As COVID-19 continues to disrupt the global economy, it’s clear that some industries are doing MUCH better than others during these turbulent times.
So, which side of the fence does your Amazon business lie?
For the majority of people, the last few months have certainly been… interesting to say the least. Understandably, business owners in all industries have a right to be worried about the economic downturn,
But in my experience, and I imagine many other Amazon and e-commerce business owners, things are going pretty well.
It feels wrong to say this is a time when people are getting sick, losing jobs and in dire cases, their lives. But, if you’d allow me to take off my caring, worrisome mother’s hat and put on my ambitious, businesswoman’s hat, I’ll explain why I feel this way.
My sales have not been affected by the crisis so far. In fact, last month – April, a usually quiet month for me – I saw sales higher than last year.
And we’re set to see similarly promising results in many e-commerce businesses.
The pandemic has meant a 3rd of the world’s population are in or have been in, some kind of government-enforced lockdown. Meaning they are going out for essential reasons only and spending nearly all of their time at home.
If you mix this with the fact that non-essential businesses have closed too, it creates a tasty boost in online shopping.
The USA is the biggest Amazon market and under one of the largest-scaled lockdowns in the world – at the time of writing, over 200 million US citizens are still under stay-at-home orders – that’s a LOT of people sitting at home browsing Amazon.
What about the long term?
I’m optimistic and feel things are just going to get stronger and stronger for Amazon and the whole e-commerce industry.
As more people shop online out of necessity – physical stores are closed, they can’t go out etc. – they’re going to become more used to the idea and will likely continue the behaviour going forward.
It comes down to habit.
Experts say it takes 21 to 30 days to enforce a new habit, whether that’s exercising daily or shopping online instead of in brick-and-mortar stores.
As Amazon sellers, this could be great news as it means a steady boost to our sales and growth.
Although the outbreak has had a devastating effect on many people’s lives, lockdown measures are easing worldwide and it looks like we’ll finally see an end to this mess.
Now, it’s time to take stock, look at the positives and focus on the future for our families and businesses.
How has the COVID-19 affected your business? I’d love to hear your stories.
Until next time!
Stacey xx