Coronavirus (Covid-19) Impact on the eCommerce Industry & Yo!Kart Offers Help

We all know about the Novel Coronavirus and its impact on the health of every global citizen. While the medical professionals and the government are taking care of this pandemic. We at the individual level have to take preventive measures to curb this virus as soon as possible. Why am I saying soon is because of two reasons:

• It has affected people on the global level, while writing this post the figures are 367,457 number of people affected and 16,508 number of deaths due the coronavirus (COVID-19). These numbers are likely to rise significantly higher in the coming days. 

• The increased level of uncertainty and insufficient action plan has resulted in financial market volatility which was last seen during the global financial crisis in 2008.  The virus has regrettably borne out analysts’ downside scenarios, with investors comprehending the implications of disrupted supply chains, official containment measures, and spillovers from the real economy to financial markets.

While Media channels and others are discussing wildly according to the health impact. Let us step into the mind of budding entrepreneurs and address their concern about the Virus and its impact. 

How has COVID-19 impacted the world economy

The extent of the impact will depend on three things

• How long will it take to contain the virus
• Economic support government is ready to deploy
• Steps authorities take to contain the pandemic
  

We can only take the example from China who was once the epicentre of the pandemic and has successfully curbed the impact of coronavirus as of now. The impact on Chinese economy was much more than they had expected. 

The Virus has now spread to Europe, South Korea, USA, Iran, and globally; where authorities are increasingly taking protective measures to contain the virus. Europe and Japan are likely already in recession territory given their weak fourth-quarter performance and high reliance on trade. 

Estimates of the global impact vary: early last week, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicted that COVID-19 will lower global GDP growth by one-half a percentage point for 2020 (from 2.9 to 2.4 percent); Bloomberg Economics warns that full-year GDP growth could fall to zero in a worst-case pandemic scenario.

Which Sectors Will be Affected?

It is a scenario where one sector loses profit highly but some other are gaining immense popularity.

The travel and tourism industry will be the hardest hit as social distancing has become mandatory and people are preferring to be indoor. Among others will be the entertainment sector, food and beverage, sporting and agriculture.

There are some sectors which have faced double the amount of revenue when coronavirus has not affected the world. These sectors are: telecom, healthcare and the most promising one is the eCommerce marketplace sector.

Why the e-commerce marketplace is the most promising is because it adheres to every norm that the government has announced and still empowering other local businesses which have lost its prominence due to the lockdown period.

Let’s explain further the benefits of eCommerce sector posses in today’s scenario:

• Most countries are under lockdown or people are still not preferring to step outside their houses. Which is why, the eCommerce marketplace delivering essentials and other items to doorsteps is important.
• Most local and small businesses have shut down, a marketplace owner can provide opportunities to sell off their inventory.
• Making it a win-win situation for both customers and vendors as customers will get essential items and vendors will be able to earn money even during coronavirus. 
• People who are in quarantine are sitting and spending most of their time on the internet. According to stats, internet usage has increased by 50%, entrepreneurs do not have to worry too much about their viewership. 

Ecommerce Industry will bring impactful change during the Quarantine

According to research, More than eight in 10 (85.6%) respondents ages 60 and older said they were likely to avoid shopping centres and malls. That’s not surprising given that COVID-19 has hit older people the hardest, but it may have an unintended consequence on their shopping habits. Even after the virus has been contained people will still avoid going to the shopping centre to buy essential products. People are still preferring to shop online for their essential products.

Luckily for some entrepreneurs, eCommerce activity related to health and grocery is still seeing a boom. Entrepreneurs are just rethinking ways to capture the demand of consumers. According to data from eCommerce ad tech provider Pacvue, there have been surges in Amazon searches for products like hand sanitizer and antibacterial soap. Digital shoppers are also willing to convert on products that they need with longer delivery windows in order to avoid going to stores, where inventory may be limited anyway.

This scenario is providing a benefit to e-retailers like Amazon to leverage but there will be an issue in managing the supply chain which is why entrepreneurs are trying to reduce the spending on marketing.

Like Amazon, other eCommerce marketplaces are gaining prominence as vendor’s on-boarding has become easy. Many offline vendors are desperately looking to sell their products online. Leverage this industry to capture the market as the demand is high and pricing is low. 

Entrepreneurs now have to focus on finding innovative approaches to their business, though there are numerous but the market is still unpredictable.

Some countries will be able to control the impact of the Virus but as a preventive measure the government will still impose Social distancing for the next 4-5 months. 

How Entrepreneurs can use lockdown time for business growth?

While the whole country is on lockdown, people are finding it hard to be productive. Business owners can use this time productively for the branding and marketing of their business. Few business owners might be scared about their survival after this pandemic but taking up this time to enhance the quality of experience you provide to your customers.

Some businesses are still flourishing at double the rate, expand and widen your horizon. Move to the sector which is performing. Here are some tips on how to utilize your time during the lockdown.

• Select the niche which has shown increase during the pandemic like delivery groceries and medical supplies.

• Set Up a business which will focus on delivering commodities rather than self-pick .
• Spend time on choosing the right platform who has all the features to launch your eCommerce business.
• Do intensive market research and understand what your competitors are offering during the pandemic time. 
• Enhance the user experience to keep the checkout simple for people. 
• Change seller policies to make it easy for sellers to sell their commodities on your marketplace.
• Leverage the power of mobile and mobile notifications as your target audience would want to easily connect with your brand. 
  

Yo!Kart is with You Against Covid-19

We at global level are facing uncertain times due to the outbreak of COVID-19. We pray for the good health and prosperity of everyone around the globe especially those who have been directly impacted by the virus. The whole world together is dealing with the health crisis and will together rise after all this is over. We the Yo!Kart understands our commitment and responsibility towards the growth of the community, which is why we are working tirelessly to cater to your demand.

Let us prepare together to deal with this pandemic. The Yo!Kart team after studying the market thoroughly would suggest aspiring entrepreneurs to invest in the future. We understand the market has become unpredictable which is why we suggest you invest money on something which will give you benefits later too.

Considering the on-going demand for eCommerce, the online survival tactic is to launch your eCommerce marketplace. Our team is working to fulfill the growing demand by giving one to one client demo and handling clients and their queries diligently.

We are trying to aid eCommerce entrepreneurs in this crisis time, we are accelerating businesses during the outbreak by offering:

1) Our Yo!Kart for startups is available at $500. In this package, we offer free one year hosting with 2GB server space, all the essential features needed for the marketplace, tech support for Yo!Kart experts. All the functionalities that a startup would need to launch their online marketplace is available on the platform. The entrepreneur can also anytime upgrade to GoQuick or GoCustom Lite or GoCustom package during or after expiry of the startup package.

This will be beneficial for anyone who wants to launch their marketplace as they can test the market during this pandemic and also shift to customizable packages when all this is over and they have gathered enough customers.

2) Yo!Kart Consultants have understood the volatility and unpredictability of the marketplace. We will assist our clients to decide which is the best niche which will give you fruitful results during and after the pandemic. They are also highly experienced to share knowledge on the profitability, business model, revenue model that a business should choose during the outbreak. 

Yo!Kart Team Wishes You Health, Peace, and Safety.