The Growth of E-Commerce During Stay-at-Home Orders: Social Media Marketing Agencies

During COVID-19 and the stay at home order, the shift from in-person purchasing to e-commerce has impacted businesses everywhere. With travel, hospitality, and non-essential retail losing sales and filing for bankruptcy, new marketing strategies and online sales have become a necessity for the survival of companies.

Despite this decrease, the pandemic has allowed for a growth in companies that have a successful online presence or who already made most of their online retailing. People have also been buying things online that they have never previously considered; online grocery, educational software, health and wellness, and video conferencing software has received more demand than ever before and with ever-growing numbers. Social media marketing agencies have a real opportunity to increase sales in these areas as people are scrolling through Facebook and Instagram more often. In April alone, online sales grew by 50% and online grocery sales hit $7.4 billion in June. Even with the reopening of some brick and mortar stores, it is expected that many of these patterns will stick. Brands like Warby Parker and Glossier have made up the money that they would have made in person from their online sales.

The businesses that are benefiting from the stay at home order span other than the obvious, like Amazon, and companies selling nonperishables and emergency supplies. With no need to spend money on travel, luxury, or brand name items or expensive restaurants, money is being allocated to activity-based and practical products. From specialty wines, books, home decor, and pet products, more time at home means there is more time for things like cooking, reading, spending time with pets, or a home renovation project. 54% of Americans have also reported purchasing something from a brand that is “new to them, “creating an opportunity for many smaller, new companies with a successful online presence.

Marketing strategies have als

o shifted due to the lack of people leaving their houses and an increase in the amount of time people are spending on social media. Although the trend of people spending so much time online is not expected to stay, the transition to using social media marketing agencies over other forms of advertising will. The timing for when and how people buy products has also shifted with more people buying one item per day as opposed to many items at once. This indicated that online marketing and personal branding could make an even bigger impact at this time as people are making buying decisions based on social media posts and articles recommending products or companies. Consumers have also placed a larger emphasis on a brand’s ethics, and more time is spent doing research into how a company treats its employees and sources their materials. This indicates a bright future for sustainable and fair trade businesses as well as a growth in these practices across the board.

Despite the difficulties of the time that we live in, quarantines have alleviated many severe time shortages that many people and families faced pre-COVID-19. This positive change is likely something that people will not want to give up when stay at home orders end and time goes on. The ancillary effect of COVID-19 on consumer behavior is enormous and unlikely to revert back the way it was, and the ability to not spend time at the grocery store or drive somewhere for a specialty item is appealing to more and more people. Office workers are also finding that they can do the majority of their job from home, eliminating the need to travel for work. It is expected that by mid-2021, 25% of total retail sales will be online causing e-commerce brands to emerge as victors even as the economy and our lives go back to normal. If you’re looking to expand your business’s online presence to market yourself as an e-commerce brand, connect with Bright Age at https://brightage.com.