Coronavirus Retail Statistics Every Business Should Be Aware Of

To give you an idea of the scale of the impact the pandemic has had, we’re exploring some of the most incredible figures to have emerged from the year so far. These stats provide a fantastic insight into how both B2C and B2B buyer habits and journeys have changed, so you can tailor your approach as we head towards the end of the year and the arrival of what could well be a very different type of festive shopping season.

It may seem an unusual stat to report but it’s worth showcasing in order to illustrate that the consumer shift has even influenced back to school spending. The most obvious change is that an increased amount of back to school buying is now taking place online. As much as 90% of all back to school purchases are being made online according to Rakuten Advertising. This is a fair show of how consumers are continuing to avoid the high street where possible. What is even more telling though in terms of purchase attitude, is that a huge percentage of spend for back to school has shifted to cleaning products, hand sanitisers and face masks. 

It’s not actually coming early, but the attitude and the annual shopping is. It’s been reported that as much as 27% of shoppers are planning to start their gift buying earlier this year. This may be a reaction to the many retail sales happening at an odd time as retailers struggle to maintain revenue figures through lockdown, but it’s also likely an indicator that consumers are looking forward to the end of the year. 

It’s also possible that fears of a poor shopping experience and the traditional Christmas shopping crowds has meant that many just aren’t willing to leave things to chance in 2020. 

Retail businesses would do well to acknowledge this trend and look to push sales far earlier than the typical Christmas shopping season. 

According to Springboard research, UK retail footfall is still around 30% lower right now compared with the same period last year despite the reopening of coffee shops and restaurants. It seems that while restaurants have benefited from the introduction of the 50% Eat Out to Help Out government schemes, the high street retail situation is still fairly critical. Despite the period of low spending and closures during lockdown, even the eat out incentives are not helping to push consumers to physical retail outlets. 

In contrast, both eBay and Amazon are seeing huge traffic and purchase increases as high as 40% above the norm. 

It’s unlikely we’re going to see a significant uplift in bricks and mortar retail activity before the end of 2020 even with the holiday season on the horizon.