The Importance of E-Commerce to Deal with the Pandemic

            The e-commerce industry played a significant role in reducing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using online shopping platforms to diminish the presence of people in stores to prepare necessities of life; slowed down the spread of the newly known virus. Owing to the existence of e-commerce platforms, the physical connection between people in the community was reduced, which made it possible to control the disease. Due to the pandemic and not leaving home to maintain health, people's trust in online shopping has been increased; thus, these platforms can be considered the saviour of mankind in this era, so it can be the reason for the continued increase in demands of this type of exchange in the post-pandemic period.

Building Trust

Customer trust plays a vital role in online shopping. Consumer conduct is affected by different parameters such as culture, social, and individual parameters (Bulsara & Vaghela, 2020). According to statistics, 80% of people who are familiar with new technologies are convinced to place an order online once in life, and if the order is registered, online shopping will become a behavioural routine for them. In the past, online shopping was more common among youngsters familiar with technology, but today we see that parents have also entered the online environment; therefore, it can be mentioned that online shopping has become an ordinary habit in life that has affected all sections of society (Corina, 2021). According to Phipps’ (2022) report, the most important reasons why people do not trust these platforms are as follows: Business validity, credit card security, fulfilling orders, proper return policy, contact information security, fraudulent identification, phishing, spam emails, and the malignant software.

Humankind Saviuor

Online platforms were the saviour of humanity at this historical juncture. Given the changes in the current situation, it can be noted that the share of e-commerce in retail has changed so that it is expected to extend something around 20%-30%. In a normal situation, it takes at least 6 years to gain the figures obtained during the pandemic. For instance, Adobe reported an increase of 77% and made the amount of $82.5 billion on online spending in the United States in April of this year. The growing trend of these types of businesses and digitalization is proof of this claim. The share of e-commerce in the retail market is reported to be increasing, and this increase has been tangible during the pandemic. According to this statistic, in 2019, its amount has reached 13.8%, in 2020, 17.8%, in 2021, 19.6%, and in 2022, this amount has reached 21%. Few people thought that the simple way of shopping online would become a necessity during the pandemic. During the global pandemic, the e-commerce industry showed respect to others by deterrent behaviour and unity (Corina, 2021).

Post-Pandemic

According to specialists, in the post-pandemic, the tendency of companies active in the field of e-commerce will increase in innovative ways. Limiting and removing humans from the cycle of using robots in this industry from the moment of the order to delivery can create a different user experience for humans. The need to reduce or eliminate human interaction during and after a pandemic is a driving force behind the inclusion of robotics into e-commerce user experiences. These include delivering a completely contactless user experience with integrated online restaurant menus, cashless payment (and tipping), and eliminating face-to-face interaction with a delivery worker using an autonomous vehicle for last-mile delivery of meals to a consumer. Amazon is experimenting with using drones to replace human deliveries. For years, robots have been effectively utilized in hospitals to dispense medication and clean polluted surfaces (Kendall & Kendall, 2020). While some of these actions were sparked by the pandemic, they may likely become a standard user expectation once the crisis has passed (Kendall & Kendall, 2020). Corina (2021) argues that the pace of e-commerce growth was impressive in 2020, rising by 400% for a wide range of products and this trend is increasing rapidly. Due to the increase in demand in the industry, it is predicted that in 2023 the number of financial transactions in this sector will reach $ 5.908 billion and in 2024 these transactions will reach $ 6.338 billion, which is compared to the amount of $ 5.424 billion in 2022, there will be a significant increase (Shopify, 2021).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it should be noted that the e-commerce industry during the pandemic performed reasonably well. The trust built during this period made the habit of online shopping for all people an inseparable necessity of life, so the movement of this industry towards progress, creativity, and thoughtful ways can surprise everyone in the future. Due to the given convenience and importance of online shopping for individuals, in the future, we will see new advertising methods and competition to attract more customers in this area. Given the growing trend in this field and the digitalization of sales processes, it can be clearly stated that the future of trading will be done based on e-commerce platforms; therefore, in new future, the habit of buying and selling on digital platforms will be an integral part of everyday human's life and the bright horizons await this fledgling industry.

References

Bulsara, H. P. & Vaghela, P. S. (2020). Understanding the role of trust in online shopping intention for consumer electronics products. Scholedge International Journal of Management & Development, 7(3), 47-58. https://thescholedge.org/index.php/sijmd/article/view/674

Corina, V. A. (2021). The COVID 19 pandemic and its influence on the online environment. Annals of 'Constantin Brancusi' University of Targu-Jiu, (3), 80-84. https://doaj.org/article/a6d66a9049904fcab705b3c384b84865

Kendall, J. E. & Kendall, K. E. (2020). Ecommerce after the covid-19 pandemic: is it possible to prepare for the future? Decision Line, 51(3), 21-24. https://web-p-ebscohost-com.libaccess.fdu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=92b559b5-f91f-431a-8408-79eec9be3642%40redis

Phipps, A. (2021). 10 Ecommerce Trust Signals to Build Customer Confidence (+ Increase Conversions on Your Site!). Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/ecommerce-trust-signals/#tips-for-using-trust-signals-effectively

Shopify. (2022). Retail ecommerce sales worldwide from 2014 to 2024. https://www.shopify.ca/research/future-of-commerce/future-of-ecommerce#:~:text=The%20ecommerce%20market%20is%20expected,ecommerce%20sales%20are%20still%20climbing.