The COVID pandemic crisis has forced many small businesses to reassess the decades-old traditional business models or face closing permanently. New and existing technologies are thrust to the forefront of every business toolkit, and forward-looking businesses are addressing talent questions that arise from these new digital business skill sets.
A Global Post-Crisis Bounce in E-commerce Sales?
The risk of further business closures from COVID-related disruptions, in addition to the inherent financial fragility of business, paints a grim forecast for many businesses still open. Or is this just an opinion based on a lack of data?
In the chart below, we see a distinct upward jog in total global retail sales from 2019-2020, giving a strong boost to a steady 8% growth in retail e-commerce sales worldwide forecast through 2024. This shows us an increase in online retail sales as a result of the paradigm shift that COVID disruptions have brought to business.
Pandemic Impact on Worldwide Consumer Behavior
As various pandemic-related business restrictions that prevented in-person activities crept across the world’s regions, businesses turned to pandemic-proof e-commerce sales channels for basic survival. Online, global consumers could not stop purchasing through their favorite websites (44% of global digital purchases) and online marketplaces (47% of global digital purchases). In response to this consumer migration to digital, Brazil, Spain, and Japan saw the largest increase in several businesses selling online as a reaction to the pandemic.
In the chart below, we see a forecast increase of 19% in worldwide e-commerce revenue between pre-and-post COVID-19 timeframes in 2020. Food & Personal Care products show the most growth, with a forecast increase of 26% in revenue as a result of consumer transition to online sales channels.
Pandemic Impact on Global Small B2B
The COVID pandemic has impacted business in countries around the globe differently, creating opportunities for somewhere business was once lost. Small B2B companies in the United Kingdom and Brazil for example had significant increases in online revenue from their pre-COVID online sales figures.
Boosted by the Pandemic, Cross-Border e-commerce Continues to Grow
The data tells us that COVID pandemic-related business restrictions have forced a global business paradigm shift towards the digital economy, which has negatively impacted traditional business models while also creating opportunity through sales diversification online.
This chart shows us clearly the impact on global e-commerce revenues the pandemic has had, adding 19% sales growth for 2020, and an additional 22% sales growth to the existing 9% and 12% regular forecast sales growth rates, respectively.
