Forecast: Peak Covid-19 to double home deliveries
If the coronavirus, Covid-19, becomes an epidemic in the UK, the home delivery expert ParcelHero says eCommerce purchases are likely to increase to 40% of all retail sales at its peak. It is urging retailers to act now to ensure they can meet the switch from store shopping to home deliveries.
Should Covid-19 become established in the UK, the UK courier services expert ParcelHero says home shopping is likely to double from 20% of all retail sales to 40% as consumers switch from buying food and household items in stores to home deliveries.
Says ParcelHero’s head of Consumer Research, David Jinks MILT: “In the Government’s Coronavirus Action Plan, it says if the virus does get a foothold in the UK, the Government will encourage ‘population distancing strategies such as school closures, encouraging home working and reducing the number of large scale gatherings to slow the spread of the disease’. It is likely that consumers will also want to avoid crowded shopping centres and the big weekly superstore shop for groceries. One obvious alternative is shopping online. Consumers who have so far resisted e-commerce are likely to change their minds and move online to buy food and household items to avoid busy stores.
“Wales' Chief Medical Officer, Dr Frank Atherton, predicts if the virus does become an epidemic, cases will escalate from April, followed by six to eight weeks of a significant increase with a peak towards May and June, before a downturn. If this peak period does happen, we believe the rise in demand for home deliveries of food, household items and in particular products such as bleach and soaps is likely to increase by 100%. Retailers need to gear their omnichannel sales towards e-commerce and plan for a decline in store purchases over the coming months to be prepared.”