Online Shopping Growth in 2020
The coronavirus has accelerated the shift towards online shopping in the UK and other parts of the world. This change was happening before the virus, but at a slower rate because of factors such as:
- Online shopping is more convenient
- Growth in digital payment methods
- More people are using the internet to get information
- Increase in the number of products available online
How Coronavirus Contributed to the Growth of Online Shopping in the UK
Coronavirus resulted in some businesses being shut down entirely for health purposes. People were encouraged to remain indoors for their safety, which resulted in some businesses not getting customers at all. There were also business owners in the UK who decided to shut their businesses to avoid welcoming too many people into their premises.
The unprecedented closure of some businesses resulted in people having to shop from their homes. Even if you were not very conversant with online shopping, you had to learn and adapt since it was the only available method of buying the things you wanted in your home. Even the restaurants that remained open could deliver food to families in their homes.
Movement Restrictions
When coronavirus became a national disaster in the UK, authorities came up with movement restrictions and lockdowns. The curfews, lockdowns, and movement restrictions forced more people to remain in their homes, and the only way such people could shop is through online shopping.
The situation became even worse when lockdowns became stricter, where many people could only stay in their homes. There were a lot of people who had money but could not go to stores and shop because of the lockdowns. Such people could also not find conventional stores to shop from, and as a result, the only option to get what they wanted was through online shopping.
How Businesses Have To Adopt
The rapid growth of online shopping in 2020 has also forced businesses to adopt. Businesses that were not interested in having an online presence had to look for ways to reach out to their online customers. These are businesses in almost every sector since the virus affected almost all businesses.
Statistics show that even the big stores that mostly rely on walk-in customers had to shift their attention to online shoppers. Such businesses had to develop means to ensure the products purchased by customers get to them on time. These businesses had to adapt, or otherwise, they would have to shut down.
There are also a lot of businesses that had to either let go of some of their employees or allow them to work from home. The employees working from home mainly offered different kinds of services which were needed even during the pandemic. Because of this, customers would order such services from their homes to enhance their safety.
Therefore, the measures to deal with coronavirus have directly resulted in the rapid growth of online shopping. Consequently, you might have to get used to doing your shopping online because of the changes that have happened to online shopping in the UK, mostly because of the coronavirus.