COVID-19 has had a significant impact on consumer behaviour. People are more cautious than ever about going to public places. That’s why so many people prefer to stay put and shop online from the comfort of their home. It’s the only way to avoid the risk of crowds and long queues.
Couple that with forced lockdowns and you have a perfect atmosphere for changing the consumer habits. Does this mean that this situation has been profitable for online businesses? Will it stay that way even after the pandemic is over? In today’s post, we’re going to find out.
The Impact of COVID-19 on eCommerce
Strict confinement measures and government-imposed social distancing that have been implemented in many countries around the world have impacted the way people shop. Brick-and-mortar shops in most countries have seen a decrease in shoppers and profit.
For example, in the United States, overall food and retail sales in the early months of the pandemic were down by almost 8% compared to a year before. However, for non-store sellers – which mainly refers to eCommerce merchants – sales increased by 15% and 16% respectively.
In Europe, the situation is strikingly similar. While overall sales have gone down, online-only sales have started growing in the early days of the pandemic and haven’t gone down since. In April, for example, online sales were up 30% compared to 2019.
Changes Will Remain Permanently
The biggest question – for both offline and online retailers – is whether or not people will continue shopping like this even when things go back to normal? While we can’t know the answer for sure, we can assume that the situation will have at least some effects on shopping habits.
COVID-19 outbreak has exposed certain consumer groups to Internet shopping and turned them into full-fledged online consumers. For example, a new study by Mintel has revealed that 43% of those 65 and older have shopped online more than they did in their life.
Online shopping has also penetrated parts of the world where brick-and-mortar shops were considered the only way to go grocery shopping. Undoubtedly, a certain percentage of people in these countries will continue shopping online after this.
How Can eCommerce Adapt to the Changes?
Back in March, Kantar conducted a study of shoppers in the UK, France, and Germany – Europe’s biggest eCommerce markets. In these three countries alone, shoppers buy more than 50% of all goods sold online. In these countries, online shopping has seen a dramatic increase.
The study has revealed that 60% of consumers in these countries are going to continue shopping mainly online after the situation has passed. A recent Nielsen survey of 11 Asian markets has discovered that in the Far East, the situation is exactly the same.
All of this brings us to a conclusion that during the pandemic, the global eCommerce market has managed to reach new heights. This gives online store owners a chance to start expanding their business and reaching out to new customers and markets with their already-existing products.
What is TechToPay and How Can it Help?
In order to capitalise on these new findings, eCommerce businesses need to start figuring out how they can expand to new markets. Those who fail to do so can expect to see their sales diminished and their shopper base shrunken.
While there are many things one needs to do to expand their business to a new market, everything starts with a payment gateway. With the use of TechToPay, you can start handling international payments with ease.
Ever since the pandemic has started, TechToPay’s gateway has seen an increase in use, and for a good reason. The payment platform allows merchants to manage currency conversions easier than ever before and concentrate on different aspects of their business.
Benefits of TechToPay for Global Ecommerce
Not only does TechToPay make accepting payments seamless, but it also allows you to accept them from all over the planet. It handles the overly-complex process of acquiring partner integrations and regulatory compliance for you.
That’s far from the only benefit offered by TechToPay. Here are a few standout features that will allow you to take the business places you never imagined taking it to…
1. Cross-Boarder Transactions
TechToPay’s global acquiring network allows you to expand your coverage instantly. You can pick from more than 160 different currencies and 50 payment methods. Cross-border transactions have never been easier.
2. PCI-Compliant Platform
eCommerce and fintech regulations are different in different parts of the world. Making sure that you’re compliant to these regulations is almost impossible. TechToPay gateway is PCI-DSS L1 compliant, which is the highest compliance certification level in the world.
3. Mobile Responsiveness
With a majority of online traffic coming from mobile devices, it’s not surprising to know that many people now shop exclusively on their smartphones. Use TechToPay’s mobile-responsive checkout and give your shoppers a unified experience across all devices.
4. Optimised Transactions
In addition to mobile optimisation, the platform also optimises your transactions with its large acquiring network. TechToPay allows you to adapt their gateway to your geography, target demographic, and even business niche.
5. 99.999% Uptime
Nothing increases abandonment cart rates like a service interruption. The higher cart abandonment rates, the more revenue you lose. You can lower your abandonment rates and boost revenue thanks to TechToPay’s 99.999% uptime.
Final Thoughts
TechToPay’s payment gateway, coupled with a unique staff of experts, has helped many businesses stay afloat during the pandemic and even expand their operations. The platform gives you mobile responsiveness, optimizes transactions, and improves your workflow overall. With TechToPay, you can go global and stay global, even after the pandemic is finished.
TechToPay Limited (trading as TechToPay) is a company incorporated in England (company number 07993747 ) and authorised by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 622935) for the provision of payment services.
Featured image credit: Unsplash
