The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital shopping by about five years since March, according to IBM’s annual US Retail Index Study, which found the pandemic has spurred more people to purchase products online to a level that probably wouldn’t have been seen until 2025.
While consumers have gradually increased their digital shopping over the past few years, as the novel coronavirus rippled across the United States near the end of the first quarter, consumers shifted their purchases online, and e-commerce sales accelerated from plus 13 per cent growth in the first quarter to plus 26 per cent growth in the second, IBM said.The pandemic has accelerated digital shopping by about five years since March, according to IBM's annual US Retail Index Study, which found the pandemic has spurred more people to purchase products online to a level that probably wouldn't have been seen until 2025. But some retailers have benefitted from the pandemic, even while store traffic declined.#
“On the other side, department stores, among other ‘non-essential’ retailers, saw a tremendous deceleration, declining by 25 per cent in the first quarter and 75 per cent in the second quarter. For the full year, e-commerce is projected to grow by nearly 20 per cent, while department stores are projected to decline by over 60 per cent,” it said.
But some retailers have benefitted greatly from the pandemic, even while store traffic declined, according to IBM. For example, JOANN, the nation’s largest fabric retailer, saw demand for materials to make cloth face masks skyrocket, according to IBM. The company was able to lean on its online channel to fulfil sales as inventory inquiries rose four times above its 2019 holiday peak.
The study stresses that retailers must pivot their focus to omni-channel fulfilment capabilities, if they already haven’t.
The study reaffirms the major shift in purchase patterns the pandemic has caused as consumers redefine what’s “essential” to them. As clothing has declined in importance (partially offset by an uptick in leisure wear), categories like groceries, alcohol and building materials/home improvement have all accelerated.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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