Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been reached daily by negative information, as much about the health status of thousands of people around the world as about theeconomy-both Italian and international-which will unfortunately suffer a major slowdown because of the Coronavirus itself.
In situations such as these, one must not become demoralized, otherwise the fall into the abyss becomes rapid and with no possibility of rising again. What to do then?
There is no ‘magic‘ formula to get out of this crisis, but there is knowledge and related applied technologies to limit the negative impact caused by Covid-19.
Moreover, it is crucial to be aware that in every crisis situation there are opportunities, encapsulated in this unfortunate circumstance, in the application potential of digital services.
Coronavirus and e-commerce: planning and applying a digital exit strategy
The damage-mitigating effects on the productive fabric caused by the Coronavirus are already a reality: smart working, video conferencing systems and e-learning are enabling organizations such as companies, government offices, schools and universities to maintain continuity of service.
However, to date, the choices and operational processes for dealing with the damage caused by Covid-19 have occurred in a wave of urgency, not even allowing sufficient time to make thoughtful strategic choices.
Armed with realism and moderate optimism, many entrepreneurs might take this crisis as an opportunity to reflect on the state of their company’s digitization, considering making targeted investments in the short to medium term to initiate or implement projects in e-commerce or digital marketing.
Certainly at this time it is not easy to ask an entrepreneur to invest, but let us stop and take a detached look at what is happening, not only negative, around us.
Covid-19 and the boom in online sales
Restrictions on commerce placed by the government in recent weeks to address the Coronavirus emergency have caused a propulsive boost to online sales, with extraordinary benefits particularly for the food, household supply, and large-scale retail sectors.
A Nielsen survey of online sales of FMCG products, for example, found an increase between the last week of February and the first week of March of80 percent compared to 2019, with a 30 percent increase if we consider the period leading up to the health emergency outbreak.
This completely abnormal situation prompted many people to search e-commerce platforms for the products they needed, including for entertainment purposes (video on demand or book purchases) and not exclusively to buy basic necessities.
Reflexively, the logistics sector is also experiencing spikes in work to cope with the increased demand for goods while trying to maintain an efficient level of service that best meets the needs of buyers.
In addition, those in the e-commerce supply chain are noticing significant growth in demand from consumers less accustomed to making purchases and payments online.
This scenario is also confirmed by the performance of many e-commerce platforms we manage: orders and sales are not standing still and cash flow is steady. Other entrepreneurs we work with, however, have had to close their physical stores momentarily, but continue to sell products online and thus ensure continuity of service to customers. Still others have activated very targeted digital marketing campaigns to facilitate matching the demand for specific products with their commercial offerings.
Therefore, as much as Covid-19 is challenging the entire country and beyond, it is mainly up to entrepreneurs to invest, in a calibrated and targeted way, in digital tools to avoid succumbing to this invisible enemy.
