perfect Lockdown Products With A Strong Online Presence.

Of course, with the boom in e-commerce, prospectors have come; Trend data from Google shows that search volume in Australia for the phrase “how to sell online” has never been higher than it is today.

For newcomers or those planning to jump into online retailing, know that not all that glitters is gold (unless you’re selling toilet paper and face masks!). Just because I can locate the timing belt in my car doesn’t mean I should go ahead and change it because, as my wife will tell you, I’m no handyman.

The same goes for an online newbie: while setting up an online store is straightforward – thanks to DIY platforms like Shopify – it is only about 1% of the work. Online retailers need to see the product as one of the absolute keys to growth – always has been, always will be.

While it’s easy to say that retailers should always have been nimble, and all the other buzzwords, the reality is that equal businesses could have performed brilliantly before the pandemic and fell off a cliff in the middle of it. the pandemic; while one named the directors, the other could have rung the bell when they were floated on the stock market.

So if you are thinking of getting into the ecommerce arena, or are currently waiting for the next pandemic, hopefully you will pull off a winning ticket.


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