Ecommerce v High Street

Over the past couple of years, we have seen a major increase in the number of people choosing to shop online rather than travel to their local high street to purchase goods. This has led to a mass increase in online retail and played a critical part in high street retailers now struggling to survive.

This article will cover:

• Why online shopping is becoming so popular
• The impact of COVID – Online retail compared to high street retail
• Future of eCommerce
• How to optimise your online store

Why online shopping is becoming so popular

• The practicality of online shopping has played a major part in the popularity of online shopping as customers can now purchase goods from the comfort of their home or on the go.
• Online stores tend to have a much wider range of products for customers, including worldwide products, compared to high street store.
• Online retailers provide product ratings and reviews for customers, which allows people to research and compare items before purchasing
• Customers can purchase goods that can be found to be sold out in high street stores

The impact of COVID – Online retail compared to high street retail

There is really no surprise that the pandemic along with worldwide lockdowns played a major role in the popularity of online shopping. Whether it comes to people feeling safer, stores being closed during lockdown periods or some stores having to close their doors for good due to the losses incurred from the pandemic, shoppers have ditched the high street for their laptops and living rooms.

“With just 9% of respondents saying they’ll return to the high streets ‘immediately’ once shops reopen, eCommerce stands to benefit hugely from the pandemic. Online shopping is the natural solution to the restrictions placed on us by COVID-19: it’s the safe, easy and often cheaper option than in-person shopping, especially given the rise of Direct To Customer (DTC) brands.” (Hug, 2020)

Future of eCommerce

This quote taken from Forbes magazine (Feb, 2022) shows the rapid growth of online shopping over the past couple of years, and the stigma seems to that this growth is only to increase year upon year, with online shopping retail reaching new heights, pulling further away from high street retail.

“E-Commerce sales were $870 billion in the US in 2021, a 14.2% increase over 2020 and a 50.5% increase over 2019. E-Commerce represented 13.2% of all retail sales in 2021 in the US.

The fastest growth category of e-commerce sales over the past two years were furniture, building materials, and electronics which cumulatively grew more than 200% since 2019. Food and beverage e-commerce grew 170%, representing 9.6% of all grocery sales in 2021 according to eMarketer. Apparel was one of the few categories of e-commerce to grow slower than the industry average at 39%.” (Forbes, Feb 2022)

The market only perceives to increase as more and more high street brands and independent businesses are focusing on eCommerce and online sales and marketing or making the permanent switch from the high street to online stores. When people are buying goods and services, they are frequently doing so online, rather than in person. Online transactions now account for 19% of all retail sales in UK, and that figure is set to increase to 53% within the next ten years.

Why choose e commerce and how to optimise your online store

The affect e commerce has had on the high street shows how important it is to understand your customer’s needs, behaviour, and trends and how to act on these in a prompt manor. It also shows how crucial the needs of digital marketing are and how this should be a main factor when starting up or switching to an online store.

With an online store, you have access to analytics providing useful customer data and statistics that can be used to optimise websites and product information to what the customer wants.

Here are some tips to improve the user experience for online shoppers are as follows:

• Include relevant keywords to maximise your SEO and attract the right customers.
• Ensuring the payment page is easy to use and quick!
• Offer discounts and promotions on products.
• Make sure products are easy to navigate on the website.

E commerce is a trend that’s not going anywhere soon, and for business owners still deciding whether to move their retail brand online, NOW IS THE TIME!