Description
Countries Covered: Canada, USA
Pages: 96
Publication Date: 25/06/2020
Questions Covered in the report:
- How did the coronavirus outbreak affect the development of B2C E-Commerce in North America?
- What are the 2020 post-COVID projections for online retail sales in Canada and the USA?
- Which product categories did North American consumers buy online during the lockdown?
- What is the impact of COVID-19 on online and mobile payments in this region?
- Which digital verticals in the U.S. are projected to grow as a result of the outbreak, and which ones to decline?
Key Findings:
North America’s B2C E-Commerce Sales Rise Amid COVID-19 Outbreak
North American consumers pivot to online shopping during the pandemic
Since the start of the lockdown in March 2020, online retail sales across North America have been on the rise. Consumers sheltering in place turned to E-Commerce websites to buy daily necessities and other products. In the U.S., more than one in four shoppers were buying online more than usual in March 2020, rising to one in two by April 2020. Also in Canada, E-Commerce growth accelerated as the lockdown lingered, with online sales more than doubling in April 2020 compared to the same month in 2019. This stunning growth, however, was not sufficient to compensate for the decline in brick-and-mortar sales, causing overall retail sales volumes to shrink. Between March and May 2020, total retail sales fell by more than -10% in the U.S., while in Canada, sales were down by one-third in April 2020 alone. As a result, E-Commerce’s share of total retail sales is projected to increase significantly in 2020, gaining several percentage points both in Canada and the U.S., according to projections cited by yStats.com.
Top product categories purchased online amid COVID-19
The leading product categories that North American consumers purchased the most over the past few months included food and beverages, health and beauty, and hygiene and disease-prevention products. Furthermore, several online services such as video streaming, gaming, and food delivery received a boost during the outbreak. Online streaming platforms such as Netflix gained new subscribers, and app downloads of grocery delivery services like Instacart and Walmart more than doubled at the start of the lockdown in the U.S. On the other hand, online travel received a major hit from the lockdown and travel restrictions, with U.S. sales projected to drop by almost a half in 2020.
COVID-19 gives rise to contactless delivery and payments
Social distancing measures gave rise to a new form of delivery for online orders. Contactless delivery was used by more than two-thirds of U.S. adults, according to a May 2020 survey cited in the yStats.com report. Also with regard to payments, contactless is the new normal, with nearly a third of U.S. consumers starting to use contactless card and mobile payments since the outbreak. When buying online, shoppers in both in the U.S. continued to give their preference to credit card payments.
The outbreak to affect the future development of North America’s online retail
The COVID-19 outbreak is expected to influence the B2C E-Commerce market in the U.S. and Canada for years to come. Following the robust growth in 2020, online retail sales are projected to slow in 2021 as the effect of the looming economic recession kicks in. However, the trend of buying more items online and less in-store is expected to linger post the pandemic, benefitting online sales of large retailers such as Amazon, Walmart and Canadian Tire.
1. Management Summary
2. Regional Development
- Retail E-Commerce Sales Worldwide, by Region, incl. North America, in USD billion, 2020f
- Total Retail Sales Value Loss Worldwide, by Region incl. North America, in USD billion, 2020f Compared to 2019
- E-Commerce Share of Total Retail Sales in North America, by Country, in %, 2019-2022f
- Selected Omnichannel Shopping Activities Conducted By Internet Users in North America Since The COVID-19 Outbreak, in % of Internet Users, April 2020
3. USA
3.1. Overview
- COVID-19 Impact on B2C E-Commerce Sales, June 2020
3.2. Impact on B2C E-Commerce Sales & Shares
- Total Adjusted Retail Sales and E-Commerce Sales, in USD million, E-Commerce Share of Total Retail Sales, in %, and Change from Same Quarter a Year Ago, in %, Q1 2018 – Q1 2020
- Total Adjusted Retail Sales, in USD million, by Kind of Business, incl. Non-Store Retailers, and Change from 2019, in %, March 2020-May 2020
- Consumer Spending Forecast, incl. Real Consumer Spending Change, by Type of Goods, Net Household Wealth, Unemployment Rate, and Consumer Price Index, 2019 – 2025f
- Total Retail Sales Growth Forecast, by Pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 Forecasts, 2019 – 2022f
- Total Retail Sales, in USD billion, and Year-on-Year Change, in %, 2018 – 2022f
- Retail E-Commerce Sales Growth Forecast, by Pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 Forecasts, 2019 – 2022f
- Retail E-Commerce Sales, in USD billion, and Year-on-Year Change, in %, 2018 – 2022f
- E-Commerce Share of Total Sales Forecast, by Pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 Forecasts, 2019 – 2022f
3.3. Impact on Online Shoppers
- Share of Consumers Shopping Online More Frequently as A Result of The Coronavirus Outbreak, in %, March 2020
- Breakdown of Changes in Online Shopping Due To The COVID-19 Outbreak, March 2020 & April 2020
- Change in Online and In-Store Shopping Following COVID-19, in % of Consumers, by Generation, June 2020
- Share of Consumers Planning to Purchase Essential Goods Online After COVID-19, by Generation, in %, May 2020
- Breakdown of Expected Increase/Decrease in Online Shopping Post-COVID-19 Compared to Before, by Grocery and Non-Grocery, in % of Consumers, April/May 2020
3.4. Impact on B2C E-Commerce Product Segments & Online Verticals
- Product Categories Purchased Online During The COVID-19 Outbreak, in % of Online Shoppers, April 2020
- Top 2 Product Categories by Retail E-Commerce Sales Growth Amid COVID-19, in %, by Pre-COVID-19 Forecast and COVID-19 Forecast, in %, 2020f vs. 2019
- Share of Adults Purchasing Selected Product Categories Online, by Before COVID-19 and After COVID-19, in %, June 2020
- Net Purchase Intent During Coronavirus Pandemic Over the Next Two Weeks, By Selected Categories, By Online And In-Store, in Percentage Points, March 30 – April 5, 2020
- Overview of COVID-19 Impact on Digital Gaming and OTT Services, June 2020
- Overview of COVID-19 Impact on Fashion & Food Delivery, June 2020
- Overview of COVID-19 Impact on Online Groceries, June 2020, and Share of Consumers Purchased Groceries Online, in %, March 2020
- Selected Digital Activities Conducted More Often Or Tried For the First Time Since the COVID-19 Outbreak, in % of Adults, June 2020
- Share of Adults Who Plan Increase or Decrease Their Use of Selected Activities, incl. Shopping Online for Groceries and Non-Groceries After COVID-19 Compared to Before, in %, June 2020
- Share of Adults Who Just Started Using or Are Using Selected Food Delivery Offers More Following The Outbreak, in %, June 2020
- Expected Change in Preference for Food Services Due to COVID-19 Outbreak, in % of Consumers, Week Ending March 6 & Week Ending March 13, 2020
- Breakdown of Changes in Online Food Shopping Behaviors Due to Coronavirus Pandemic, in % of Grocery Shoppers, March 2020
- Change in Number of Downloads of Selected Grocery Delivery Apps, in %, Mid-March 2020 Compared to February 2020
- Overview of COVID-19 Impact on Online Travel, June 2020 and Online Travel Sales, 2018-2022f
3.5. Impact on Cross-Border & Omnichannel Shopping
- Overview of Changes in Cross-Border Online Shopping During COVID-19, April 2020
- Change in Usage of Selected Omnichannel and Contactless Shopping Methods Since COVID-19, in % of Consumers, May 2020
3.6. Impact on Online Payment
- E-Commerce Payment Methods Most Used And Used For The First Time During The COVID-19 Outbreak, in % of Online Shoppers, April 2020
- COVID-19-Related Fraud Losses, in USD million, and Number of Reported Cases, by Top 5 Complaint Categories and Total, January 1 – June 8, 2020
- Payment Methods In The COVID-19-Related Fraud, incl. Losses, in USD million, and Number of Reported Cases, January 1 – June 8, 2020
- Precautions Taken by Consumers Due To COVID-19 When Shopping In-Store, in % of Consumers, March 2020
- Perceived Importance of the Contactless Feature in Credit Cards, in % of Consumers, by Pre COVID-19 and on March 3, 2020
- Consumers Who Tried Contactless Payments for the First Time During The Pandemic, in % of All Consumers, and Consumers Who Would Keep Using Contactless Payments After The Pandemic, in % of First-Time Users, March 2020
- Share of SMBs Seeing an Increase in Contactless Payments Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, in %, March 2020
3.7. Impact on B2C E-Commerce Delivery
- COVID-19 Impact on E-Commerce Delivery, June 2020, and Share of Adults Who Used Contactless Delivery, by Generation, in %, May 2020
- Top 3 E-Commerce Delivery Methods Used Since The COVID-19 Outbreak, in % of Online Shoppers, May 2020
- Share of Online Shoppers Willing to Give Retailers More Time to Deliver Items, in %, April 2020
3.8. Impact on B2C E-Commerce Players
- COVID-19 Impact on Top 2 B2C E-Commerce Companies, June 2020
- Online Merchants Purchased From During COVID-19 Outbreak, in % of Online Shoppers, April 2020
- Top 10 Retailers by E-Commerce Market Share, in %, 2020f (Post-COVID Forecast)
- Share of Adults Who Shopped on a New Website Since COVID-19, by Basics and Non-Basics, and Who Intend to Continue, in %, June 2020
4. Canada
4.1. Overview
- COVID-19 Impact on B2C E-Commerce Sales, June 2020
4.2. Impact on B2C E-Commerce Sales & Share
- Total Retail Sales, in CAD billion, Retail E-Commerce Sales, in CAD billion, and Year-on-Year Change, December 2019 – April 2020
- E-Commerce Share of Total Retail Sales, in %, December 2019 – April 2020
- Retail E-Commerce Sales, in CAD billion, and Year-on-Year Change, in %, 2018 – 2022f
- E-Commerce Share of Retail Sales, in %, 2019 – 2024f
4.3. Impact on B2C E-Commerce Products & Online Verticals
- B2C E-Commerce Sales Growth in Selected Segments, in %, During March 11 – May 3, 2020, Compared to The Same Period in 2019
- Breakdown of Change in Frequency of Ordering Home Food Delivery Since The Outbreak, in % of Internet Users, April 2020
4.4. Impact on M-Commerce & Cross-Border Shopping
- M-Commerce Share of Retail E-Commerce Sales, in %, 2019e & 2020f
- Share of Online Shoppers Buying Domestically and Cross-Border, by Seller Location, in %, 2019
- Overview of Changes in Cross-Border Online Shopping During COVID-19, April 2020
4.5. Impact on Online Payment
- E-Commerce Payment Methods Most Used And Used For The First Time During The COVID-19 Outbreak, in % of Online Shoppers, April 2020
- Average Number of E-Transfers via Interac per Month, in millions, 2019 & March 2020
4.6. Impact on B2C E-Commerce Players
- Share of Online Shoppers Buying on Domestic Marketplaces, and Share of Online Retailers Selling on Marketplaces, in %, 2019
- Top 6 Domestic Marketplaces Purchased From, in % of Online Shoppers Who Purchased from a Marketplace, 2019
- Breakdown of Changes in Frequency of Buying Online From Selected E-Commerce Retailer Types Since COVID-19 Outbreak, in % of Internet Users, April 2020
- Share of Adults Who Shopped on a New Website Since COVID-19, by Basics and Non-Basics, and Who Intend to Continue, in %, May 2020
