How COVID-19 Has Changed eCommerce

When the pandemic first started, many people thought that it was going to be around for just a couple months and the world would go back to normal. Initially, most brands did not alter the way they shaped their shopping experience because of this. But as the months went on, it was a wake up call for many different brands because the world quickly realized that this was not going anywhere anytime soon, and in order to remain successful and in business, they needed to shape the way consumers shop in a safer, more convenient way.

Curbside Pickup

With many consumers feeling uncomfortable with an in-store experience, grocery as well as retail stores started to offer curbside pickup options. This would allow the consumers to choose the items they would like and pay for them through either a website or a mobile application, and they would simply pull up to the stores with their car or walking, and a sales associate would bring the items out to them. Although this was a service that some stores had already offered prior to COVID-19, it became much more popular when people started feeling unsafe going into stores.

Delivery Services

In addition to curbside pickup services, many consumers started utilizing delivery services, mainly for their groceries. For example, consumers could order Whole Foods using Amazon Prime and could do it from the comfort of their own homes, and they would then choose a two-hour time slot in which the groceries would arrive to them. In my opinion, I think that this is going to become the new norm with grocery shopping — not just because of COVID-19, but because it adds convenience and efficiency to busy lifestyles.

What did Google do?

In order to capitalize on this and make things even easier for consumers, Google decided to add a new feature when you look up a store near you. Last week, I wanted to buy something from Nordstrom and I just looked up the store on Google to see what the store hours were. When you look up a store near you on Google, it usually shows you the store hours, location, and you can then look up directions to the store which will pull up Google Maps. However, they just added on a new feature which has “Curbside Pickup” as an option, with either a green checkmark or a red X in order to indicate if the store offers curbside pickup. I think that this was a great idea for them because it allows the consumer to simply search for a store and know immediately if they offer this service. However, the one drawback to this is that it could drive away traffic from brand websites since this information is all on Google now without going to the individual websites. All in all, I think that COVID-19 has truly changed the way consumers shop for the long-term.