The UK still faces many weeks of hardship before it can say the coronavirus crisis is over. However, more online retailers are returning to business as firms adapt their fulfilment models and get to grips with the new normal for home deliveries.
David Jinks, head of consumer research at ParcelHero, claims many mothballed online stores are now opening up again as the delivery of non-essential items has become acceptable again.
Jinks said: “Many retailers of all sizes, from fashion giants to the smallest traders, closed the door on their online operations as well as their physical stores when lockdown was imposed on the evening of the 23rd March. The feeling was that home delivery services should be freed up for essential deliveries of items such as masks, hand gels and groceries. There was also concern that retailers and distribution centres would be unable to operate safely. However, now the government has spelled out that it wants all online trade to continue where possible, not just for essential products.”
On 8 April, the Business Secretary, Alok Sharma, urged e-commerce retailers to continue trading, saying: “The Government has always been clear that online retail can continue to operate and is encouraged, and that postal and delivery services will continue to operate.”
In addition to the pent-up demand for products to shake-off lockdown lethargy, this has resulted in a number of sites re-opening and online stores returning to action. Jinks stated that the feeling that it is somehow ‘wrong’ to order non-essential products has eased.
Next partially restored its online operation this week after implementing strict distancing guidelines in its warehouses. Amazon is also increasing the range of products it will allow sellers to offer though its Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) service, whereby stock from certain sellers is stored in its warehouses prior to sale. Having recently banned many of their non-essential items from its website, Amazon is now reportedly relaxing its restrictions.
Etsy and eBay have also introduced measures to encourage traders to stay up and running. Meanwhile, footwear retailer Schuh, B&Q, Fenwick, and Dunelm are starting to re-open their online operations.
“And it’s not just big names returning. Small online stores, from craft and hobby products to clothing and electronics, are coming back into operation where it’s safe to do so”, said Jinks.
“As the emphasis on essential deliveries dies away, we’ve seen shipments of DIY tools, musical instruments, games and craft products rise rapidly in the last few days. Clearly, shoppers now feel less guilty about ordering products to help them fill furlough time without hindering the delivery of essential goods.”
NAM Implications:
- Clearly pent-up demand is emerging…
- …but best to keep in mind the locked-down version of the super-savvy consumer…
- …now even more unwilling to settle for anything less that demonstrable value for money…
- …and possessed of enhanced social networking skills in terms of their ‘e-tell a friend’ capabilities…
