The global pandemic brought about various practices that need to be done to ensure that people can still carry out their daily activities, without risking themselves contracting the virus. This includes staying at home as much as possible to avoid unnecessary contact with other people. Hence, work-from-home setups were widely adopted, as well as online learning.
Even e-commerce was revolutionized to cater to the needs of people now resorting to online channels to purchase for their needs. In line with this, below are some of the ways how e-commerce is adapting to the challenges brought about by the pandemic.
Capitalized on New Buying Behaviors
One of the primary strategies that companies implemented to adapt to the new “normal” because of the pandemic is to capitalize on new buying behaviors. For instance, people now search for hygiene kits above anything else, so much that you may want to incorporate these in your business to keep it afloat.
In addition to this, consumers are also leaning towards online payment methods such as direct carrier billing to eliminate their need to have cash on hand for their purchases.
With this online payment method, you only need a four-digit pin code to complete your purchase process. This means that you no longer need to add personal details or fill out lengthy forms for every transaction.
Identify Potential New Targets
The shift in the buying behavior of consumers entailed the need for companies to identify potential new targets to keep their businesses alive in this trying time.
For instance, restaurant suppliers now make their products available in small quantities so that they will also be able to cater to households with a smaller need compared to their original market.
Even apparel brands are focusing on supplying personal protective equipment (PPEs) to medical facilities where it is significantly needed.
Fill Gaps with Local Resources
Because of various lockdowns and quarantine policies implemented, there has been a significant disruption in the supply chains. Because of this, many enterprises need to be creative to fill in the gaps, leveraging on local resources as much as possible.
This is because onshore manufacturing proves to be more resource-intensive during this time, without even a guarantee that the stream of goods will be seamless.
Prioritize Customer Relationships
This is a time wherein companies need to invest in their customer relationships because negative feedback or reviews will only leave people feeling more anxious about your brand.
In this case, it is a good idea to make sure that your clients and customers will be able to get in touch with you on various channels and that you will be able to address their concerns promptly.
Closing Thoughts
In conclusion, smart companies are now capitalizing on new buying behaviors and identifying potential new targets to adapt to the change brought about by COVID-19. They also exerted the effort to fill the gaps with local resources and of course, prioritized their customer relationships.
Rest assured that when there is a vaccine discovered to counteract the virus, people will be able to go back to the “normal” that they are used to, easing up some of the challenges that the e-commerce industry is currently facing.