There has been a lot of talk about what the ‘new normal’ will look like in a post-Covid world. Some are saying we may always have to wear masks on planes, while others are saying sports and concert venues will look drastically different. The future is often hard to predict, but I believe there is one area that we can expect as it pertains to ecommerce.
Not only are ecommerce stores seeing an increase in site usage and purchases through the digital channel, but they are also likely seeing new types of customers. Depending on what market or vertical a business is in, they likely have had a specific demographic of customers that they’ve tailored their business and experience to, but I’m expecting this to change.
The reason being that consumers are creatures of habit. We go to our favorite coffee shop every day; we order the same thing. But the Covid crisis has caused consumers to find new alternatives to their traditional routines, and that includes the items they purchase. As a result, your commerce store is likely seeing new customers who may look totally different than those you have catered to in the months and years past.
So, what does this mean for your business? Well, the good news is, you now have a unique opportunity to serve a new customer demographic. However, this means that you should spend some time looking at your commerce experience, workflows, and features to account for this new demographic and their expectations.
To start, take a look at some of your data and analytics pre-Covid and develop some baselines around the make-up of your ‘typical’ customer – you likely know who they are already without looking – over the next weeks and months. Keep a close eye on how new customers may be interacting with you and the commerce platform you have set up. You may notice some differences in purchasing behavior, cart sizes, conversion rates, etc. Your job will then be to pivot to account for the new types of customers that you have attracted by building and developing new digital experiences and workflows that allow for seamless transactions.
As with anything ecommerce related, the past, present, and future all tend to play a role in the evolution of your platform. Make sure to keep a close watch on what is happening today as it pertains to your customers because it’s likely to shape the tomorrow of your business.
