Products most often purchased online during the coronavirus pandemic in my country

For many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Canada, online retail is still the dominant form of retail and will be for at least a few more months. But what about once we finally emerge from the pandemic? To understand where we are, let’s take a look at the online products that have been purchased the most in Canada since the start of the pandemic:

• Groceries
  Grocery stores have remained open as essential businesses, but many have ramped up their efforts to engage with online shoppers. Over a fifth of Canadians have bought more groceries online, presumably to reduce their exposure to COVID-19.

• Wine and Other Alcoholic Beverages
  Canadians haven’t frequented bars over the past year much, but that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped drinking. Quebec wineries have seen an increase in sales, and hard seltzers have also been doing well. In fact, the parent company of White Claw saw their shares increase significantly, holding roughly 56% of the market share last year.

• Pet Paraphernalia
  To ease the loneliness, more and more Canadians have become pet owners. Business is so good that the industry has even attracted pet supply scammers.

• Games, games, games!
  Many Canadian shoppers have also bought expensive gaming systems to keep them entertained throughout lockdown. The Nintendo Switch did very well, selling a staggering 790,000 units before December, up from 162,000 in 2019.

It did not take long for Canadians to adapt to the “new normal” in terms of shopping. Many Canadians had already been shopping online, so simply doing more of their purchasing online was no big deal, especially considering how they have been stuck at home with nothing else to do. These trends were evident just a month or two into the pandemic. In-store retail sales declined by 17.9% from February to May 2020, while over the same period, online shopping nearly doubled with a 99.9% increase.

Forecasts of the death of brick-and-mortar retail are overblown, however. In-store retail has consistently rebounded in areas where it has been re-allowed. Furthermore, 64% of respondents to a survey said the primary reason they had increased their online shopping was merely to avoid contracting the virus by shopping in person. This means there is a high chance that in-store sales can reach pre-pandemic levels quite quickly once the pandemic subsides.

Sweet Tips from Ally:

Businesses with a strong online presence and sophisticated e-commerce practices reaped major rewards during the pandemic, showing the importance of always being prepared. Make sure you stay on top of all trends to take advantage of changing demands!