Coronavirus (COVID-19) is forever changing the way we shop online

The survey is titled “Covid-19 and e-commerce“, examining how the coronavirus evolved It has changed the way consumers use e-commerce and digital solutions In Germany, Brazil, China, Russia, Italy, South Korea, South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey.

Study of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Three companies related to the cyber field indicate that after the epidemic, More than half of survey respondents shop online frequently They turn more to the Internet to read news and learn more about health and digital entertainment.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transformation to a more digital world. The changes we are making now It will have lasting effects when the global economy begins to recover“said the Secretary-General of UNCTAD.

Mukhisa Kituyi stressed that this increase in online shopping underscores the urgent need to ensure that all countries benefit from the opportunities offered by digitalization as the world moves from pandemic response to recovery.

According to the study, consumers in emerging economies are more inclined to shop online.

Purchases increase, but consumer spending decreases

The survey shows that online shopping increased between six and ten percentage points and that the biggest gains occurred in the ICT, electronics, gardening, household products, pharmaceuticals, education, furniture and cosmetics or personal care categories.

But despite these positive results. Average monthly purchases per person decreased significantly.

According to the analysis, “consumers in both emerging and developed economies have postponed increased spending,” with “primarily focusing on essential products.”

The online sector that suffered the largest decline was tourism and travel With an average reduction of 75% per person.

Image of a robot for the web consumer

The largest increase in online shopping occurred in China and Turkey and the weakest in Switzerland and Germany, where more people were already participating in e-commerce previously.

By population sector, the largest increase in Internet sales was for women and people with higher education. While purchases by consumers between the ages of 25 and 44 years, by age, exceeded purchases by young people.

Among retailers, Chinese companies were the best prepared to sell their products online, while South African companies scored the lowest.

“Companies that practice e-commerce At the heart of their business strategies is preparing them for the post-Covid-19 erasaid Yumi Castro, Founder and CEO of Inveon.

Carlo Terini, president of the Swiss e-commerce association NetComm, shared this view and noted that the significant growth of e-commerce “will change the national and international retail frameworks.”

For this reason, “policy makers must adopt specific measures to encourage the implementation of e-commerce among small and medium enterprises (…) and attract international investors in the field of e-commerce,” stressed Tirini.

The great rise of digital companies

Although the most widely used communication platforms are WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger, all owned by Facebook, it is video calls through Zoom and Microsoft Teams that have recorded the largest increase in the workplace.

The main communication platforms in China are WeChat, DingTalk and Tencent Conference.