Covid-19 impact: the accelerated shift to online retail
3 minute read
COVID-19 has clearly been a catalyst for structural change. Online sales in Europe hit record highs during lockdowns as consumers embraced e-commerce options for the first time across many categories, while online dependency grew for others.
This is the first of five articles based on a wider piece of research on the true cost of the shift to online across Europe by Retail Economics and Alvarez and Marsal.
Inevitably, many consumers will revert to previous shopping habits once the impact of the pandemic recedes, but a significant proportion of consumers have spent more time browsing, researching and purchasing online, with these new online behaviours cemented, after having broken through the initial barriers of setting up online accounts, entering payment details and overcoming issues of trust and convenience.
Step change in online sales across key European markets - Online as a proportion of retail (%)
Source: Euromonitor, Retail Economics and Alvarez & Marsal analysis (includes the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland)
Our research shows that just under a third of European consumers think their shopping habits will change permanently because of COVID-19, with a significant and permanent shift towards online shopping particularly for Apparel, Homewares and Electricals.
We have identified three distinct consumer-driven shifts that differ by category:
- Step-change in behaviour: high levels of online discovery that is likely to persist after the pandemic recedes.
- Sticky potential: some momentum in new online experiences showing potential to stick after the pandemic recedes.
- Revert to old ways: online experiences have been less convenient compared to traditional shopping, or online had already taken hold before the pandemic
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