Five Digital Shopping Trends Surging due to the Coronavirus

Introduction

Scope of Digital Consumer

Key findings

Impact of Covid-19 on Shopping Behaviour

COVID-19 crisis is driving radical shifts in consumer shopping behaviour

Five digital shopping trends in the spotlight due to COVID-19

Brand Engagement Goes Virtual

Crisis forced brands to pivot consumer engagements to digital channel

More consumers turning to social media, but engagements forced to evolve

China pioneered and still leads the way on the livestreaming trend

Case study: Alibaba’s livestreaming platform sees uptake amid COVID-19

Case study: Naixue Tea chain uses livestreaming for product launch

Virtual try-on features enable brands to mimic in-person experience

Case study: Ace & Tate introduces online styling advice and try-ons

Case study: Lazada helps mall operators in Southeast Asia go virtual

AR/VR technologies used to create virtual try-on experiences

Case study: IKEA continues augment virtual shopping features

While being experiential remains important, it raises privacy concerns

Key takeaways

E-Commerce As the Default Setting

E-commerce posted a double-digit percentage point increase during crisis

Consumer spotlight: 30-44 year-olds led digital shift during crisis

Consumers turned to mobile more for purchases during COVID-19

Digital channel becomes a lifeline for struggling foodservice operators

Case study: Sysco pivots operations to capture the retail surge

Case study: Ritual Coffee began selling grocery items during the crisis

Grocery e-commerce moves into the digital spotlight during COVID-19

Case study: Walmart experiences a 30% jump in online orders

Case study: MercadoLibre launches grocery interface in new markets

Half of industry respondents expect e-commerce boom to be permanent

Key takeaways

New era of contactless retail

COVID-19 pandemic ushers in the era of touch-free shopping

Consumers see greatest value from checkout-free options

Consumer spotlight: PayPal users are least open to walk-in, walk-out tech

Consumer spotlight: fans of shopping malls also like virtual fitting rooms

Case study: SenseMi offers virtual fitting in store and online

Case study: A I-powered Fit:Match tech reduces need to try on clothes

COVID-19 accelerates interest in contactless payment options

Case study: Visa reports surge in contactless payments usage globally

Case study: Presto’s contactless tech helps restaurants open safely

Key takeaways

Commerce without humans

Robots are becoming more intertwined with commerce ecosystem

Case study: Gap accelerates plans to modernise its supply chain

Case study: Tyson expects to invest more in automation due to COVID-19

Case study: lockdown tests online grocery pioneer Ocado’s robots

Case study: Brain Corp experienced sharp rise in robotics interest

Still early days for robotics being leveraged across commerce

At least a third of consumers are comfortable interfacing with robots

Consumer spotlight: big-city consumers most open to robots in store

Consumer spotlight: married millennials most open to robotic chefs

COVID-19 likely to boost long-term investment in robotics

Key takeaways

Forced Reinvention of the last mile

Cost outweighs speed in terms of desired delivery features

Consumer spotlight: Chileans have strongest desire for click and collect

Tech products are the most common click-and-collect purchases

Case study: Best Buy added curbside pick-up in light of closures

Case study: Westfield introduces multi-retailer click and collect

Almost half of population is open to robots or drones making deliveries

Consumer spotlight: Chinese consumers most open to robotic delivery

Case study: M eituan Dianping unveils robotic delivery in February

Case study: A mazon could slash delivery costs with new acquisition

Curbside pick-up, robots and nano -fulfilment centres all part of the future

Case study: Ohi uses nano-fulfilment centres to get items closer to homes

Case study: Rebel Foods maps path to delivery-only foodservice success

Key takeaways

Key takeaways

Crisis likely to accelerate many digital shopping trends already in motion

Digital investment is thought to be key factor in remaining competitive

How we can expect these trends to change the future of commerce

Appendix

Digital Consumer analysis regularly leverages multiple methodologies

An overview of methodologies often used in Digital Consumer analysis (1)

An overview of methodologies often used in Digital Consumer analysis (2)

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