The e-commerce sector gets a boost from the crisis

The e-commerce sector has been boosted by the health crisis. E-merchants need to adapt their delivery models and think in the long-term in order to to retain new e-consumers that they have gained as a result of the new – and probably temporary – situation.

E-commerce is the big winner of the crisis

Are e-merchants the big winners of the Covid-19 crisis? Quite simply, the answer is yes. The bottom line is: everything that’s no longer accessible or undesirable to obtain in physical stores is available online.

In the last quarter, e-commerce giant Amazon’s profits were 3 times higher than what they were for the same period in 2019.

E-commerce sites are the default beneficiaries of the current crisis. A merchant site is continuously accessible – 24/7, and with no restrictions.

However, in France for example, only 30% of small traders have a website, which is very regrettable given the context. France’s delay in digitizing is being felt by those that are now faced with the most difficult economic conditions: small businesses.

Focus: Food e-commerce

The lockdowns put in place across Europe have greatly intensified the demand for food e-commerce in 2020.

Essentially all distributor profiles have registered record demand since the start of the crisis. Drivers, delivery platforms and other marketplaces are all experiencing rocketing sales and growth.

On the other hand, very few distributors were ready to respond to such a spike in activity. Conversely, e-commerce players have displayed responsiveness and adaptability to the situation.

The challenge going forward for e-merchants is to retain consumers gained through the crisis, and to anchor the purchasing of food and other products via the Internet in their habits.

In light of this, supermarkets have revised their ambitions upwards in the food e-commerce sector (including for fresh and ultra-fresh products). Many of them have set goals to achieve three quarters of their sales through online commerce.

These are some of the e-commerce projects of well-known French supermarkets:

• Leclerc hopes to retain its leading position in the food e-commerce market thanks to its booming pedestrian drives.

• Carrefour has invested in an online marketplace for food products.

Along with click-and-collect devices, e-commerce brands continue to invest in home delivery services.

Home delivery is still proving difficult to normalize for consumers. In fact, when it comes to food shopping, customers are still reluctant to pay additional costs for home delivery.

Entrust us with the development of your e-commerce site

You can increase the chances for your e-commerce project to be successful by opting to leverage the support of digital experts. The development of a commercial or e-commerce site is an undertaking that requires advanced technical skills and know-how.

At Bocasay, our developers are masters of the technologies and tools of e-commerce projects.

From design to launch, get support from one of our developer teams. Doing so will allow you to free up precious time to focus on the logistics and marketing of your e-commerce site. We’ll provide you with a talented team to develop a robust and reliable site, so you can focus on growing your e-commerce business.