The coronavirus pandemic and associated forced isolation have prompted many companies to start selling online and consumers to shop online. Many of them will stay with this form despite opening shopping malls, because they appreciated the ease and convenience of shopping online. Only one condition must be met: customers must be treated the same in every sales channel, receive the same offer and quality of service regardless of the type of contact with the company.

“The most favorable situation is in companies that before the pandemic were selling in many channels and were able to build an integrated customer service system and centralize data management. In the current situation, they can focus their activities only on diverting interest and demand to the online channel, especially for customers who hitherto prefer shopping in the traditional form,” Konrad Osiadacz, Senior Business Development Director at FM Logistic Central Europe, noted. 

From May 4, most stores in shopping malls returned to operation, however, under certain restrictions. Moreover,  some experts predict that consumers who have been forced to shop online during seven weeks of isolation have noticed the convenience of this form of purchasing products and will want to stay with it. According to an expert study published by the Open Eyes Economy Summit on changes in distribution channels caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the share of online sales increased from 5.6 percent in February this year up to 8.1 percent in March.

Safety is another important factor. The report "E-commerce during the crisis 2020" prepared by the Chamber of Electronic Economy indicates that 37 percent of  Poles consider online shopping to be much safer than traditional shopping. 

(Newseria)