Whilst some travel sites bounce back, ecommerce revenues from toilet rolls and tinned foods continue to rise throughout the UK and now the rest of the world as COVID-19 starts to hit more towns, cities and countries across the world. In the wake of the coronavirus, ecommerce revenue from face mask sales has increased by 417%. That’s according to new data from ecommerce analytics platform Contentsquare.
Each week, Contentsquare has been providing updates on the Coronavirus’ impact on ecommerce, based on real-time data from over 50 million transactions from 1400 sites. The latest research shows that, since the crisis began, visits to pages selling face masks have increased by 2,558%.
It also found that at some of the most popular online grocery stores, revenue from toilet rolls has increased by 42%, while purchases of hand sanitiser have grown by an astounding 16,452%. Online sales of tinned foods are also up 45% as many shoppers prepare (unnecessarily) for the worst. Unlike previous weeks, traffic to tourism and transport sites is back up by 9%, as consumers flock back to check refund policies and organise cancellations.
This is hitting the travel, leisure and entertainment sectors very hard with many businesses having already had to lay off staff, make large cancellations and prepare for a prolonged period of uncertainty, during which time people will not be booking holidays and trips abroad.
Aimee Stone Munsell, CMO at Contentsquare commented “The world’s biggest retailers are seeing the impact of the Coronavirus on their businesses, with consumers avoiding busy high streets in exchange for the safety of shopping online. In the last few alone, we’ve seen a significant boost in online purchases, with consumers buying more groceries — and more healthcare products — online. While there has been a boost in online sales for some industries, others are clearly suffering.
“The ability to pull these types of insights in real-time is vital for brands, which can respond with changes to stock, navigation and on-site promotions in order to drive consumers to the products they need.”
