Webinar: Coronavirus, recession and ecommerce – how to be wise (and profitable) during the new crisis

The coronavirus took the world as a shock – countries are going to lockdown, businesses closing, people are quarantined at home, stock markets are free falling, layoffs. All this will have a huge impact on the world. But how will ecommerce be impacted, will there be a growth explosion or are we going to see a mass closure of ecommerce sites? Probably both.

The key is how to set the sails in heavy winds.

What is about to likely happen?

Many experts have come to the conclusion that the global financial crisis in 2008 was the worst of its kind since the Great Depression in 1929. But 12 years later and the world seems to be knowingly sleepwalking towards a new financial crisis that might surpass the previous one as many analysts have predicted. Coronavirus might just be the final one-two punch to trigger it, but only time will tell.

Nevertheless, we should all begin to prepare for that inevitable shift. E-commerce businesses need to have a plan in place for decreasing revenue and rising costs. In light of the current coronavirus, people are moving their shopping almost 100% online to avoid going out on public places. Seems like a good time to re-think your strategy and adapt quickly keeping in mind the current and potential longer situation.

Biggest online spenders, the millennials behavior is changing more dramatically than others. While they are cutting back on their spending, as coronavirus rises recession fears, they are also moving online, as much as 30% more in a matter of weeks, reported by First Insight survey. Biggest riser has been in online grocery shopping, which has seen a huge increase in demand.

Win or lose

From ecommerce perspective we are in a unique situation, where on the one hand we are on the edge of another economic recession, but on the other hand people are moving online more than ever. Preparedness is the key. It is crucial to understand data and what is going on, adjust accordingly, adapt and thrive (or survive). Whoever starts to act now, probably wins.

There are many measures e-commerce companies can take to recession-proof their businesses right now.

Few key ideas to keep in mind

1. Stand out from the crowd (USP and value prop etc.)
2. Outsource to stay lean (tap to knowledge and experience)
3. Automation and being smart.
4. Upfront value to hesitant consumers
5. Solid content and marketing strategy

A webinar cooking

Bit Finer, Veebimajutus.ee (Elkdata OÜ), Estonian E-Commerce Association / Eesti E-kaubanduse Liit will hold a webinar on March 30, where we will give a comprehensive overview of how to manage your e-business in the light of the new market situation.

• What happened to e-commerce during the last crisis and what to learn from it?
• How will consumer behaviour change in a crisis situation and how do I adapt to it?
• What activities and why should you prioritize so that your e-business grows rather than shrinks?

This webinar is for Estonian E-commerce Association members and requires pre-registration to participate. We hope to publish the webinar to a wider audience a bit after the initial release.

Event link and register: https://e-kaubanduseliit.ee/events/kuidas-ellu-jaada/