Corona impact on retail
Zeeshan Wasim
The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll not on one but on each and every aspect of the business world. The pandemic caused many businesses over the world to go bankrupt. Not only the smaller businesses but many large scale businesses also faced huge losses during the peak of Corona epidemic. The retail businesses are the ones which experienced major losses while on the other hand, the online stores and sellers such as Amazon were the ones who made the most profits during the global lockdown period caused by the Coronavirus outbreak.
The major reason for it is that the global lockdown led to panic-buying which changed the overall purchasing habits of the people. The large scale online sellers were able to provide people everything that they could wish for, without requiring people to go out of their homes during the uncertain Covid-19 times. It seems that people who previously did not prefer online shopping have now become used to it and as they see its convenience and overall benefits, they might be making online shopping their regular method of buying. The well positioned business models such as Amazon were able to offer value to the people in terms of convenience, more choice, speedy delivery, better quality and lesser costs.
People always look for value and when they get it, they are satisfied. Online shopping has let its true value be known to people now and this has caused a reduction in sales for the retailers. Nobody would want to go out to a retail store during these times if he/she gets all the required items at home or at his/her door step from the online sellers. All of this has made the online shopping the norm for the majority of the world where online sellers are present.
The increase in the single share price of Amazon from $1,900 to around $3,100 in 2020 alone is the proof that online shopping is a normal new development. Amazon is just one of the many online sellers. It means that if the online sellers are making good profits, on the other hand, the retailers are dealing with their significant losses.
As the overall consumer behavior of the majority changed, we saw a surge in online shopping and a downfall of retail sellers. As the Covid-19 pandemic is not over yet, it is unclear whether people will return to the retail stores or whether online shopping would go to be the normal new development now. We have yet to see how it all unfolds but the online sellers are progressing due to the value they are providing to the people and therefore, all the retail sellers should think about what their value proposition is, if they want people to return to them for their regular shopping. After all, people will always go there, where they see value.
The writer is a digital marketer, entrepreneur, columnist, freelance content writer and a student of BBA at the Institute of Management Sciences (IMSciences), Peshawar. He can be contacted at: srkgothambat@gmail.com.
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