As the Covid-19 crisis started ramping up, and lockdowns became inevitable, e-commerce sites were among the first to take a hit. This was especially true for e-commerce retailers providing essential services, such as online grocery shopping and delivery. Consumers rushed to these sites to start stockpiling, and even as lockdowns have eased, shopping habits have changed permanently. Some examples: 

E-commerce is poised to change in the near future, and while many predictions herald the coming of ubiquitous VR/AR and voice shopping, some of the changes are likely to be more fundamental and, at least at first, almost invisible. 

Getting online shoppers to turn into active purchasers is a process. One of the often overlooked parts of making the customer journey flow is the technology powering e-commerce performance. Consider everything from speeding up page load times to ensuring that sites and apps remain available even during traffic peaks. Or updating inventory availability and product information and serving personalized recommendations and content to individual users. How can these challenges be tackled to ensure e-commerce success for retailers and smooth user experiences that make customers want to return?

E-commerce has always been somewhat unpredictable, characterized by predictable peaks on “shopping holidays” such as Black Friday (and the weekend that follows) and Singles Day. Other more “everyday” events and trends make online shopping spikes inevitable but completely unpredictable, such as when a celebrity wears something that sparks off a spike in demand.