E-commerce is booming thanks to the pandemic

How has the e-commerce industry benefited from the pandemic?

At the beginning of 2020, most entrepreneurs assessed the development prospects of their enterprises positively, even with great enthusiasm. Six months have passed and the mood has deteriorated significantly. Companies reduce investments, cut costs and keep an eye on the situation. However, as the saying goes, nothing is lost in nature – what for some is a threat to others may turn out to be a springboard to success. In this case – it is about companies operating in the e-commerce industry.

We can say with confidence that the e-commerce market can “thank the pandemic” for skipping its development cycle by several years in just six months. It is estimated that in 2020 the growth of this segment will reach 40% year on year. Online shopping has become an everyday reality, creating a challenge to logistics companies that are trying to meet the increasing demands of consumers. Our habits are changing, we order more and more online. And not only electronic gadgets, which have so far formed the backbone of the industry, but also furniture, building materials, medical supplies and so-called everyday items, including food. The vision of going to the store wearing a mask is increasingly losing out to the vision of clicking the mouse several times and ordering a product with “to door” delivery, so the list of products available on the Internet is growing rapidly.

Dynamic development allows logistics companies to prove themselves. They are responsible for a wider range of activities and offer comprehensive solutions based on operational and executive support for online sellers. New tools emerge, and there is more and more integration of services and data exchange. E-commerce service is not only warehouse service and delivery, but also quality control, repackaging and preparation for re-sale, disposal and product returns.

Importantly, the service scope changes from local to global. This means that when ordering a product on the Internet, it now more often travels directly from a supplier, e.g. from Asia, in an increasingly personalized supply chain to its end recipient.