EUROPEAN BUSINESS MAG:
Can the Covid-driven eCommerce boom last?
B
ritain is in the middle of an eCommerce boom. Covid-19 and its accompanying lockdowns have forced businesses to adapt their offering to the online retail marketplace to survive, while compelling consumers to make online purchases due to the closure of shops. The Great British high street has undoubtedly seen the most significant changes thought the pandemic. With all non-essential retail being forced to close for large parts of last year, the relationship with consumers was
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broken – and nobody can tell whether it will be repaired. Additionally, when allowed to open for short periods between lockdowns, businesses were held back in their capacity by social distancing regulations limiting customer footfall. It is natural that in the face of these overnight changes, consumers would flock to online shopping. Indeed, the OECD report that in the first two quarters of 2020, eCommerce held a 31.3% share of total retail expenditure in the UK. In the first quarter of 2018, this figure
stood at just 17.3% - an astonishing near-doubling of its share of the British retail market. This underlines the rapid changes in consumer behaviour, and the impressive capacity of the UK’s logistical infrastructure to respond readily to these shifts. It should, of course, be noted, that there are many credible arguments to be made for eCommerce’s growth proving unsustainable over the coming months. Some would argue that as consumers had no choice besides online shopping, they will naturally return to traditional retail as soon as they are able. Others could point to lockdown representing a bottleneck of in-person consumption, which will be released in a cathartic wave as shops, restaurants, cinemas, and theatres are allowed to reopen. These consideration should not be dismissed outright; however it must be noted that the past year has been no mere spike in demand. Online retail has been trending upwards at a steady
