E-commerce is buying or selling things through an online platform. This includes raw material, products, or any kind of goods and services being bought or sold by a consumer, retailer, or a business. It is just somebody selling anything to somebody through an electronic medium. This shows that E-commerce can be done in different types such as business to business, business to consumer, or consumer to consumer. Classification of these types depends on the behavior of the buyer and the seller. E-commerce was not very known to people earlier, however, because of the innovation and technology taking place in recent years, E-commerce became known to people.
A Tough Period for Online Stores
E-commerce store owners have been trying really hard to gather customers. Although people know about E-commerce now, they are not ready to switch from a physical store to an online store because of some reason. This includes the lack of things physically present at the time of order, the risk of not getting the desired product, the risk of money as many E-commerce stores demand online payments, etc. All of these combined with other factors did not let the customers buy from an online platform. Regardless of this, Esource Parts have been serving the people for more than a decade now. It is solely an E-commerce business but due to its remarkable performance, people have been using it since the beginning. It is valued mainly because of its services such as fast delivery, wholesale prices, and 24/7 online support. One of the reasons people reject online shopping is because they feel like there is no one to answer their queries. Esource Parts consider these queries important and answer them with their 24/7 online support available for customers.
However, the situation of the whole E-commerce industry changed when the COVID-19 arrived. A contagious virus that affects anyone who gets in touch with an infected person or thing. The world has never experienced anything like this and it is really hard to deal with such a disease. The government of each country put rules and regulations in order to fight with the COVID-19. This includes the use of standard operating procedures and lockdown in the countries etc. The SOPs do not allow people to gather at places without a mask and a 6 feet distance. Businesses cannot operate because of lockdowns as people are only allowed to go to the grocery and medical stores. People are told to stay at home until and unless there is a solution to this pandemic. Esource Parts sell things related to mobile and technology that might not be a necessity to some people, but customers increased regardless of the nature of products. They were not allowed to go to shops and people who consider mobile phones and technology as their need to chose Esource Parts in case they need their mobile phones to be fixed or to get an accessory.
Social distancing and staying at home has dwindled the number of people to gather in a single place from thousands to hundreds, to ten. People are not getting the realities of our interconnected world that how a person somehow connects to another. People are reacting in different ways because of this isolation, but one of the key changes is discovered in their shopping behaviors. Although the uncertain consumer demand and supply chain issues affected the E-commerce industry, the COVID-19 brought a large majority of people on E-commerce. People who are not allowed outside are now buying things online. From physical buying to online shopping, people are changing what they are buying, how, and when.
Read here: Safety Accessories For Traveling During COVID-19
Increased Demand for All Goods
The E-commerce industry is classified according to products including grocery items, electronics, healthcare and beauty products, and others. It is true that the COVID-19 has positively affected the E-commerce stores, but this may not be the case for the whole industry. Grocery products that were hardly sold on E-commerce stores are now the most demanding items. Electronic items that were ordered frequently are now experiencing a fall in demand because of low or no income of people. As people are told to stay at home, beauty products faced a decline in their demand too. E-commerce stores are experiencing a drop in casual shopping as well.
Uncertain consumer demand and supply chain issues have affected the E-commerce industry in many ways. One of the reasons for such a problem is panic buying due to coronavirus. The COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic by the WHO and they asked the people to use hand sanitizers, hand soaps, face masks, etc. People responded to this situation by stocking up medical items like hand sanitizers, soaps, face masks, and household essentials such as toilet paper, bread, etc. Soon the online stores struggled to meet the high demands from the customers and high prices from the suppliers. Moreover, the imports and exports were closed due to the pandemic and online stores that import products that faced real difficulty. The only option left for them is to produce it on their own or buy from a local supplier at high prices. This resulted in a noticeable increase in price that made the E-commerce stores lose their customers.
Final Words
The lockdowns and standard of procedures will eventually be lifted by the countries, but millions of people are reinforcing new buying habits. People who did not use E-commerce before and it is only their necessities during the pandemic that made them use it would probably continue to buy through online stores. In many families, online shopping and E-commerce would replace a small visit to stores and malls permanently. As a large number of people approached E-commerce because of the COVID-19, online stores have established themselves and made sure to provide better services so that they would not lose their customers even after the pandemic is over.
It is not only about serving the customers, but E-commerce stores should make sure to serve them in the best possible way. Esource Parts makes sure to follow all the SOPs while they work during the pandemic. All of their employees understand the need for masks, sanitizers, and social distancing and they follow them to save themselves and to save their customers as well. Safety is the topmost priority and Esource Parts would not compromise that in any case.
