Apparel Brands Make eCommerce-Only Work During Store Shutdowns

The U.S. Commerce Department has reported that March retail sales have gone down 8.7 percent from last month. Sales from clothing to clothing accessories have dropped 51 percent since March 2019.

Fashion marketers are now needing to promote ecommerce to consumers that are just trying to hold their job, due to a global pandemic.

According to the Cotton Incorporated 2020 Coronavirus Response Consumer Survey, Over half of all consumers, 57% say that the current pandemic will change the way they shop in the future.

The Salesforce Q1 Shopping Index has found that online sales revenue has grown by 20% in the first quarter of this year. This is in comparison to a 12% growth of the same time last year. Businesses that offer buy online, pick up in store or BOPIS for short have grown their digital revenue up by 27%, in comparison to a 13% for businesses that don’t offer BOPIS. Online purchases of essential goods such as food and personal care items have jumped 200% within March.

According to the Coronavirus Response Consumer Survey, more than 71% of consumers say they’re spending more time online than they had before the pandemic. Another 25% say that they’re online the same amount of time as they were before.

According to the Coronavirus Response Consumer Survey, 14% of consumers are saying that they spend more money on apparel. 43% say that they spend less, 39% say that they are spending about the same. It’s no surprise that 57% of consumers say they spend more on groceries, and that 48% spend more on household items like toilet paper and cleaning supplies. 26% spend more on food/product delivery services such as GrubHub and Postmates. Another 26% are spending on added online services, like video streaming or virtual exercise programs.

According to the Coronavirus Response Consumer Survey, 61% of consumers say that they’re shopping less because they have less money or are concerned about money. An Additional, 78% agree with the statement, “I am trying to limit the money I’m spending right now.”

According to the Coronavirus Response Consumer Survey, almost 8 in 10 consumers or 78% feel that a global recession is likely and 47% feel that it is very likely. In addition, most consumers 70% expect to see a drop in their personal finances.

SmarterHQ’s Kara Holthaus, vice president of client services for the multi-channel behavioral marketing platform, said “Distraction is definitely at an all time high, for those with small children at home or trying to do the homeschooling as well as their job, it can be very difficult and distracting. That’s why it’s really important to have best in class abandonment campaigns, understanding how each customer needs to be communicated with and making sure your [follow-up] messages are in real time as much as possible.”

Brands and stores can introduce consumers that are normally in-store to online and loyalty benefits, and show them the perks of connecting digitally. In addition, stores can use in-store data to cross-sell and recommend items that are similar to customers’ other in-store purchases. Stores can also use messaging to keep communication clear with consumers if there are interruptions or confusion during delivery cycles, and keep customers informed with returns and store re-openings.

Due to the current pandemic most store locations are closed, and this is why an online presence is crucial. From selling products online to communicating to the consumer here is why E-commerce is important.

Author Bio: Blair Thomas has been a music producer, bouncer, screenwriter and for over a decade has been the proud Co-Founder of eMerchantBroker, with the highest rated high risk merchant account in the country. He has climbed in the Himalayas, survived a hurricane, and lived on a gold mine in the Yukon. He currently calls Thailand his home with a lifetime collection of his favorite books.