Is my business prone to losses during the pandemic?

When the pandemic began, experts predicted that customers will turn to E-Commerce to fulfill their shopping needs. However, this statement is only partially true. Sellers however, pointed out that the pandemic is a nightmare to their supply chains, and that the prediction was one-sided without the consideration of most other aspects of E-Commerce.
Sellers point out how product manufacturing, management and shipping will change, leading to a loss for their business. They also highlight the fact that the longer the pandemic persists, so will the economy, influencing markets and demands for products negatively meaning high losses for the business.

Sellers will need to prepare, take precautions and protect their business whilst maintaining warehouse, and good relations with customers.

Here’s how the pandemic might affect you

The pandemic in its current state does not have a visible end date. With the growing number of infection, and Covid-19 related deaths, the results of the pandemic being around are deeply felt. With the fall in the world wide economy, product prices are shooting up and some markets are very close to extinction.

Demands for E-Commerce will increase with people’s inability to physically shop because of restrictions on going out. This would lead to more and more people turning to E-commerce to satisfy their daily needs in place of physically going to a shop.

First, The pandemic has made E-Commerce more popular amongst people who are avoiding going out, and the changed shopping trends might be beneficial for businesses like yours in the field of E-Commerce.

A negative effect of this is that the sale of items who could be grouped as non-essentials generally bought through E-Commerce have declined and the sale of Groceries and other essential daily use products has risen. This negatively impacts businesses who sell non-essential items.

Second, Thanks to Amazon and other major E-commerce trendsetters , consumers are used to the 2 day shipping method and look out for other E-Commerce merchants to deliver their orders in the shortest time possible.
This also means that customers tend to buy products which will reach them at the earliest, preferring visiting to the nearest store over online stores. However, thanks to the pandemic, Customers are ready to wait before receiving their orders. But this behaviour increases the pressure on the merchant, who may face inventory and shipping delays because of the pandemic situation in various warehouse and shipping locations.

There is a general reduction in the morale of the public and customers about the situation getting better. More and more people feel that their economy and personal finances will not recover, impacting their shopping behaviour both offline and online.

Third, production chains and imports have drastically reduced, leading to increase in prices and damaged supply chains in the whole process right from the wholesaler’s production chain to your product delivery system, you will need to take measures to control shortage of inventory and keep the production chain alive.

Fourth, Smart E-commerce merchants avoid supply chain issues by streamlining the whole process. However, with the increase of pressure on the E-Commerce industry, most merchants are facing technical glitches, delays in shipping and issues with employees. Retailers are advised to streamline and improve the supply chain while planning for multiple contingency plans to implement in cases of situations worsening.

Fifth, with growing concerns about the pandemic, a lot of hoax websites and schemes are coming up, which will land any endorser into legal issues. E-Commerce marketplaces like Amazon, and eBay have and are in constant movement to remove such products, listings and suspend/ban their sellers. It is more important now than ever before to stay within legal rules and regulations without endangering the whole business.

How do I protect my business from sinking?

Being an individual engaged in a challenging field like E-Commerce, you are not new to handling unexpected risks. Treat this pandemic as one of those risks.

Here are some tips from our team to help you and your business function and successfully overcome this phase of the pandemic.

1. Be respectful, smart and honest in communication
   Don’t take advantage of the situation to your favour, an increase in prices of essential commodities or such tactics would only benefit you immediately. To avoid the tag of the overpriced company, be honest in your dealings while keeping in mind the bigger picture of becoming an ethical profit producing enterprise.
   Make a proper accessible PR and Complaint/ Query assessment system to be in constant communication with customers updating them through out the whole process right from Product manufacturing/ sourcing to the shipping method, and informing them immediately about any delays which may affect the date of delivery of their products. Cover-ups and fake responses will increase the already wide gap between merchant and consumer because of the pandemic. Make sure your entire team is trained and informed to handle possible situations in absence of the decision maker if they get affected. Additional training might be required for customer relationship managers and customer relations teams.
2. Avoid over communication
   Be smart and don’t overcompensate the customer in return of them buying your product. Remember to be honest, and stick to the point, whilst stating facts. This is necessary to give off a trustable weathered image rather than seeming over-enthusiastic and eager to convert a sale. Make sure your pitch sets you apart from other companies sending newsletter to their clients on how they are dealing with the pandemic.
3. Best time to diversify suppliers!
   In tough times like the pandemic, it becomes a necessity to have more than one source for a product as a contingency. In case of your regular supplier being unable to ship your product, or if the shipping period is higher than the normal, your contingency plans will save you from losing a customer.
4. Market your virtual products
   Pre-pandemic the scope of virtual products was very less. However, now with all the risk and uncertainty surrounding physical products, virtual products are increasing their market share in the pandemic market. Marketing this to people might help you convert more customers and run the business through these difficult times. The creative outlet customers get while selecting and choosing a gift makes sure they associate your business with good memories, leading to increased customer relations.
5. Don’t cut down on regular marketing!
   Most companies make the rookie mistake of cutting down on marketing and advertising in a bid to save money. Don’t do this, at least not completely. Keep attempting to reach out to newer avenues for customer conversion and retention. Keep looking at maintaining your normal conversion rate to prepare for a post covid scenario. Look at continuously engaging high-end regular customers and reaching out to old or regular customers. Employ new modes of advertising to reach out to customers, and create/maintain a bond throughout the pandemic which will prove advantageous later in a post-pandemic scenario.

We are all currently undergoing a difficult yet historical face fighting the pandemic. So make sure your business survives, and take precautions whilst employing caution while taking part in E-commerce.