Extra Compassion
It’s no secret that many folks are strapped for cash after the events of the past year, and when it comes to shopping for essentials like food, medicine, and automotive needs, some businesses are stepping up to offer support where it counts.
“We have continued selling our wheels and tires through our website during the pandemic and we have remained extra flexible and considerate with our payment plans during these times,” said Matt Seaburn, President and Partner of Rent-a-Wheel. “The pandemic has been difficult in many ways for many people and we want our customers to know that we understand.”
Just a little bit of flexibility goes a very long way to differentiate a brand during hard times.
Staffing Challenges
We often think about the customer side of things when thinking about pandemic e-commerce trends, but what about the people staffing the companies that provide products and services? They’ve had obstacles of their own, with plenty of creative solutions to overcome them.
“The pandemic effectively showed us that the talent pool was widening with employees wanting to work remotely which enabled us to further our reach,” said Dan Potter, co-founder of CRAFTD London. “However, two main issues that initially began to happen once we gained more employees and worked with companies outside the U.K. were finding the most effective real-time form of communication given the time zone differences and implementing a work structure. Overall, it was a challenge for everyone, however, our adaptability and the fact that we set our company up in a way that was almost pandemic proof benefited us tremendously.”
Many businesses are reporting higher output and stronger team dynamics post-pandemic, so perhaps this was a minor silver lining.
Big-Ticket Customers
Sure, we all order paper towels, bottled water, and the occasional piece of pricey electronic equipment, but what about the huge business orders that still need to happen everyday to keep the world running?
You guessed it — they’re happening online, and there have been some hiccups along the way.
“The main way e-commerce has been impacted by the pandemic is that an increasing number of people have been using it for personal and business purposes,” said Dennis Hegstad, co-founder of LiveRecover. “With an increasing number of online shoppers, there have been huge ramifications that have affected the supply chain and inventory at many companies. As a result, orders have often been delayed, and some companies are facing product shortages like never before. Many experts are now predicting that the trend in online shopping is here to stay.”
As the economy returns to full steam, we’ll see how businesses prepare for another scenario like the one we just endured. We hope there’s a better plan for next time!
Smart Shipping
Remember at the beginning of the pandemic, when shipping times seemed to take forever? Being stuck at home certainly didn’t help our perception of time passing, but this was just part of the deal for a world that had hit the brakes.
“E-commerce alone has not changed too much, fundamentally, but shipping speed has,” said Mary Berry, founder and CEO of Cosmos Vita. “Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions leading to less employees working at a given time at shipping companies, shipping speed has decreased and more shipping complications have arisen. This has been frustrating for many people because of the stay-at-home orders over the past year, as shopping online has often seemed like the safest or sometimes the only option, depending on the product needed. We assure these customers that we sympathize with their concerns and we reship their product as swiftly as possible.”
Now that shipping is back up and running in full, we all need to appreciate the logistics side of e-commerce a bit more and not take it for granted.
Employees Step Up
We hear a lot about the heroes of the pandemic, from the medical professionals in hospitals to the retailers working on the front lines. The people at the desks running the e-commerce machine also deserve a shoutout, because they have given so much as well.
“We are seeing an acceleration of the trend to democratize the workplace,” said Diane Gherson, chief human resource officer at IBM. “During these last few months, digital technology has flattened hierarchies, with everyone connected and getting information at the same time, and so many channels for employee input and involvement in decision-making in real time.”
The employees of today will be the leaders of tomorrow, so listen to what they have to say!
Higher Expectations
Most customers have a few e-commerce experiences under their belt by now, and they can tell good service from bad. Expectations are rising, and brands will need to step up their game even further to maintain an advantage.
“Because of the pandemic, customers expect more for their online shopping experience,” said Bill Glaser, CEO of Outstanding Foods. “Online shopping has seen a major boom, and smaller online stores have needed to find ways to compete with big box retailers and sites by offering stellar customer service. Live chat capabilities are the future of customer service, but understanding that your customers will expect immediate feedback and responses, efficient shipping, and easy returns will better prepare you to meet the needs of the hour.”
Just being online is no longer a differentiator — you need to be the best in your niche, whatever it may be.
Better Than Brick?
There’s really nothing that compares to being in a store and getting up close and personal with merchandise, especially in certain industries like fashion, food, etc.
Many brands are trying to replicate the brick-and-mortar experience online, and progress has been made — but can it compete with reality in the long run?
“The pandemic proved that the future of retail is e-commerce,” said Yuvi Alpert, founder, creative director, and CEO of Noémie. “This coming generation of luxury shoppers expects online experiences to be even better than in-person retail experiences. From texting with a customer service agent to discovering a new brand on social media, the new luxury consumer expects technology to create a more convenient shopping experience. My company, Noémie, was already committed to creating a seamless direct-to-customer online retail experience, and this unprecedented year showed us that our remote business model is the future of jewelry retail.”
We expect real-life retail and e-commerce to blend into one cohesive experience before long.
Key Partnerships
You may have noticed an increase in collaborations and crossovers in recent months. That’s because many brands learned that they can’t work alone in terms of marketing and audience building. Overall, this is a good thing for the future of e-commerce.
“Stay-at-home orders made influencer partnerships and grassroots social media marketing even more important for e-commerce growth,” said Rachel Geicke, founder and CEO of Snow Monkey. “Finding influencer partnerships within your niche is an extremely effective and simple way to perform targeted grassroots marketing online — just don’t try to market on every social platform. There are tons of phenomenal marketing tactics and tools available that can impact your business online, but they can be a detriment if you are too focused on trying to do it all to really optimize your content.”
The best route is to pick two or three social media platforms that best fit your brand aesthetic and audience, then build a following that will reward you for years to come.
First Timers
If you’re reading this article, you are probably well versed in e-commerce and the trends of the internet in general. However, there is still a huge portion of the population still figuring out this whole “shopping online” thing, if you can believe that!
“During the pandemic, many people found themselves shopping and ordering products online for the first time — ever,” said Travis Killian, CEO of Everlasting Comfort. “While that may sound difficult to believe, we still live in a world filled with customers who prefer shopping in brick-and-mortar stores, so taking the plunge to buy from e-commerce stores was a pretty big deal to some. And now that we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, many consumers have found that shopping online is actually more convenient – and safer. So, the typical demographics have changed some, as more people begin to see that shopping in a store is often too big of a hassle.”
We’re glad to see that the worst of the pandemic is behind us, and that we can once again enjoy all the good things in life we’ve been missing. E-commerce is here to stay, however, so keep these insights in mind as you shop and build your forthcoming business plans.
