By understanding the real data around the latest eCommerce trends and online shopping behavior, we can better navigate through this challenging year. As marketers and retailers, we have to follow where, when, and how our customers are shopping and searching online and be there for them at every turn. During this holiday season, customers are looking for an easy and seamless online shopping experience, promotions, and ways to connect more with each other. By providing a helping hand, brands can better support their customers. 

Customers’ Online Shopping Behaviors

Consumer preferences are changing at a rapid pace, based on Bain & Co.’s Elements of Value Pyramid. Customers are prioritizing safety and wellness when they shop.

“Safety has become and continues to be one of the primary drivers [of shopping behavior],” Bose says. “We have seen very specific emotional drivers play a very important role [in the buying process]. For example: reducing anxiety, as well as wellness.” 

Hope and nostalgia have also played an important role throughout the months of the coronavirus pandemic. Bose suggests that hope and safety should be retailers’ main focus, especially during the holiday season, as consumers continue to navigate new shopping situations. Consumers will remember brands that they felt safe with.

As new shopping trends and motivations continually emerge, it is hard to pin down exactly what will be the new normal. However, based on the data collected by NetElixir’s Retail Intelligence Lab so far, we see that 1 out of 8 new-to-online shoppers (i.e., those who made their first regular online purchase during the coronavirus pandemic) continue to make 50% of their purchases exclusively online for the Food and Grocery retail industry. NetElixir first marked this trend around mid-April, as lockdowns eased and people could choose to shop more freely in brick-and-mortar stores. 

Having successfully crossed the first barrier to online shopping, customers are becoming increasingly more comfortable navigating eCommerce sites. Customers are even open to exploring new brands, creating ample opportunities throughout this holiday season.

How ECommerce Trends are Evolving

Current eCommerce trends point to a sustained explosion of online sales. NetElixir’s Retail Intelligence Lab has tracked the YoY changes in online sales across seven categories for now nineteen two-week periods, starting from February 9th, detailed below:

The Food and Grocery retail category is starting to pick up momentum again, after a slight dip throughout the end of summer. Bose forecasts that Food will see a 100%+ YoY growth during the holiday season as more people prepare home-cooked meals instead of eating out. Apparel has also declined YoY from its peak in the first two weeks of September, presumably bolstered by back-to-school sales.  Home Furnishing, Tools and Hardware, and Home Décor continue to see strong YoY increases. Overall, NetElixir forecasts that the remainder of the holiday season will see online sales grow at 30% YoY across retail categories.

Prime Day 2020 helped to jumpstart an early holiday shopping season, but the online spike it generated subsided quickly. Online sales for the Food and Grocery retail industry did, however, see sustained growth, trending upwards from October 18th on, as pictured below:

While this may not be attributed solely and directly to Prime Day, as Food’s spike started a few days after the Prime Day event concluded, monitoring the residual effect of online sales events is important to monitor where else consumers shop.

Likewise, current events influence consumer’s shopping habits. Election Week in the United States did have an impact on eCommerce trends and online sales. The Gifting, Home Decor, and Tools and Hardware retail categories experienced a marginal decrease of less than 10% in eCommerce sales during Election Week compared to the week prior. Apparel, Home Furnishing, Pet Supplies, and Food and Grocery all experience substantial growth during Election Week compared to the week prior. Conversion rates across all retail categories, however, were 5% lower during Election Week than the week prior. 

“There are events of this magnitude – and Election Week was definitely an event which had a pretty massive impact and importance – which has a direct correlation with the eCommerce trends,” Bose summarizes. 

Google Ad investment will increase across businesses, as CPCs themselves are also increasing across all retail categories. As the holidays draws nearer, marketers are advertising more aggressively and earlier to avoid last-minute shipping delays.

Your 2020 Holiday ECommerce Sales Calendar

For the past 13 years, NetElixir has released an eCommerce calendar to help retailers mark important dates they should consider in their marketing strategy. Some key insights from this year’s calendar includes:

• Weeks of November 22nd and November 29th: will account for the two biggest online shopping weeks of 2020;
• Week of December 6th: most retailers will set a cut-off date for guaranteed holiday shipping (delivery by 12/24);
• Week of December 13th: BOPIS commerce will surge and most retailers will lower their digital marketing spend;
• Week of December 20th: while usually a busy week for last-minute deals and buys, it is forecasted to be the quietest week of the 2020 holiday shopping season.

Download your 2020 Holiday ECommerce Sales Calendar now at https://stage.netelixir.com//holidays/. 

Overall, NetElixir forecasts a 30% YoY aggregate growth for eCommerce sales throughout the rest of the holiday season. We forecast 45% growth in November and 20% growth in December YoY, as consumers try to get the bulk of their holiday shopping done early.

Q&A with the Vice President of Marketing at GovX

GovX is an online-only retailer, who caters exclusively to people who are currently serving or who have served in the United States Armed Forces and law enforcement, including firefighters, first responders, and other government service agencies. GovX works with over 400 brands to provide a military discount to GovX’s members. 

While Veterans Day is normally a kickoff for larger holiday events that wrap up the year for GovX, this year has obviously been different. Pelander explains that the company has been digging into holiday planning for the past month to capitalize on the early shopping season.

“This whole year has been uncertain,” Pelander says. “I think, partly, what has helped the planning for the holidays now has been more due to this year’s worth of adjustments, changes in strategy, all leading up to this point.”

GovX shifted their December budget into November and late October for aggressive paid search and social advertising to capture early shoppers sooner rather than later. New customer acquisition has still been the focus of GovX’s strategy in first generating awareness of GovX’s mission amongst veterans and first responders, and then encouraging those members to shop through the site.

“A big focus for us this year has been on new customer growth, so not just getting a new member for the sake of a new member, but we want them to make their first purchase with us within the first 30 days of their membership,” Pelander explains.

By partnering with NetElixir, GovX has been able to shift their budget and spending to target and engage new members more effectively. We have helped them expand into YouTube marketing, as GovX has focused on pressing forward to make the most of the eCommerce boom that the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated.

How has GovX Pivoted their Marketing Strategy?

Pelander explains that through strong conversion rates, the company has been able to drive up more ad spend because consumers are converting more quickly during the pandemic months than before. As long as the conversion rates continue to hold strong, GovX will continue to advertise aggressively to maximize new memberships and sales. What’s important, Pelander notes, is pushing the right promotion at the right time and to the right person. GovX’s members continue to buy for themselves even in the midst of the holidays, as they will buy from a brand they like at the right price.

GovX’s holiday messaging kicked in right around Prime Day so as not to specifically compete with the sales event, but to coincide with the flow of online traffic the event created. This holiday season started in mid-October for the brand, as they offer week-long sales that typically lasted only a day in prior years, such as extending the Veterans Day sale and Cyber 5 promotions.

What has helped GovX maintain growth throughout these past few months is their agility and drive to keep being aggressive in a time when they could reap those benefits and other companies have hesitated. Their new customer focus has become GovX’s mindset to set the tone for the first 30 days that can propel new members to become loyal customers. Pelander says the scale of data from 2020 is so immense that fully analyzing the eCommerce trends and online shopping patterns that have emerged for the company over the course of the year will help create new strategies moving forward.

“It’s been a great year for learning,” Pelander concludes.

For a Deep Dive into Other ECommerce Trends

If you have any questions about the data provided or the eCommerce sales calendar, please contact us at university@netelixir.com.

Read more:

• Get Results with Progressive Web Apps
• October 2020 Retail ECommerce YoY Insights
• Strategic Views on Peak 2020 with UPS

The post Real-Time Data on Holiday ECommerce Trends appeared first on NetElixir.

Black Friday deals are looming as retailers extend promotions to capture early shoppers and lessen the strain on last-minute shipping. Keeping track of eCommerce trends and online shopping behaviors will help agile marketers capture an opportunity that comes their way.

We see some of the follow trends for October 2020 compared to October 2019:

• Food and Grocery eCommerce is growing at a rate unseen in a few months. While not hitting early March and April numbers from the start of the coronavirus pandemic, people appear to be preparing early for the holidays through triple digit increase in conversion rates, compared to last year.
• Orders by new shoppers are continually growing Y/Y across retail categories. Ensure a smooth transition for these new shoppers with a frictionless checkout experience. Engage new customers with surveys and on social media to understand their shopping experience with your brand.
• Mobile continues to play an increasingly important role in the online shopping experience. Consider offering mobile only deals to encourage impulse buys. Ensure your website has a mobile first approach to create a user-friendly experience.

The year-over-year changes from October 2019 to October 2020 are as follows:

Food and Grocery Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions jumped 126%
• Transactions soared 70%.
• Average order value (AOV) rose 4%.
• Percentage of mobile orders rose 41%.
• Orders by new shoppers increased 74%.

Apparel Industry Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions decreased 31%
• Transactions jumped 91%.
• AOV increased 3%.
• Percentage of mobile orders increased  ust 1%.
• Orders by new shoppers skyrocketed 128%.

Gifting Industry Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions increased 39%
• Transactions rose 36%.
• AOV increased just 2%.
• Percentage of mobile orders dropped 4%.
• Orders by new shoppers rose 29%.

Home Furnishing Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions increased 7%
• Transactions skyrocketed 63%.
• AOV dropped 3%.
• Percentage of mobile orders soared 172%.
• Orders by new shoppers jumped 64%.

Pet Supplies Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions increased 2%
• Transactions increased 34%.
• AOV dropped by 6%.
• Percentage of mobile orders rose 12%.
• Orders by new shoppers jumped 60%.

Tools and Hardware Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions fell 17%
• Transactions jumped 45%.
• AOV increased just 6%.
• Percentage of mobile orders jumped 29%.
• Orders by new shoppers increased 31%.

For a deeper dive into how Prime Day, Election Day, and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic impacted eCommerce and online shopping behavior, join NetElixir’s latest webinar on the Road to Recovery: Real-Time Data on eCommerce Trends + Updated Holiday Season Forecast. You’ll gain insights into:

• Charting a successful path to recovery, starting with a successful 2020 holiday season
• Latest online shopper behavior and patterns across seven retail categories and actionable insights for your marketing mix
• The updated holiday season forecast for November-December with NetElixir’s 2020 Holiday ECommerce Sales Calendar

During the webinar, we will be releasing our 2020 Holiday eCommerce Sales Calendar, which highlights the key online sales days and underlying forces that may have an impact on sales this year. Register now at https://stage.netelixir.com//webinar/. 

Further Reading into Holiday Insights

• B2B ECommerce Search Marketing Case Study
• Get Results with Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
• 6 Reasons to Have a Blog for Your Business
• 2020 Holiday Season ECommerce Forecast

The post October 2020 Retail ECommerce YoY Insights appeared first on NetElixir.

Consumer behavior has evolved as the coronavirus outbreak continues to impact the globe. According to McKinsey & Company’s research of global consumer sentiment, consumers are shifting towards a “homebody economy”, despite lockdowns slowly lifting across the world. As such, consumers continue to shop online and boost retail ecommerce metrics by remaining with their digital platforms. McKinsey reports that, in order for consumers to feel comfortable shopping more out of the home, they want to see company’s emphasize cleanliness and safety. 

We slowly move forward to easing out of lockdowns, but in the meantime, consumers continue to turn to online shopping. Looking at the year over year changes between June 5 and 6, 2020 compared to the same dates in 2019, we see:

• New shoppers continuously turn to digital means to buy essentials and other goods. More than half of Americans have made their first online order during the pandemic, reports a recent survey by Small Business Trends.
• While the rate of ecommerce growth has slowed significantly since the initial outbreak of the coronavirus, we are still seeing positive year over year growth across most retail industries. 
• Brand awareness and their responses to the current crises will shape who consumers continue to patronize in the future. Millennials and Gen Z care about a brand’s purpose and want brands to be responsible to their consumers through messaging as well as actions.

Positive Outlook for Apparel and Fashion

While ecommerce has helped some retailers stay afloat during the pandemic, the apparel industry has suffered. Digital agility in the fashion and apparel retail category points to which retailers are more likely to overcome the coronavirus outbreak.

Amazon began offering virtual dressing rooms that allows shoppers to digitally mock up an outfit ensemble to see how it would look.  

As states have opened and people are more likely to go out to enjoy the spring weather  and opened retailers, the Apparel industry has seen more continuous year over year growth than early on during the pandemic. Comparing the year over year data from this past weekend (Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6, with the same dates in 2019), our Retail Intelligence Lab has found:

• Website conversion rates increased by 4%.
• The number of transactions have increased by 32%.
• The Average Order Value (AOV) has decreased 7%.
• The percentage of mobile orders have increased by 12%.
• New orders have jumped 47%.

Ecommerce sales for the Apparel retail industry are increasing, which shows a promising post-coronavirus recovery. 

Food and Grocery Ecommerce

Online grocery sales continue to climb throughout the coronavirus outbreak. The stay-at-home orders under the coronavirus pandemic will change how consumers interact with their food. More people – and children at that – are learning to cook and bake and more families are eating together. People will focus more on eating local and eating healthy, as well as focusing on food safety.

Amid our changing relationship with food and less time out at restaurants and the office, consumers are still overwhelmingly turning to online grocery. Over the past weekend, compared to the 2019 data, we have seen:

• Website conversion rates increased by 5%.
• The number of transactions have jumped 77%.
• AOV increased by 37%.
• The percentage of mobile orders have skyrocketed by 178%.
• New orders have increased by 85%.

Gifting in the Age of Coronavirus

Virtual meetings and digital gifts have kept us connected throughout the coronavirus pandemic. As social restrictions ease, however, we see more people able to express their love in person. Small gatherings and house visits have lessened the need for virtual egreetings. Gifting, which was a breakout retail category throughout the onset of the pandemic, has since decreased in prominence. 

Over the past weekend, when comparing the daily data of June 5 and 6, 2020 to that of 2019, our Retail Intelligence Lab has found:

• Website conversion rates have decreased by 6%.
• The number of transactions rose 16%.
• AOV decreased by 5%.
• The percentage of mobile orders have jumped by 39%.
• New orders have decreased by 6%.

Consumers are turning to other retail categories as we shift into a new stage of recovery. 

Additional Insights

Some states have allowed non-essential retailers to start offering curbside pickup and retailers have become creative in how they recreate a shopping experience. Successful experiential retail will help boost the reopening of brick-and-mortar stores.

To learn more about how the coronavirus is impacting retail ecommerce and online shopper behavior, register for the sixth installment of our Covid-19 Updates Webinar series. Join us on Thursday, June 18 at 2 PM ET for the Road to Recovery: Lessons From Mid-size Retailers. Here, we will continue to share real-time ecommerce data from June and host a roundtable discussion with retail industry leaders.

Our next speaker in our Reimagine Tomorrow series is George Day. Professor Day will speak on How Vigilant Organizations Gain An Edge on Thursday, July 9 at 2 PM ET. Register at https://stage.netelixir.com//experience/. 

Learn More about Ecommerce Updates During Coronavirus

You can join the conversation on social media using #NxInsights.

For further reading, you can see our prior retail analytics updates on retail ecommerce and online shopping behavi

or:

• Reimagine Tomorrow: Opportunities in Times of Crisis, from Friday, June 5
• Retail Ecommerce Updates for the End of May, from Wednesday, June 3
• Meet the Speaker: Jerry Wind, from Monday, June 1
• Memorial Day Weekend Ecommerce Sales, from Friday, May 29

The post Weekend Retail Ecommerce Updates appeared first on NetElixir.

“Diversity winners that deploy a systematic approach to inclusion and diversity and don’t fear bold action to foster inclusion and belonging are most likely to reap the rewards. Now is the time to be even bolder,” reports McKinsey & Company.

Diversity still matters, now more than ever, and we are Stronger, Together.

If you can, support your local communities and your local retailers within your means. Small and local businesses, owned and managed by diverse leaders, are the backbone of our economy and our industries.

Retail Ecommerce Updates by Industry

One day of retail ecommerce updates shows small changes in how consumers are navigating the new digital landscape. One sale, one search offers the possibility of making one more connection.

As we move along the road to recovery from the coronavirus outbreak, we need to monitor the daily data to see how our consumers are shopping. We can connect with and engage our customers effectively if we know how, when, and where to meet them.

We compared the daily data for May 31 to chart year over year changes between 2019 and 2020.

Food and Grocery

Our relationship with food and grocery has evolved throughout the course of the pandemic. What we consume impacts our mental health, so by choosing healthier and local options and by eating together as a family, we can create new food habits. Comparing the daily data for the Food and Grocery retail category on May 31 for 2019 and 2020, we saw:

• Website conversions increased 77%.
• Transactions increased by 185%.
• The average order value (AOV) decreased by 33%.
• Percentage of mobile orders decreased by 18%.

Brief Apparel and Gifting Updates

Over the course of one day, the Apparel retail industry saw:

• Website conversions decreased 38%.
• Transactions decreased by 38%.
• AOV increased by 4%.
• Percentage of mobile orders increased by 45%.

The Apparel industry’s increase in AOV is a positive sign as we move toward the road to recovery. Most categories see higher website activities, but those customers shopping for clothes and accessories are spending more in one order than last year.

The Gifting retail industry has seen phenomenal growth over the course of the coronavirus outbreak, but year over year changes for May 31st, from 2019 to 2020, showed:

• Website conversions decreased 39%.
• Transactions increased by 9%.
• AOV decreased by 35%.
• Percentage of mobile orders decreased by 7%.

Brief Home Furnishings, Pet Supplies, and Tools Updates

On one day, the Home Furnishings retail category did not see much change year over year:

• Website conversions increased 2%.
• Transactions increased 3%.
• AOV increased less than 1%.
• Percentages of mobile orders increased by 4%.

The Pets Supplies retail category continues to have strong year over year growth:

• Website conversions increased 20%.
• Transactions jumped 82%.
• AOV decreased by 7%.
• Percentages of mobile orders increased by 32%.

The Tools and Hardware retail industry has also grown year over year from new opportunities. Comparing the daily data from 2019 and 2020 for May 31st, we see:

• Website conversions decreased 5%.
• Transactions skyrocketed by 93%.
• AOV increased by 35%.
• Percentages of mobile orders increased by 35%.

Consumer Sentiment

Throughout the lockdown, consumer sentiment has shifted as new habits have emerged to combat the new reality. The digital landscape is transforming: consumers want social ads to return to normal. What does a “normal ad” look like? That depends on the post-pandemic world we create and design; consumers want guidance on how brand’s new products or services could benefit them in the post-pandemic world. A prior study by Mobile Marketer showed that early on in the outbreak, over one-third of consumers wanted advice from brands on how to stay safe, but now these consumers are looking toward the future.

McKinsey & Company finds that consumers will likely stick with brands they found during the pandemic. Many consumers will continue their digital behaviors, though responses that were specific to the coronavirus pandemic, like remote learning and curbside pickup, will likely subside as we forge a new normal.

Additional Insights

Our Covid-19 Updates Webinar series can be viewed in its entirety. Our sixth installment, Road to Recovery: Business Insights & Lessons From Ecommerce Leaders, will air live Thursday, June 18 at 2 PM ET. At this, we will continue to share real-time ecommerce data from June,and host a roundtable discussion with retail industry leaders.

Looking for additional insights and information for your specific category? Email us at shareinsights@netelixir.com.

Learn More about Ecommerce Updates During Coronavirus

You can join the conversation on social media using #NxInsights.

For further reading, you can see our prior retail analytics updates on retail ecommerce and online shopping behavior:

• Meet the Speaker: Jerry Wind, from Monday, June 1
• Memorial Day Weekend Ecommerce Sales, from Friday, May 29
• SEO Content Creation Process: Methods, from Wednesday, May 27
• Ecommerce Sales And Online Shopper Behavior Trends On The Road To Recovery, from Friday, May 22

The post Retail Ecommerce Updates for the End of May appeared first on NetElixir.

Memorial Day Weekend kicks off summer sales. Last year’s Memorial Day Weekend had the majority of consumers expecting to take advantage of sales offered in stores. In 2018, AdWeek’s consumer insights report that people – and mostly men at that –  spent an average of almost $500 as Memorial Day Weekend becomes an important holiday for retailers.

The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t stopped Memorial Day Sales; instead, those holiday weekend sales are featured online. And consumers continue to shop. We compared the daily data for Sunday and Monday, May 24 and 25, 2020 to the same holiday period in 2019, May 26 and 27. Below is how ecommerce sales have changed year over year.

How Memorial Day Weekend Sales Changed Y/Y Across Retail Industries

Food and Grocery

Memorial Day Weekend is the time of family barbeques and grill outs. With more families sheltering in place, we saw food sales continue to skyrocket:

• Website conversions increased 162%.
• The number of transactions jumped by 213% during the two-day holiday period.
• The average order value (AOV) increased only 10% in 2020.
• The percentage of mobile orders increased 17%.

This continued increase in online food orders comes as no surprise, as food and grocery have been the fastest growing segment throughout the coronavirus pandemic. And Memorial Day Weekend is known for its barbeques, as the search interest in “barbeque” peaked on Monday:

Apparel

The Apparel retail industry has been among the hardest hit during the coronavirus outbreak. However, Memorial Day Sales entice shoppers with deals on new summer wear.

Apparel ecommerce sales have slowly been climbing back into the positives week over week and Memorial Day Weekend continued to boost the trend. Compared to last year’s holiday, 2020 saw:

• Website conversions increase by 8%.
• The number of transactions increase by 4%.
• The AOV decrease by 6%.
• The percentage of mobile orders increase by 13%.

Day by day, the Apparel retail industry is overcoming the crisis. While May 26, 2020 was not factored into the percentages above, Tuesday saw the highest number of transactions in a single day since we started monitoring the daily changes. Show off your new summer looks!

Gifting

The Gifting retail industry has been a breakout sector throughout the pandemic. Family celebrations occur digitally now and through the sending of e-notes and small gifts. However, sales in Gifting dropped a little over these past two days, as people focused more on the family and friends that they could see over the weekend.

• Website conversions decreased by 15%.
• The number of transactions increased 44%.
• The AOV decreased 6%.
• The percentage of mobile orders increased 7%.

As states continue to open, lifting restrictions, we may start to see changes in ecommerce trends for the Gifting category as people can express their sentiment in person.

Home Furnishing

Home renovations continue to take a higher precedence as people’s hobbies. DIY projects spark an increase in Home Furnishing sales. And, because home may be many of our summer destinations, people seek to refresh their interiors. Memorial Day sales boosted the Home Furnishing retail industry:

• Website conversions rose 49% over the two-day holiday count.
• Transactions skyrocketed over 130%.
• The AOV increased by 13%.
• The percentage of mobile orders rose 39%.

Redesigning our homes – especially our home offices – can help make the space we reside in feel more refreshing. The coronavirus outbreak could influence interior design for the future as we now navigate the mental effect of living and working in the same space.

Pet Supplies

Our pets have been our constant companion while staying in place and working and learning from home. Consumers have treated their pets to an abundance of new goodies as the rising ecommerce trends for the Pet Supplies retail industry continue to show year over year increases: 

• Website conversions increased 23%.
• Transactions grew by over 100%.
• The AOV saw a slight increase of 3%.
• The percentage of mobile orders rose 51%.

As a constant source of comfort and company, our pets reap the benefits and rewards of our increased home-bound attention.

Tools and Hardware

As people are partaking in more projects around the home, they need the tools necessary to complete those projects. The Tools and Hardware category has also seen a breakout in ecommerce sales. Our dataset shows continued year over year increase:

• Website conversions grew 58%.
• Transactions jumped 135% in 2020.
• The AOV increased by 6%.
• The percentage of mobile orders rose 53%

People are still learning new hobbies throughout the pandemic and deepening their skillset. They now have the additional tools at their disposal to learn even more.

Memorial Day Ecommerce Trends

• The AOV has been decreasing within our dataset, but Memorial Day Weekend saw a slight increase in year over year cart values for a few retail categories.
• While the Food and Grocery retail industry continues to see enormous growth, sales have cooled after the initial panic buying eased. The holiday weekend spiked growth as consumers celebrated with traditional barbeques.
• New online orders contribute to about 50% of total orders for both Gifting and Food and Grocery. Apparel has seen a relatively stable rise in new online orders over the past few days this year.

Additional Insights

Our Covid-19 Updates Webinar series can be viewed in its entirety. Our sixth installment, Road to Recovery: Business Insights & Lessons From Ecommerce Leaders, will air live Thursday, June 18 at 2 PM ET. At this, we will continue to share real-time ecommerce data from June, and host a roundtable discussion with retail industry leaders.

The next expert in our Reimagine Tomorrow series is Professor Jerry Wind of Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. On Thursday, June 4 at 2 PM ET, Wind will present Opportunities in Times of Crisis. Join the conversation on social media by using #KnowledgeInspires.

Looking for additional insights and information for your specific category? Email us at shareinsights@netelixir.com.

Learn More about Ecommerce Updates During Coronavirus

You can join the conversation on social media using #NxInsights.

For further reading, you can see our prior retail analytics updates on retail ecommerce and online shopping behavior:

• SEO Content Creation Process: Methods, from Wednesday, May 27
• Ecommerce Sales And Online Shopper Behavior Trends On The Road To Recovery, from Friday, May 22
• Road To Recovery: Year Over Year Ecommerce Sales And Online Shopper Insights, from Wednesday, May 20
• SEO Content Creation Process, from Monday, May 18
• How Should We Reopen the Economy?, from Friday, May 15

The post Memorial Day Weekend Ecommerce Sales appeared first on NetElixir.

NetElixir’s Intelligence Lab continues to aggregate and analyze the daily data of ecommerce sales and online shopper behavior to see what trends emerge throughout the coronavirus outbreak. We look at the daily online sales metrics for seven retail categories across periods as follows:

1. The Beginning, from February 9 to 22
2. The First Spike, from February 23 to March 7
3. The Outbreak Spreads, from March 8 to 21
4. The Second Spike Starts, from March 22 to April 4
5. The Outbreak Continues to Spread, from April 5 to 18
6. The Curve Starts to Show Signs of Flattening, from April 19 to May 2
7. States Start to Reopen in Phases, from May 3 to May 16

Our coronavirus update webinar from yesterday, which is recapped below, covered the daily data of periods 6 and 7 compared with the data from 2019. NetElixir’s Founder and CEO Udayan Bose shared the real-time ecommerce sales metrics and Micro-Mark’s CEO Chas Fox joined us for a live Q&A for Lessons from the CEO.

Ecommerce Sales Continue to Grow Tremendously

While the coronavirus has caused a decline in total retail sales in the United States, ecommerce sales have picked up across most categories. Online sales have grown over the course of the coronavirus and contributed to a higher percentage of overall retail sales when compared to 2019.

“There’s an incredible growth that really has been happening online,” Udayan Bose says. “We see an incredible amount of money flowing through the online channel.”

Week to week, online demand is increasing.  While Food and Grocery dominated in the early stages of the outbreak, consumers are branching out into other industries. The Apparel industry has seen some growth at the end of April and into May. Gifting and Home Furnishings have maintained overall growth week to week. Tools and Hardware and Home Decor have seen high growth throughout the month of April. A breakdown of the week over week increase in sales is shown below:

Bose sees continued growth over the next six to twelve months, resulting in a bigger holiday season for ecommerce. Certainly, this holiday season will be unlike any other we have seen before, as this year has been unlike any other. Bose does not see new online shoppers leaving ecommerce soon. Between pent-up demand, online shopping becoming more of a habit during these months at home, and the restrictions that will be in place for some time in the brick-and-mortar stores, people will continue to turn to ecommerce channels. 

Forecast of May’s Ecommerce Sales

When NetElixir previously forecasted ecommerce growth in April, we proved to be too conservative. In May, we forecast continued growth across categories:

Explosive increases in ecommerce sales could not have happened this quickly organically, Bose says. The coronavirus has accelerated the digital and ecommerce trend and will continue to have an influence. Overall, NetElixir predicts a strong and positive estimate for ecommerce metrics. 

Key Drivers in Ecommerce Growth

High website conversion rates indicate searchers are quickly turning into customers. The Pet Supplies retail category has also seen strong overall growth throughout the course of the pandemic. Within our dataset, Pet Supplies has had substantial increase in new shopper sessions, with new online orders settling at about 37% higher than the pre-pandemic level.

Overall latency (the time between first website visit and first order) for Pet Supplies has decreased significantly: 

To continue successfully acquiring new customers, business leaders and marketers need to engage these new shoppers as guests. As new shoppers are increasing, returning users are also buying more. By studying the patterns of your customers to determine any differences between new and returning, marketers will be able to capture and engage all their customers. 

Have State Reopenings Hurt Ecommerce Sales?

Each state across America is moving through its own reopening phases. NetElixir’s Intelligence Lab studied how the reopening of some stores impacted online sales. 

The number of new and returning users and length of website sessions have increased regardless of status, as people are still searching online for the Food and Grocery retail section. However, there is not as dire a need to buy immediately for those states that have total or regional reopening. Consumers have moved away from the panic buying stages and are taking their time browsing online before completing a purchase.

The online trend still has momentum, but because brick-and-mortar stores are once again an option, there is no longer as critical a sense of immediacy or fear of a long wait for essentials. Transactions are decreasing presumably because people are waiting longer to buy and shopping around more.

Lessons from the CEO of Micro-Mark 

NetElixir was excited to welcome back Chas Fox, CEO of Micro-Mark to discuss firsthand how the coronavirus is affecting the Tools and Hardware industry. Micro-Mark sells precision power tools and supplies to high-end hobbyists and makers.

Fox says that Micro-Mark’s business has more than doubled. “The numbers are amazing, but the pipeline is not fully open,” notes Fox.

Because Micro-Mark sells unique tools and self-manufactures a lot of their products, they’ve only seen about a 15-20% disruption in the supply chain. Demand, however, is soaring to holiday numbers and the overall supply chain is not operating at holiday capacity.

The supply chain disruptions have hindered additional growth opportunities. Fox says that he does not want to injure customer relationships and so has limited his selling on Amazon because a quick delivery on their end could not be guaranteed. As new customers have flocked to Micro-Mark, Fox was worried about alienating these customers with slow delivery times. Majority of people, however, seem to be forgiving and understanding of the circumstances and are becoming repeat customers.

Fox says Micro-Mark has seen an increase of about 35-45% of new customers and a spike in existing customers. Some of these existing customers order as frequently as once a week. 

How do the new customers compare to the core customers? There’s some subtle differences, Fox notes, mainly in that new customers are buying more paint than returning customers. Return rates are very low, between both new and returning customers, which is a promising sign of customer loyalty even for post-pandemic.

As Micro-Mark caters to the cosplay community, Fox says he still sees people creating despite the cancellation of large events where people could show off their skills. 

“Adaptability is key during these times,” Fox says in summary of navigating the coronavirus crisis. “Adaptability and being able to make changes on the fly is key. We’re still learning.”

Additional Insights

Our Covid-19 Updates Webinar series can be viewed in its entirety. Our sixth installment, Road to Recovery: Future of Online Grocery, will air live Thursday, June 18 at 2 PM ET.  

The next expert in our Reimagine Tomorrow series is Professor Jerry Wind of Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. On Thursday, June 4 at 2 PM ET, Wind will present Opportunities in Times of Crisis. Join the conversation on social media by using #KnowledgeInspires.

Looking for additional insights and information for your specific category? Email us at shareinsights@netelixir.com.

Learn More about Ecommerce Sales During Coronavirus

You can join the conversation on social media using #NxInsights.

For further reading, you can see our prior retail analytics updates on retail ecommerce and online shopping behavior:

• SEO Content Creation Process, from Monday, May 18
• How Should We Reopen the Economy?, from Friday, May 15
• Unlocking Technology and Data Science to Combat COVID-19 and Other Health Pandemics, from Wednesday, May 13
• Reimagine Tomorrow: Meet Our Speaker, Anindya Ghose, from Monday, May 11

The post Ecommerce Sales and Online Shopper Behavior Trends on the Road to Recovery appeared first on NetElixir.

We have seen explosive growth in multiple retail categories, especially with the release of the stimulus checks in the middle of April. The coronavirus has unlocked a huge potential for ecommerce growth, as consumers become habituated to online shopping. 

NetElixir’s Founder and CEO Udayan Bose joined our partners at BWG Strategy to discuss the latest research NetElixir’s Intelligence Lab has aggregated and why retailers who aren’t growing at a 100% year over year rate are losing market share.

Ecommerce Growth on the Road to Recovery

eCommerce sales have continued to grow year over year throughout the pandemic. While sales are not as explosive as they were at the onset of the outbreak, Bose still notes that the growth we are seeing is “exceptionally, exceptionally strong.”

“It shows the magnitude of demand we are dealing with,” Bose says. 

The Food and Grocery retail category saw enormous growth early on due to panic buying, nearly almost 600% year over year growth at the end of March. Demand has evened out, but Food and Grocery is still experiencing tremendous growth of over 200% year over year.

As food demand has stabilized and consumers are not as worried about finding food to feed their families, shoppers have turned to other ecommerce retail categories. As the chart below indicates, we see growth across industries.

Demand is constantly increasing week to week. The Apparel retail industry also saw continued growth after an initial boost from the stimulus checks. As states slowly reopen, people are enjoying the spring weather and looking for the perfect outfits to match.

There is a massive potential for ecommerce as consumers shift to online shopping. The coronavirus outbreak has accelerated digital opportunities. “This opens a completely different magnitude of demand,” Bose says, regarding eCommerce sales and revenue.”

By the end of this quarter, ecommerce sales could account for 25% of total United States retail sales, Bose predicts. This forecast accounts for social distancing measures that will still be observed, as well as the presumption of reduced foot traffic to brick-and-mortar stores that have reopened as people remain cautious of crowded places.

Declining brick-and-mortar retail sales lead to a deficiency in retail sales of about $125 billion from March and April. The pent-up demand to fill this deficient could shift online.

“With a fair amount of confidence we can say that the future is online,” Bose says. 

While the world was always moving toward a more digital landscape, the coronavirus has forced an accelerated shift. Businesses need to be nimble and have the resources, tools, and partners to manage a rapid scale up.

New Online Shoppers

Consumers who are new to online shopping are increasing dramatically. Stay-at-home orders have been in effect for over two months. People are becoming conditioned to online shopping. Coming out of the pandemic, we will have formed new habits, like continued working from home seen in companies like Twitter and more of a focus on mental health initiatives. 

Shoppers are taking less time to complete their shopping journey. With the time between a customer’s first visit and first purchase lessening, the data shows that customers are ready and willing to make a purchase quickly. Ecommerce retailers must ensure that their page load times are functioning properly because new customers may abandon a site for a competitor’s if the page load times are too slow.

According to our dataset, smaller businesses that were nimble and aggressive with customer acquisition won a larger percentage of new shoppers. This doesn’t mean, however, that existing customers are not shopping. Returning customers are buying, on average, about 76% more than pre-pandemic times.

NetElixir’s latest research is finding that Wednesday is the most prominent day for customers to shop, overturning the reign of Mondays and Fridays for the Apparel Industry pre-pandemic.

Post-Pandemic Recovery

Bose expects we can see continued growth over the next six to twelve months as we move to new events like back to school and holiday preparation. By monitoring the data of ecommerce sales and shopper behavior, marketers can learn how it will impact their business and what moves they can make to seize these digital opportunities. 

Consider the following in navigating your business to recovery:

• How much demand can ecommerce retailers manage without breaking their supply chain and ecommerce infrastructure?
• Are ecommerce retailers ready to handle the pent-up demand?
• Do they have the resources, technology, and partner ecosystem to manage a rapid scale up as ecommerce growth continues?
• Have you ramped up acquisition marketing yet to drive new website visitors?
• How do you plan to engage new shoppers?
• Are the buying patterns of your new customers similar to that of your existing customers? 

Answering these questions will help marketers and retailers to successfully manage their business post-pandemic. In the post-pandemic world, we will the emergence of a new retailer:

Retail Recovery: Lessons from Micro-Mark CEO

As part of our fifth installment in our Covid-19 Updates Webinar series, we will shift gears and explore the latest data that will lead to a successful recovery.

NetElixir is excited to welcome Chas Fox of Micro-Mark for our newest segment Lessons from the CEO. Fox will share his tool and hardware industry experience from this pandemic. He will also discuss the adjustments and business decision Micro-Mark had to make to meet the growing demand.

Micro-Mark sells precision power tools and supplies to high-end hobbyists and makers. 

NetElixir interviewed Chas Fox earlier in the year to discuss how he went from a wide receiver in the NFL to building a successful business.

https://stage.netelixir.com//micro-mark-interview/

Fox provides guidance to companies with high growth intentions and insights to traditional retail companies looking to improve in the digital marketplace. His specialities include marketing, product development, change management, business plan design and execution, and more. He will discuss:

• How Mirco-Mark has dealt with the challenges caused by the pandemic.
• Key changes he has observed in his shopper’s behavior.
• What Micro-Mark has learned in navigating this crisis.

Register at https://stage.netelixir.com//covid-19/ and tune in live tomorrow at 2 PM ET.

Additional Insights

Learn the ongoing facts of how the coronavirus impacted retail ecommerce and online shopping behavior by watching the entirety of our Covid-19 Updates Webinar series before tomorrow’s presentation. The schedule is as follows:

1. March 11: The first of the series on tracking the impact of the coronavirus on ecommerce sales and online shopping behavior.
2. March 26: Meet our first Retail Superhero, Parag Shah, the Vice President of Grocery at Wakefern Food Corporation for Shoprite. Learn over a month’s worth of research.
3. April 9: Our third update featured UPS’s President of SMB and US Marketing, Gerard Gibbons, for a live Q&A.
4. April 23: We detailed over two months’ worth of research. Kaki Zell, Co-Owner and Vice President of Ames Walker, shared a story of innovation in the apparel industry.
5. Our fifth installment, Road to Recovery – Real Time Data on eCommerce Sales & Online Shopper Behavior, will air live tomorrow May 21 at 2 PM ET.

The next expert in our Reimagine Tomorrow series is Professor Jerry Wind of Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. On Thursday, June 4 at 2 PM ET, Wind will present Opportunities in Times of Crisis. Join the conversation on social media by using #KnowledgeInspires.

Looking for additional insights and information for your specific category? Email us at shareinsights@netelixir.com.

Learn More about Ecommerce Updates During Coronavirus

You can join the conversation on social media using #NxInsights.

For further reading, you can see our prior retail analytics updates on retail ecommerce and online shopping behavior:

• SEO Content Creation Process, from Monday, May 18
• How Should We Reopen the Economy?, from Friday, May 15
• Unlocking Technology and Data Science to Combat COVID-19 and Other Health Pandemics, from Wednesday, May 13
• Reimagine Tomorrow: Meet Our Speaker, Anindya Ghose, from Monday, May 11
• Digital Learning in a Virtual Classroom, from Friday, May 8

The post Road To Recovery: Year over Year Ecommerce Sales And Online Shopper Insights appeared first on NetElixir.

A recent poll by Adweek shows that customers may be hesitant to return to stores even if they do reopen soon. In the ever-increasing digital landscape, an eCommerce future  might stick. Apparel stores, already one of the hardest hit during the pandemic, may continue to face uncertainty as stores reopen. Surveys indicate ambivalence toward visiting stores in-person; foot traffic reveals different data, reports the Washington Post, as out-of-staters traveled to Georgia to enjoy sit-down restaurants and hair cuts.

Reopening the economy will come in small steps.

Anindya Ghose, Heinz Riehl Chair Professor of Business and Director of the Masters of Business Analytics Program at NYU’s Stern School of Business, studies internet marketing, mobile marketing, digital analytics, social media, and more. He joined NetElixir as our first expert presenter as part of our Reimagine Tomorrow webinar series. Part of his presentation covered how technology, AI, and data science monitor and predict the spread of the coronavirus. Based on his research, he also discussed considerations for reopening the economy based on how consumers frequent retail locations.

Why Reopening the Economy Will Be ‘Experimental’

In considering reopening the economy, Professor Ghose warns that we have to be careful and assess the risks. “Gains we accrued over last weeks of isolation can be undone,” Ghose says if we open too early. 

Asymptomatic people constitute between 52% and 86% of cases. They can easily continue to spread the coronavirus if we open too much too quickly.

Ghose’s considerations take into account the probability of exposure to the coronavirus (by looking at the frequency of visits made to the business and the level of contact within that space) and the length of time on average someone would spend within that business.

For example, sit-down restaurants could pose a high threat of infection rate. Restaurants and bars draw large crowds who spend a few hours on average within these confined spaces. Thus, exposure risk to the coronavirus is high:

In creating effective policies, Ghose recommends looking at epidemic models and accounting for other possible economic interests and externalities. The opening of some businesses will call for the opening of others that may not be the safest move.

So, which businesses should we patronize?

The optimal businesses to open first are those with a low level of contact and those with outdoor areas. Currently, parks have been among the first places to open in many states and beaches are set to open next.

The separation of retail stores, however, will be difficult. The type of retail store often dictates the length of time people may linger. For example, time spent in book, toy, and game stores is often much longer than that of say, flower and gardening shops, Ghose explains.

Professor Ghose presented data which showed that restaurants are open, but at a much lower capacity than pre-pandemic. There is also little economic activity in shopping malls due to the risk of exposure.

Ghose also believes that we “could still see natural, organic social distancing,” even as more businesses open in the future. Businesses could temporarily be at 30-40% of their pre-pandemic capacity until a Covid-19 vaccine is produced. Reduced capacity could be a combination of people willfully social distancing, as well as people not being allowed to enter as frequently as they desire due to mandatory reductions.

Reopening the economy is a balancing act, as described by McKinsey, but planning ahead can lead to inspiring innovations.

Innovations During Times of Crisis

As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of all invention. And Ghose says, “This pandemic is as big a necessity as it gets.”

The SARS crisis led to an ecommerce boom in China. Ghose says that there was no meaningful ecommerce landscape before 2003, but after the SARS outbreak, there was a boom in Asia. We have already seen the coronavirus shift the ecommerce landscape and drive more consumers to online shopping.

Digital achievements will also speed up – and we have already seen the digital landscape rapidly evolve and grow. Brands will continue to connect with consumers via social media and their ecommerce platforms. 

As the coronavirus continues, people may be more willing to use data to ensure their safety. Thus, location data from mobile phones will help in not only monitoring the spread of the coronavirus, but giving people access to retail deals near them.

Ghose predicts, “Mobile, online, digital will continue to play a big role in the retail space.”

Additional Insights

The next expert in our Reimagine Tomorrow webinar series is Professor Jerry Wind of Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. On Thursday, June 4 at 2 PM ET, Wind will present Opportunities in Times of Crisis. Join the conversation on social media by using #KnowledgeInspires.

Our partners at BWG Strategy present Real Time Data on eCommerce Sales and Online Shopper Behavior on Tuesday, May 19 at 11 AM ET. Founder and CEO of NetElixir Udayan Bose will discuss a path to a successful economic recovery and the continued impact of the coronavirus on ecommerce sales, online shopping behavior, and hot products.

Our Covid-19 Updates Webinar series can be viewed in its entirety. Our fifth installment, Road to Recovery – Real Time Data on eCommerce Sales & Online Shopper Behavior, will air live Thursday, May 21 at 2 PM ET. 

Looking for additional insights and information for your specific category? Email us at shareinsights@netelixir.com.

Learn More about Ecommerce Updates During Coronavirus

You can join the conversation on social media using #NxInsights.

For further reading, you can see our prior retail analytics updates on retail ecommerce and online shopping behavior:

• Reimagine Tomorrow: Meet Our Speaker, Anindya Ghose, from Monday, May 11
• Digital Learning in a Virtual Classroom, from Friday, May 8
• Resources to Continue Navigating the Coronavirus Crisis, from Wednesday, May 6
• In Honor of Teacher Appreciation Week 2020, from Monday, May 4

The post How Should We Reopen the Economy? appeared first on NetElixir.

joined NetElixir Founder and CEO Udayan Bose for our first installation of our Reimagine Tomorrow webinar expert series. Based on his extensive and global experience in researching the mobile economy and AI advancements, Ghose spoke on how technology has been used for predictive analytics in monitoring Covid-19, privacy considerations during global crises, and how location data has been used to analyze the extent of American social distancing.

As a digital marketing agency, NetElixir focuses on helping companies find, acquire, and engage their high value customers. As the coronavirus accelerates the shift toward a digital landscape, shoppers are turning more toward ecommerce. An ecommerce understanding is important in navigating this digital landscape. However, as the coronavirus is an unprecedented global threat, we need more than just digital knowledge and real-time shopper behavior insights to overcome this. 

We need knowledge that inspires us to look toward and plan for the future. We need thought leadership experience that sparks fresh ideas, encourages a broader world view, and shares dollops of genius to help us connect the dots and move forward, relentlessly.

NetElixir’s Reimagine Tomorrow webinar series aims to get us thinking about tomorrow through innovative thought leaders sharing their experience, insights, and research. Begin to believe that we will get through this and we will have an improved tomorrow when we do.

How Technology and Data Detected COVID-19

Artificial intelligence is used in predictive analytics to chart the spread of the coronavirus. Ghose noted that at the end of December, a Canadian AI startup called BlueDot spotted a pneumonia cluster nine days before WHO was alerted about beginning coronavirus infection. By using statements from public health officials, social media channels, airline data, and more, researchers charted predictive paths of how the virus could spread.

Data scientists have used Google’s DeepMind to analyze the protein structure of COVID-19. 

Baidu, one of the largest AI and internet companies in the world, was able to used infrared and AI-powered facial recognition software to screen people for fever in China. They could screen up to 200 people per minute.

Ghose champions technology for use as consumer empowerment, not just for businesses means to a revenue end. As contact tracing develops, there are apps available that let people check if they have taken the same flight or train as a COVID-19 patient. In Taiwan, the FaceMask App shows where consumers can find masks based on inventory tracking.

Technology offers us deeper insights into the movement and structure of viruses, which will help us to better monitor and fight outbreaks. Sophisticated technology like we currently have access to was not available during previous health crises like SARS or H1N1. While there is still much we don’t know about COVID-19, we have, as a collective, quickly developed new technology to help us understand the situation. Our innovation has only grown during the pandemic, as we unite to alleviate suffering and find solutions.

Measuring Social Distancing and Contract Tracing

Geo-location data from smartphones, CCTV surveillance footage, GPS data from cars, offline credit card transactions, ATM banking records, and more help some countries monitor social distancing compliance.

High fatality rates in the early days of Italy and Spain’s outbreaks are partly attributed to people not complying with social distancing methods. According to Ghose, research has shown that COVID-19 transmission occurs between people who are within 1 meter of each other for 15 minutes or more. The average number of infected droplets people spread increase the more people breathe, cough, and speak. This is why social distancing measures are essential in limiting the spread of the virus and helping to flatten the curve.

Contract tracing is important in tracing incidents and backtracking how infections spread and where they could have originated. It is also useful in predictions. By using travel information, contract tracing can predict the next city vulnerable to a wave of infections.

Insights from Mobile Location Data

Anindya Ghose’s body of work rests heavily in the power of smartphones and the mobile economy. Location tracking unlocks how well people followed social distancing measures. 

Ghose and a team of researchers have looked into the trade-off between privacy and location tracking as mobile phones become more prevalent. During the current crisis, research has found that Americans are willing to sacrifice some privacy for the greater good, such as monitoring the spread of COVID-19. 

However, there was still a small, but meaningful political divide evident in response to privacy concerns. Cities that leaned toward Democratic beliefs were slightly more likely to keep their location on, evidenced in the chart below. The dotted line marks official stay-at-home orders by President Trump on March 13. From there, we see a steep decline in people opting out of turning off location data (meaning they kept their locations open).

Compliance with Social Distancing

How well did Americans comply with states’ initial implementation of social distancing measures?

Those who were compliant with social distancing measures were more likely to share their location data than those who were not actively complying. On average, people were more likely to opt in to continuing location tracking after the crisis became prominent. 

As the days wore on, however, America did unite in trading some privacy measures for the greater good. “Prosocial behavior manifested itself during the crisis,” Ghose says, continuing that people “sacrifice a tad bit of privacy for greater social good.”

Additional Insights

The next expert in our Reimagine Tomorrow webinar series is Professor Jerry Wind at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. On Thursday, June 4 at 2 PM ET, Wind will present Opportunities in Times of Crisis. 

Our partners at BWG Strategy present Real Time Data on eCommerce Sales and Online Shopper Behavior on Tuesday, May 19 at 11 AM ET. Founder and CEO of NetElixir Udayan Bose will discuss a path to a successful economic recovery and the continued impact of the coronavirus on ecommerce sales, online shopping behavior, and hot products.

Our Covid-19 Updates Webinar series can be viewed in its entirety. Our fifth installment, Road to Recovery – Real Time Data on eCommerce Sales & Online Shopper Behavior, will air live Thursday, May 21 at 2 PM ET.

Looking for additional insights and information for your specific category? Email us at shareinsights@netelixir.com.

Learn More about Ecommerce Updates During COVID-19

You can join the conversation on social media using #NxInsights.

For further reading, you can see our prior retail analytics updates on retail ecommerce and online shopping behavior:

• Reimagine Tomorrow: Meet Our Speaker, Anindya Ghose, from Monday, May 11
• Digital Learning in a Virtual Classroom, from Friday, May 8
• Resources to Continue Navigating the Coronavirus Crisis, from Wednesday, May 6
• In Honor of Teacher Appreciation Week 2020, from Monday, May 4

The post Unlocking Technology and Data Science to Combat COVID-19 and Other Health Pandemics appeared first on NetElixir.

To fully recover, grow, and evolve, we need to understand the real-time data and keep up-to-date with any tools and resources available that will help us through this crisis.

May 2020 Forecast As Coronavirus Continues

NetElixir has been monitoring the impact of coronavirus on ecommerce sales and online shopping behavior since February. Ecommerce sales across most retail categories are growing, as shown by our data:

The Apparel retail category is unfortunately still suffering the brunt of the coronavirus damage. The distribution of the stimulus checks across the United States offered some relief to the Apparel industry. This suggests pent-up demand that could boost sales as states slowly begin to open. The stimulus checks correlated with the first week-over-week increase in sales for the Apparel industry. While still negative year-over-year for April, we are seeing growth from March 2020 to April 2020.

The change in ecommerce sales has not deterred the spirit of American innovation, entrepreneurship, and community. Dozens of retailers have turned over their resources to produce masks for their clients and those in need. Safety doesn’t have to compromise style, as fashion industries pivot to keep their wares unique and effective. Kaki Zell of Ames Walker discusses how her company re-engineered their manufacturing capabilities and resources overnight to produce masks for her client’s continued medical aid and protection.

Of course, there will be some changes to retail stores as they reopen. Some brick-and-mortar shoppers will return to their favorite stores. However, many who were introduced to online shopping during the pandemic can become accustomed to it. We will see a continued acceleration to a digital landscape, as virtual connections help us to stay in touch and communicate with each other and our customers.

At NetElixir, based on our continued research, we expect May will continue to be a strong month for most ecommerce categories. As states slowly emerge from lockdown, we expect overall retail sales to go up across categories.

Small Business Aid

Small businesses bear the brunt of the difficulties created by the coronavirus crisis. NetElixir has a resource of free ecommerce tools available. These tools help small businesses manage and optimize their ecommerce website. Ecommerce provides a lifeline to continued business growth. Get your ecommerce site up and running to capture new online shoppers and connect with your customers.

Supplier diversity will help in the recovery process. We have seen strong examples of business resilience to inspire hope as we continue to move forward together. 

Based on our research, we have compiled some recommendations for marketers:

• Low CPCs and high online conversion rates reveal an attractive opportunity to increase ad spend ROI. Invest now to earn more later.
• Reserve an incremental amount from your planned media budget for small testing and experimenting to entice new online shoppers and engage your high-value and returning customers.
• Effectively engaging the new online shopper demographic (18-24 and 45-54 age groups) will increase the chances of these customers remaining at least partially loyal to online shopping, even as brick-and-mortar stores begin opening.

Upcoming Webinars

To continue to provide you with information to enrich your business strategy, connect you with the world at large, and continue learning, we have multiple upcoming webinars:

Our X=Experience: Expert Webinar Series kicks off on Tuesday, May 12 at 2 PM ET with Anindya Ghose, acclaimed NYU Stern Professor of Business and Director of the Masters of Business Analytics Program. His presentation on Leveraging AI, Data, and Tech Platforms To Understand Health Pandemics will cover:

• How tech has been used for predictive analytics in Covid-19
• What academics have learned from research on mobile location data
• How cell phone location data has been used to analyze the extent of American social distancing 

Our partners at BWG Strategy present Real Time Data on eCommerce Sales and Online Shopper Behavior on Tuesday, May 19 at 11 AM ET. Founder and CEO of NetElixir Udayan Bose will discuss:

• Let the Data Dictate Direction – A path to a successful recovery
• Impact of COVID-19 on online shopper behavior, conversion rates & eCommerce sales
• Checklist for digital marketers
• Update on Hand Sanitizers – Are they still a “hot product”

The fifth installment in our Impact of Covid-19 on Retail Ecommerce Webinar series will be live Thursday, May 21 at 2 PM ET.

Our second expert will be Jerry Wind, Professor of Marketing at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.Wind will present Opportunities in Times of Crisis on Thursday, June 4 as part of our monthly X=Experience: Expert Series.

Additional Insights

Our Covid-19 Updates Webinar series can be viewed in its entirety. The schedule is as follows:

1. March 11: The first of the series on tracking the impact of the coronavirus on ecommerce sales and online shopping behavior
2. March 26: Meet our first Retail Superhero, Parag Shah, the Vice President of Grocery at Wakefern Food Corporation for Shoprite, and learn over a month’s worth of research
3. April 9: Our third update featured UPS’s President of SMB and US Marketing, Gerard Gibbons, for a live Q&A
4. April 23: We detailed over two months’ worth of research and introduced Kaki Zell, Co-Owner and Vice President of Ames Walker for a story of innovation in the apparel industry

While we have covered an extensive dataset, it is by no means exhaustive. Please email us at shareinsights@netelixir.com for specifics into your category.

Learn More about Ecommerce Updates During Coronavirus

You can join the conversation on social media using #NxInsights.

For further reading, you can see our prior retail analytics updates on retail ecommerce and online shopping behavior:

• In Honor of Teacher Appreciation Week 2020, from Monday, May 4
• Brief Ecommerce Sales Updates, from Friday, May 1
• Brief Retail Analytics Updates Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, from Wednesday, April 29
• Apparel Industry Leader Weighs in on Impact of Coronavirus Outbreak, from Monday, April 27
• Retail ECommerce Throughout the Coronavirus Outbreak: April Updates, from Friday, April 24

The post Resources to Continue Navigating the Coronavirus Crisis appeared first on NetElixir.