Can computer shops open in lockdown?

At the start of the Covid 19, most brands were steadily chugging along the track of business blossoming. In the face of changes partly caused by the pandemic, retailers are finding new ways to capitalize on the convenience economy of online shopping and at-home delivery. Then Covid hit and, almost overnight, sent some hurtling up a vertiginous track at lightning speed. Because a global pandemic indicated people behaved differently. They went online and bought things they’d normally buy in-store (or wouldn’t buy at all).

Demand for multi-channel and e-commerce brands in sectors like home and garden, food and drink, and health and beauty rocketed. These in-demand businesses hastily adapted. They turned stores into warehouses, polished their websites, and pivoted their marketing strategies. The COVID-19 crisis accelerated an expansion of e-commerce towards new firms, customers and types of products. It has provided customers with access to a significant variety of products from the convenience and safety of their homes, and has enabled firms to continue operating in spite of contact restrictions and other confinement measures. 

Some of these changes in the e-commerce landscape will likely be of a long-term nature, in light of the possibility of new waves of the epidemic, the convenience of the new purchasing habits, learning costs and the incentive for firms to capitalize on investments in new sales channels.

In March 2020, much of the world went into lockdown, forcing many businesses to temporarily shut down. Countries are gradually relaxing restrictions, but the future is still uncertain. Even businesses that are reopening have restrictions enforcing social distancing, the wearing of masks, and limits on how many customers can enter a space at one time. When traditional shopping becomes difficult, or may even be scary, people are increasingly inclined to shop online. The highest increase has been in the countries that have been hardest hit by the pandemic. The fact that consumers were already embracing Amazon and other online retailers with open arms made this transition considerably easier. 

There’s a good chance that this trend will continue in the post-quarantine world. The advantages of online shopping aren’t going to disappear even when retail businesses reopen fully. All of this points to why this is the ideal time to either start or double down on your e-commerce efforts. More and more, customers now appreciate the convenience of online shopping.	

To conclude all this, while the restrictions imposed by COVID-19 may have made online shopping even more appealing, this is actually a long-term trend that’s likely to continue well into the post-pandemic future. In order to make the most of this, businesses need to offer transparency, flexible policies, and convenient omnichannel solutions for shoppers. More and more, customers now appreciate the convenience of online shopping. 

If you want to build your own web shop or have questions relating to e-commerce development platforms or apps, read our blog posts for Shopify and Shopware. Our dedicated outsourcing team can be your collaborator in e-commerce.