Retail and Coronavirus: The Trends You Need to Follow

As many countries are still under lockdown restrictions, the pandemic is changing the way people are interacting with one another, and many retailers are struggling to keep up. They understand that the situation is changing and developing, but this does not give them a whole lot of time to respond. This is why we decided to assemble a list of top trends you need to be following to try and stay ahead of the curve as much as possible. The COVID shopping trends listed below will help you prepare for the long-term implications and also help you lesson the short-term shock. 

E-commerce During Coronavirus Will Continue to Grow 

According to recent data, e-commerce has already surpassed levels not expected until 2025. In fact, e-commerce is expected to bring in more than $843 billion this year. Also, 2022 is expected to be the first trillion-dollar year for e-commerce. Such growth in the e-commerce sphere has helped offset some of the retail store closings due to the Coronavirus. As we see from the data above, the coronavirus shopping frenzy is expected to continue shortly, and you need to make sure that you have all of the tools you need to get in on the action. This starts with having a powerful e-commerce platform, like Magento, that can handle all user traffic and the wide variety of products that you will be putting up for sale on the website. Since this is one of the most critical aspects of your business, it is a good idea to hire a mobile commerce development company to set it up and customize it for you. 

On a similar note, we see that COVID-19 is accelerating the adoption of real-time payment solutions such as Apple Pay, Venmo, Zelle, and many others. The number of transactions using real-time payment apps increased last year to $70.3 billion, which is a significant increase from 2019, which was around $50 billion. Therefore, your e-commerce platform must offer such conveniences to your customers, which is another reason why you get professional assistance with setting up your online store. 

The Sales of Apparel is on the Rise

We already established that coronavirus retail is growing, but we see a very big increase in apparel sales. Perhaps one of the driving forces behind this trend is the increased amount of time people are spending at home, and they need comfortable clothing to wear around the house. In fact, online apparel sales accounted for 38.6% of total U.S. apparel sales in 2019 and 100% of the growth in retail clothing sales. Therefore, not only do you need to be able to list all of your products on the website, but you also need to push your customers to buy. This can be difficult since clothing items are very personal, and people are hesitant to make such a purchase without trying it on first. Fortunately, retailers have figured out a solution for this challenge as well, which brings us to our next trend. 

Using AR to Bridge the Distance Gap 

More and more retailers are using AR to help their customers with online shopping during COVID. AR is very useful for assisting customers in previewing an item in its eventual environment, which addresses one of the underlying fears of retail during Coronavirus, which is coming in contact with surfaces. AR is also giving Coronavirus e-commerce a boost by bridging the gap of not seeing the item in real life. This is very important for apparel items mentioned earlier and for things like makeup which needs to adapt to each person’s needs. However, AR can also help you choose things like decor and furniture items by showing you how they would look in your home, something that is critical for online shopping during Coronavirus. Recent data shows that 38% of companies are already using AR to deliver immersive shopping experiences to their customers. This number is expected to grow given all of the benefits offered by AR. 

Grocery Shopping During Coronavirus is Growing

According to data from Forbes, in 2019, 81% of consumers had never bought groceries online, but during the pandemic, nearly 79% of shoppers have ordered online. Given the Coronavirus shopping panic we saw during the first months of the pandemic, it is no wonder that so many customers prefer to buy their groceries online. This has done shopping during COVID so much easier since there are no lines to stand in and, if a store is out of a particular item, you can always find it somewhere else. Such online shopping during COVID is expected to continue since it offers speed, convenience, and safety. 

Start Getting in on the COVID-19 Shopping Trends 

As we have seen from the e-commerce COVID trends and statistics presented above, online shopping is growing, and you need to start providing your customers with such conveniences to stay competitive. It can also help you offset some of the costs of paying retail workers during the Coronavirus. Skywell Software provides comprehensive development of retail software to meet the needs of retail stores during the Coronavirus. We have helped some of the world’s reading brands create customized solutions to meet their business needs. Contact us today to learn about how we can help you.