Blog and Research Digest — Week 17, 2020

Every week, the Digishare team prepare a digest of the previous 7 days of online retail news. Along the way, we’ll pick the most interesting stories from the worlds of technology, social media, marketing and more, allowing you to see everything at a glance.

Retail News and Trends

Surge in ecommerce will outlive corona across Europe, consumer research suggest
https://internetretailing.net/covid-19/surge-in-ecommerce-will-outlive-corona-across-europe-consumer-research-suggest-21231
“The share of consumers that do 50% or more of their total number of purchases online has increased dramatically on all three of Europe’s biggest e-commerce markets.”

Food, Electronics and Home goods top three performing categories online, but hardest hit sectors plummet 15%
https://internetretailing.net/industry/food-electronics-and-home-goods-top-three-performing-categories-online-but-hardest-hit-sectors-plummet-15-21221
“Ecommerce revenues and conversions for Food, Electronics and Home goods have seen a rise due to the impact of Covid-19, while the hardest hit verticals have seen a 15% decrease in revenues.”

White goods, cars and properties top list of purchases put on hold by 40% of shoppers
https://internetretailing.net/customer/white-goods-cars-and-properties-top-list-of-purchases-put-on-hold-by-40-of-shoppers–21220
“Forty per cent of consumers plan to spend as little as possible for the coming months, with 47% of UK consumers saying that the Coronavirus crisis will have a significant impact on their spending habits over the next 12 months, according to this week’s instalment of Mapp Digital’s Covid-19 Consumer Confidence Report.”

Klarna shows COVID-19 related shift in purchases toward health, beauty
https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/news/klarna-shows-covid-19-related-shift-in-purchases-toward-health-beauty/
“For retailers and brands, this week’s data may indicate that shoppers are choosing to buy items such as skincare and things like jigsaw puzzles and craft materials, now that they have already purchased the comfortable clothes they need to get through this work at home period”

Retailers urged to continue trading online amid Covid-19 chaos
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2020/04/retailers-urged-to-continue-trading-online-amid-covid-19-chaos/
“Business secretary Alok Sharma has urged UK retailers to continue trading online “as a vital lifeline” for the nation amid the Covid-19 pandemic.”

RetailX Tracker: how coronavirus is continuing to change the way we shop, four weeks in
https://internetretailing.net/covid-19/retailx-tracker-how-coronavirus-is-continuing-to-change-the-way-we-shop-four-weeks-in-21241
“The third edition of the RetailX Coronavirus Consumer Sentiment Tracker suggests that shoppers are gradually buying online more than they used to before the outbreak of the pandemic – while three in 10 have [stopped] buying from bricks and mortar stores altogether.”

RetailX Coronavirus Consumer Confidence Tracker – 8th April
https://internetretailing.net/covid-19/retailx-coronavirus-consumer-confidence-tracker—8th-april-21243
“The first consumer survey that formed part of this series was conducted almost seven weeks ago. Since then, few businesses and retailers, in particular, have been untouched by the effects of the virus and the lockdown on consumer confidence and behaviour.”

Online sales growing at Black Friday levels [halfway down the page]
https://internetretailing.net/themes/updated-coronavirus-round-up-ons-aldi-imrg-dunelm-waitrose-and-more-21262
“Online sales grew by 38% last week, according to the latest figures from the IMRG-Capgemini online sales tracker. That, said Lucy Gibbs, managing consultant, retail insight, at Capgemini, is the kind of sales growth previously only seen around Black Friday.”

Consumer spending declines 6% in March as coronavirus measures take effect, yet some retailers see strong growth
https://internetretailing.net/customer/consumer-spending-declines-6-in-march-as-coronavirus-measures-take-effect-yet-some-retailers-see-strong-growth-21248
“Analysis of nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions handled by the payment company, reveals that spending on essential items rose by 11.6%.”

March retail sales plummet as crisis unfolds, but online not as hard hit
https://internetretailing.net/industry/march-retail-sales-plummet-as-crisis-unfolds-but-online-not-as-hard-hit-21249
“However, ecommerce fared better. Online non-food sales increased by 18.8% in March, against a growth of 2.5% in March 2019. This is above the 12-month average growth of 4.4%. Non-food online penetration rate increased from 29.3% in March 2019 to 43.5% this March.”

Amazon faces warehouse shutdown in France
https://internetretailing.net/marketplaces/amazon-faces-warehouse-shutdown-in-france-21254
“A French court has ordered Amazon to stop selling non-essential goods in the country as the company faces criticism over the risk of infection spreading in its warehouses.”

How UK consumer shopping habits are set to be permanently altered by lockdown
https://internetretailing.net/covid-19/-how-uk-consumer-shopping-habits-are-set-to-be-permanently-altered-by-lockdown–21245
“More than three quarters (77%) of these went on to say that they expect they will continue to purchase online more once the lockdown is over – indicating a potentially irreversible change in consumer purchasing behaviour.”

First month under lockdown sends online clothing sales spiralling down, gardening, electricals and beauty sales up
https://internetretailing.net/industry/first-month-under-lockdown-sends-online-clothing-sales-spiralling-down-gardening-electricals-and-beauty-sales-up-21247
“In the month where Spring buying would typically set in, online clothing sales were down -23.1% Year-on-Year (YoY), but lockdown sent online garden sales soaring to +94.4% YoY.”

“Unforgettable Easter weekend for retail” sees footfall down 83% on last year
https://internetretailing.net/industry/unforgettable-easter-weekend-for-retail-sees-footfall-down-83-on-last-year-21246
“Latest data from Retail Intelligence experts Springboard reveals that footfall across UK retail bricks and mortar destinations was 83.1% lower than Easter weekend last year and 14.5% lower than over the same four days in the previous week.”

Amazon continues to gain share in apparel
https://www.retaildive.com/news/amazon-continues-to-gain-share-in-apparel/576185/
“More than 70% of apparel shoppers bought clothing or footwear on Amazon in the past 12 months, up 10 percentage points from last year and almost 25 percentage points from 2018, according to Coresight Research’s latest survey of clothing consumers, released April 14…”

Amazon hiring on once again to handle pandemic’s online shopping surge
https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/news/amazon-hiring-on-once-again-to-handle-pandemics-online-shopping-surge/
“The online shopping surge due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is driving Amazon to hire on another 75,000 employees less than a month after it announced it was hiring on 100,000 workers.”

Amazon sellers get green light to send any kind of item to Amazon warehouses
https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/news/amazon-sellers-get-green-light-to-send-any-kind-of-item-to-amazon-warehouses/
“While it lifted the ban on what can be shipped to warehouses it is limiting the number of items at this point.”

Opinion

British retailers should prepare for growth in the Chinese e-commerce market post coronavirus
https://internetretailing.net/international/british-retailers-should-prepare-for-growth-in-the-chinese-e-commerce-market-post-coronavirus-21244
“Morecroft says that when the outbreak of the virus occurred in China earlier this year, it inadvertently created a boom in the Chinese e-commerce market as consumers were forced to self-quarantine.”

From Covid-19 to sustainability: Rob Hattrell of eBay on what’s driving change in the way we shop
https://internetretailing.net/interviews/interview-from-covid-19-to-sustainability-rob-hattrell-of-ebay-on-whats-driving-change-in-the-way-we-shop
“In today’s interview, Rob Hattrell, chief executive of online marketplace eBay UK, talks about the factors that are currently driving the way we shop – and how retailers can respond”

India’s coronavirus lockdown has given online grocers the opportunity of a lifetime
https://qz.com/india/1831130/inside-covid-19s-impact-on-indias-grocery-delivery-boom/

Why Amazon warehouses are shut down in France, and why it won’t happen in the US
https://qz.com/1839177/why-amazon-is-shut-down-in-france/

Even once Covid-19 is under control, stores may think twice about reopening right away
https://qz.com/1835802/once-covid-19-is-tamed-stores-still-may-not-want-to-open-right-away/

Will COVID-19 change consumer buying habits long term?
https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/articles/will-covid-19-change-consumer-buying-habits-long-term-2/
“While everyone is anxious for the day when a proven vaccine allows us to return to our daily routines, will consumer buying habits really be the same as pre-COVID-19?”

Marketing

Signal to noise: Connecting with customers in times of crisis
https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/blogs/signal-to-noise-connecting-with-customers-in-times-of-crisis/
“Success in this new paradigm means finding a way to cut through this noise to sustain meaningful relationships with the customers you’ve worked so hard to create.”

What Marketers Can Learn From Freelancers About Working Remotely
https://contently.com/2020/04/14/marketers-learn-freelancers-working-remotely/
“To gather tips on being productive while working remotely, I talked to freelancers and consultants who, like myself, have already lived this life for years.”

Why and How to Bring Empathy Into Your Content
https://moz.com/blog/how-to-bring-empathy-into-your-content
“Creating content can feel incredibly difficult right now. If you’re like me, you’ve spent the last few weeks oscillating between a can-do approach and hours of staring into space. Here’s how to tap into those very real emotions and channel them into more impactful content.”

The No-Fail Formula for Creating Awesome Webinar Content
https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2020/04/create-webinar-content/
“But, as of now, it seems not enough B2B or B2C companies excel in webinar creation. I compiled this list of the tips and tools that will help even novice marketers create highly effective webinar content.”