Will More Consumers Shop Online Forever? Even After The Pandemic?

The pandemic has changed everything. Almost a year on since the initial phase of the lockdown and we are still caught in the grips of COVID-19. Though there are many polarizing things we can discuss about this virus, which we won’t, there is one thing that we can all agree upon.

The pandemic has changed the way people interact online. Simple as that.

For one, work has moved online. Many people are still working from home and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.¹

According to Nicholas Bloom at Stanford University, “We see an incredible 42 percent of the U.S. labor force now working from home full-time. About another 33 percent are not working – a testament to the savage impact of the lockdown recession. And the remaining 26 percent – mostly essential service workers – are working on their business premises. So, by sheer numbers, the U.S. is a working-from-home economy. Almost twice as many employees are working from home as at work.”²

But it does not just work, we are seeing the shopping and spending habits of consumers change drastically as well.

Online businesses in Florida are booming, as are many businesses around the country. In fact, almost every single business that faired extremely well through the pandemic was online.³ And Tech stocks continue to be the best-performing stocks on the market by a massive margin.⁴

The dichotomy of in-person business and online business is troubling. In-person businesses are taking a noticeable hit and will continue to do so unless they can convince customers that is safe to gather again.

But many believe that COVID-19 has changed the way we shop, and many consumers may have changed habits forever, favoring the ability to order online and not venture into stores.⁵

There was even the first-ever online concert that sold over 12,000 tickets.

The number of businesses purchasing high risk merchant accounts has also seen a steady increase and shows no sign of slowing down. Businesses are pivoting more and more to an online marketplace.

The question then becomes, if concerts can work online, and we can work online, and shopping and work online… how much of our lives may eventually transition to an online-only environment.

Sources:

1. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/12/09/how-the-coronavirus-outbreak-has-and-hasnt-changed-the-way-americans-work/
2. https://news.stanford.edu/2020/06/29/snapshot-new-working-home-economy/
3. https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/business/companies-performed-exceptionally-well-2020/
4. https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stock-markets-dow-update-03-09-2021-11615279243
5. https://unctad.org/news/covid-19-has-changed-online-shopping-forever-survey-shows

Alexander Ellis( President )

My interest in the financial world started to blossom in High School. However, my parents tell me I use to watch financial programs before the age of 5. So, I guess I was born with the Financial bug. In high school I was accepted into their Finance Academy, which I attended for 4 years. In addition to graduating high school, I accumulated a substantial amount of financial knowledge few people experience at such a young age. During which time, I won the State of Florida Stock Market Contest and I also finished in the top 100 in the CNBC stock market contest which had over 1 million participants throughout the country (including some of Wall Street’s elites) with a take home prize of $1 million. These achievements allowed me to be invited to many shows and events with top people in their fields of business from around the world.