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: 

New technologies are ratcheting up consumer expectations of their e-commerce experiences. For example, China’s Singles Day has taken the excitement to new levels, with major retailers and brands hiring major global stars as spokespeople, streaming exclusive live video or interactive events. And the effort has paid off, with November 11, 2019 (the last Singles Day) yielding a whopping 58 billion dollars in a 24-hour period, dwarfing the US-based Cyber-Five e-commerce holiday, which generated just 28 billion dollars just a few weeks later.