According to the findings of a new report by Germany-based secondary market research specialist yStats.com, “COVID-19 Impact on Global E-Commerce and Online Payments: May 2020,” over four in ten digital buyers shop online more due to the pandemic. The study summarizes the latest data on how the outbreak is affecting the development of digital commerce, payments, and online verticals around the world.
Coronavirus accelerates the shift to E-Commerce
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus around the world is changing the way consumers make their purchases. According to a survey from April 2020, cited in the yStats.com report, over four in ten online shoppers admitted buying more over the Internet due to inability to access brick-and-mortar stores. Furthermore, close to one in five said they were shopping online for the first time ever during the outbreak. The world’s largest online shopping platforms, Amazon and Alibaba, reported significant growth in online orders and traffic during Q1 2020. The trend is transforming the global retail market, accelerating the shift to digital channels. As a result, E-Commerce is projected to account for around a third of global retail sales by 2024.
COVID-19’s Impact is uneven across online verticals
Not all product segments and verticals have benefitted from increased online shopping during the coronavirus. The winners include online groceries, daily necessities, digital gaming and video on demand services. On the opposite side is online travel and airlines. Short term rental bookings with OTAs including Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia were down by as much as -90% during the first three weeks in April 2020. Overall, the international tourism industry is projected to lose up to EUR 1 trillion due to the outbreak.
Contactless payments surge during the outbreak
As another consequence of the pandemic, contactless payments received a major boost as both shoppers and merchants try to avoid handling cash. More than three-quarters of consumers surveyed in April 2020 considered contactless to be a cleaner way to pay, yStats.com reports. Also, the adoption of online payment methods increased, as buyers went shopping online for the first time or used new E-Commerce websites. The accelerated digital transformation of the retail industry represents a major opportunity to payment companies in the long term. However, the fall of transaction volume in the travel segment and in-store retail is projected to negatively impact global payment revenues in 2020.
