While shops are starting to reopen across the country, many business owners are starting to think about moving online to set up an ecommerce store for the first time.

Many businesses that transitioned to ecommerce long before the pandemic, have been able to keep their business alive whilst experiencing handsome payoffs.

The Coronavirus Effect

Saying that covid-19 has affected the world economy severely would be an understatement.

The entire world is facing an economic slump and looking for ways to cope with the pandemic.

People are currently only buying essential products and avoiding making new investments.

Meanwhile, the drop in sales has also made hundreds of thousands of people unemployed, creating a temporary vacuum in earnings.
Evidently, all businesses are looking at a huge drop in business activity.

Changing Consumer Behaviour

The enforcement of lockdowns, social distancing measures and other regulations in response to the pandemic has led to an increase in online shopping, online streaming, internet usage, social media usage and video calling.

This has, in turn, led to an increase in sales and ecommerce activity, especially when it comes to food products, household essentials and medical supplies.

In fact, for many consumers who want to avoid in-person contact and minimise the risk of infections, online grocery shopping has come as a huge sigh of relief.

In fact, ecommerce companies have played an important role in China during the pandemic, supplying essentials and groceries to the residents of Wuhan during the two-month lockdown.

Moreover, online search patterns provide a clear indication of the role that ecommerce will be playing in this pandemic. Worldwide searches for “food delivery”, “online shopping” and “online doctor” have skyrocketed during the pandemic.

Owing to the rise in ecommerce transactions, delivery companies are seeing a huge surge in the number of deliveries they make. From pet food to electrical goods, delivery companies have been busy delivering all sorts of products in the recent weeks.

Virtual Shopping Centre

As an immediate port of call, many businesses have flocked to online marketplaces such as The Doorstep Market, where small Irish businesses without any prior online presence have come together recently to sell their products online while physical stores are closed.

Many others are looking to build their own ecommerce websites to reach customers directly.

Learning the Ropes of Ecommerce

For business owners looking to make a long-term investment in terms of their online presence, there are a range of online training options to help you make the transition smoothly.

Facebook is offering a free online training event called ‘Boost with Facebook’. It goes live every Thursday at 12pm.

The Small and Medium Enterprise Association (ISME), in collaboration with Griffith College, is offering free online classes to help the SME sector put in place strategies to help them recover from the adverse effects of the pandemic.

The Digital Marketing Institute is offering online training courses on using digital marketing channels, ecommerce strategies and social media marketing among various other topics. They are offered for free through DMI’s Power membership programme.

Need Help Transitioning to Ecommerce?

If you are looking to transition your business to ecommerce, get in touch with the team at Insight Multimedia. We are an award-winning web design studio with many years of experience in web design and ecommerce development.

Our web design professionals will take the time to understand your business, goals and requirements to build an ecommerce system that works for you, all while working remotely.

Contact us today to discuss your project.

Credit: Eamon Kerrins (Insight Team)