The impact of Coronavirus in the world of e-commerce and discount codes

Even the retail and e-commerce sector could plummet into its darkest night when the Coronavirus pandemic hits consumers, leaving millions of people at home and causing a net decrease in e-commerce consumption and tourist bookings.

This is according to Promocodex International Srl, a European company specializing in the e-commerce sector, online shopping statistics and the promotional codes market.

Promocodex, which is also active in the Estonian and Lithuanian markets, is a main point of reference in the European discount code sectormand has documented a net decrease in certain product sectors based on the business flow statistics they collect.

The first essential data collected concerns the tourism sector, and it is an alarming statistic that leaves no room for further doubts.

Online users are no longer booking holidays, air tickets or hotel reservations. Viewed in relation to the total block of transport and the closure of borders by various states, this is obviously an international crisis.

This situation seems to mirror what happened during the SARS epidemic of 2003, a historic period during which there was a sharp decrease in continental travel across Asia, even though fewer people were affected by the virus.

The second critical measure involves the relationship between the two product categories that experts call “nice-to-have” products and “must-have” items.

Essential products are those most sought after by European and international users, and n a moments of economic crisis, such as the one we are going through now, the purchase of basic necessities is absolutely fundamental. The longer the duration of this Coronavirus epidemic, the greater the economic transition from the purchase of generic products and, in some cases, "accessories" to the shopping of goods useful for everyday life.

The categories of products that will see a significant increase at the e-commerce level include food products, contact lenses and eyeglasses, pharmaceutical and parapharmaceutical articles, books and products for children, household cleaning products and electronics (laptops, notebooks and printers).

Conversely, the clothing and cosmetics sector will experience a decrease because many of their products are not considered basic necessities.

However, a new analysis suggests that the whole direct-to-consumer sector is preparing to see a sharp drop in sales. COVID-19 could be a determining factor and could completely put some of these e-commerce companies out of business, especially the less financially sound shopping sites, which could be swallowed up by the giants of the market.

With this in mind, the main e-commerce players in the world market,namely Amazon and eBay in North America and Western Europe, Alza and Emag in Eastern Europe, Beru and Goods.ru in Russia, Shopee Lazada and Aliexpress in China, India and South East Asia could obtain important slices of the market and become increasingly dominant in their competition against small and medium-sized e-commerce sites.