The global lock down has affected us all. While going out to shop was the highlight of the day for most,
doing so has become a threat to our health and for others as well. Online shopping was prevalent for
quite some time. However, the boom and exposure it experienced after the onset of the pandemic is
something magnanimous.

To ensure that there is the least scope for contamination, buyer shopping habits have changed. And, this
is something that is sure to stay for a while, even after we find a cure for this treacherous virus.
With this rapid shift in consumer buying patterns, entrepreneurs have changed and resorted to a
creative approach for their business.

Here is a rundown of the digital transformation for online shopping that took place after COVID-19.

Online Shopping with Safety, Comfort, and Convenience in Charge

Quick Sum-Up of Online Shopping Boom

• In terms of the retail industry, the global sales might dip down by a whopping 5.7 percent by the
  end of the year pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Online cloth purchase is up by 76.7 percent with the online revenue going up by 22.2 percent
• Handcrafted items such as home furnishings and masks saw a sales spike of 146 percent on various marketplaces.
• Online grocery continues to see profitable growth throughout the corona virus scenario. The pickup and delivery services for grocery sales went up a whopping 9 percent in the months of May & June.

What are the new touch-points for e-commerce success?

• Voice assistants for instant query resolve
• Chatbots for round-the-clock help
• Smart devices and apps for easier streamlining of services
• Social media channels for better connectivity

Also Read: Business Challenges Due to COVID – 19

1-Expanded Online Mock-Ups:

Businesses that failed to engage in the eCommerce model during the pandemic scenario have experienced a massive rundown in terms of business. If yours was a brick & mortar retail, it has deemed down to expansion and adoption pertaining to the necessities of an online presence.

Expanding your business to an online platform isn’t as simple as creating a website. It involves a firm establishment of logistics that are necessary for better inbound sales. With an already established warehouse management process, the entire focus now has shifted to the online platform.

2-Better and Safer Payment Choices:

Another change that came around with COVID in the scenario was the inflow of better payment choices. While your traditional shopping scenario involves payment via cash or card, the online platform has modified itself in various ways to tend to the needs of the customers and attract attention.

Apart from options such as:

• Cash-on-delivery
• Credit card
• Debit card

You also get access to payment techniques such as wallets, cashback, and even cryptocurrency for certain business platforms. Apart from the modification of the payment types, customers are now also ensured the safety of these payments, making it convenient and the easier go-to option for daily shopping needs.

3-Change in Logistic Management:

Another thing that jumped up as an issue in the pandemic circumstance was the critical management of the logistics process. With so much manual labor involved, things were deemed to get complicated. However, the need for streamlined management gave rise to several tools and applications that helped track the logistics right from its origin to transit and finally to its destination.

With a reliable tracking system in place, online shopping boomed like never before. Given the fact that minimal physical labor was involved in tracking, the overall cost came down massively. The uncertainty of the items in transit came down when compared to the traditional shopping process, which doesn’t assure the customers of the whereabouts of the product in question.

4-Pay Later Option:

Another factor that brought along a massive change for online shopping after COVID was the introduction of finance or bought now-pay later option. This removed one of the major barriers when it comes to online purchases.

Brands with online presence added a much-needed change to their post-COVID sales. The introduction of the pay-later option removed the purchase barriers in a time when the economy took a major hit, with most buyers clinching their fist for money.

With most buyers unable to pay upfront as jobs were lost due to the pandemic and most stayed home, the pay later option came in massively handy and is here to stay for a long time.

5-Online Ads Took Precedence Over Traditional Ads:

While digital marketing or online ad promotion surely had its day of popularity over traditional marketing techniques, COVID-19 surely changed things massively. The shift to online ads was a magnanimous one.

Platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Google, and more received new limelight for business promotion helping the startups reach their full potential and target the audience in the right way. With no one going out in fear of the pandemic, the safest way to reach the audience/customers is through social media platforms.

6-Paid Search for E-commerce:

The COVID-19 scenario has shifted the complete e-commerce landscape into a loop that has been modified time and again in conjunction with the buyer’s behavior. With things seemingly changing over the night, e-commerce has taken precedence over the brick-and-mortar model.

While the future cannot be predicted, online shopping is sure trending, and entrepreneurs are spending a massive section of their marketing budget on paid search. As per reports, amid the pandemic scene, around $400 Million Dollars were spent on the paid ads by 400+ brands that lead the industry. This money was also spent on getting strategic insights coming from top-ranking PPC experts.

This helped most companies get a major boost over competitors. As the pandemic worsened, most companies geared up for tough competition, and the ones with the best strategies in place won the game. However, the story can turn anytime, given the fact that we do not know the outcome of the COVID scenario.

7-Creativity Pays:

With so much competition trailing over the online platform, it is creativity that took precedence over any other format. Normal everyday strategies were no longer relevant as the customer had a space to compare the services, products, and whatnot.

Any technique that was unique and creative enjoyed prevalence over the standard norms during the pandemic and continues to do so.

Conclusion

While you might not get the same feeling shopping online as you did when shopping out in your favorite mall, this change is here to stay for long. With safety, security, and convenience in place, online shopping has surely boomed in the past few months. So, if you are an entrepreneur or business owner still stuck at the brick-and-mortar model, venturing into this realm would surely be beneficial.