The pandemic was a huge impact on the economy. It led to a lot of death and despair. But it also led to an increased number of online businesses.
Many people found that they could better support their families by selling goods online. They didn’t have to get out of bed or take time off from work, and they could do it from anywhere.
They were more dependent on the internet than ever before due to the pandemic, so it was only logical that they’d want to take full advantage of new opportunities.
Adaptability of Businesses
One most significant characteristic that businesses should acquire is adaptability. Its capability to adapt quickly to a sudden change of situation, no matter how light or severe it is, will make it last in the industry.
It’s been two years since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States prompted many Americans to go into lockdown mode as COVID-19 spread across the country.
Despite this challenge that the market and the whole world have faced, there were still businesses that managed to retain and adapt to the new standard set-up of the world.
COVID-19 Vs eCommerce
COVID-19 has elevated eCommerce to the pinnacle of the retail industry. Before the outbreak, the global growth rate of eCommerce was 4.5% per year.
However, this year’s retail landscape has undergone significant changes, mainly due to health-related restrictions on transportation and an increase in the inclination of customers to avoid physical locations.
In general, businesses that could adapt to digital platforms prospered, whereas traditional merchants with weak online strategies shrank, and several famous ones filed for bankruptcy.
Ecommerce sales reached new heights due to an influx of customers purchasing necessities online.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen a considerable shift from in-person to online commerce. Businesses are under more pressure than ever before to modernize and become digital to keep up with the demands of their customers.
Global Crisis: Bounce in Online Business Sales
Before COVID-19, e-commerce had been gaining ground quickly. The epidemic increased the number of Americans who went online and forced them to spend more frequently on the internet.
Over the past two years, the pandemic gave an additional $218.53 billion to the eCommerce bottom line, according to Digital Commerce 360.
According to Digital Commerce 360 estimates, the coronavirus added $102.08 billion in US eCommerce in 2020 and $116.45 billion in 2021.
Online purchases from US retailers totaled $870.78 billion in 2021, a 14.2% increase over the $762.68 billion spent in 2020.
Digital Commerce 360 forecasts that if the pandemic had not occurred, eCommerce sales would not have hit $870.78 billion for another two years until 2023.
Moreover, by 2021, sales done online would only be worth $754.33 billion.
Shifts in Online Sales by Categories
Electronic devices like televisions, monitors, and game consoles have also upgraded as recreational activities have become digital.
Even though most economies experienced negative growth in the same period due to a massive shift to online activities requiring electronic equipment, the PCD industry experienced year-on-year growth in sales by 11.2% in the second quarter of 2020 (International Data Corporation, 2020).
This sale includes desktops, laptops, and other internal devices such as resistors, transistors, thermal fuses. The video game sector gained 155% console sales.
According to research done by JPR, the PC gaming hardware market will expand by 10.3%, with much of the growth coming from gamers upgrading their systems during quarantine periods.
The expanding needs for electronics by the community have boosted the online businesses of electronic companies.
Key Takeaways
There is still a growing crisis with the COVID-19 epidemic. The COVID-19 outbreak has left the world society grappling with two major issues: health and the economy.
Instead of being swept by the waves of these challenges, people determined to be generation businessmen manage to adapt to changes.
Thus, online businesses tactics have gained a great deal of boost during the pandemic years.
