By Veronika Sinou,
The rise of new markets evidently renewed the shopping habits for customers. The decision-making of purchasing a specific product has become a never-ending process between finding the most suitable product, in the best quality possible and the lowest price listed. Platforms such as Amazon and AliExpress have changed the rules of the shopping arena whilst, according to them adaptation is more than necessary for the rest of the business corporations in order for them to survive, let alone to be lucrative.
The first thing we notice about today’s consuming patterns is that the USA’s market has finally a noteworthy opponent, it being China. Right now, China and USA have been the two biggest online retail markets globally. The predictable shift to online shopping during the pandemic remodeled the customer’s criteria for their purchases. Nowadays, the customers can select through a huge variety of choices, which translates to some very demanding consumers.
One of the many things we witness is the ultimate change of the way transactions take place. Traditional retailers and their brands cannot be depending on their personal relationships with their costumers anymore, making small and medium-sized enterprises difficult to operate. The new business model requires revolutionary commercializing technologies and well-adjusted business plans. The paying method should offer at least three choices for the customer to select, the shipping fees should be little to zero -if possible- and their online site should be well reformed. If a physical store is operated as well, they most certainty at some point will need to choose which form they should embrace (physical or digital).
As the pandemic has formed a new reality, it has definitely reshaped our relationship with money as well. At this very moment consumers are shopping mindfully and cost-consciously, with demand for local, sustainable and value brands rising. In most cases, consumers have used this life pause so they can reflect on their consumption choices and how to shop responsibly. Fast-fashion and its problematic operation isn’t a recent concept but the dramatic rise of sustainable e-commerce is. To make sure their influence will be successful, the companies one by one are shifting into the opportunity to reset and rebuild for the longer-term new strategies with a more ethical background.
This drastic change of the consuming industry is more likely to be permanent. Researches supporting this claim can be found in the NY times magazine and The Economist, but the hardest evidence are daily being shown around us. Haven’t you noticed that the way you shopped during the pandemic has changed?
References
- Ovida, S., What we like about pandemic shopping, The New York Times, Available here
- The Economist, How the covid-19 pandemic is changing Americans spending habits, Available here
- Wigder Z. D., Four trends defining a new era oh shopping, Forbes, Available here
