E-commerce Is Growing – Are You Growing with It?
By the end of 2019, e-commerce was a fast-growing business channel continuously evolving and adapting to ensure revenue growth and profitability of businesses of all sizes. For some organizations, an e-commerce strategy was a no-brainer. Implementing the right technology and effective supply chain solutions to ensure customer satisfaction and boost sales. For other organizations, adoption was slower and sometimes non-existent. But even in those cases, business leaders were aware e-commerce was inevitably on the horizon, however far they perceived it to be.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world at the beginning of 2020, many businesses started to react and rethink their operations; first, ensuring the health and safety of employees and customers alike, and second acting quickly to guarantee their economic survival. And so began the accelerated growth of e-commerce, far beyond what any forecast would’ve predicted.
According to a new IBM report, the pandemic has accelerated the shift away from physical stores to digital shopping by roughly five years.
From an economic perspective, e-commerce comes out as one of the winners during the pandemic. But its unprecedented progress has not come without growing pains. Demand fluctuations impacting successful e-fulfilment; efficient and safe last mile delivery options; or supporting customers’ value and purpose-driven purchasing decisions, have meant small and medium businesses need to adapt to a continuously changing landscape rapidly.
Most of all, businesses implementing their e-commerce strategies will have to do so under the climate of uncertainty. While it’s difficult to predict the future of retail post-COVID, one thing is certain: e-commerce will continue to grow and thrive. The real question is, will your business be growing with it?
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