How Ecommerce Saved Businesses – Veteran Fashion Designer Tadashi Shoji shares how eCommerce saved his businesses during the pandemic. It provided him the means to continue his businesses despite the closure of shops. He was able to produce a digital runway show online during New York Fashion Week. He also is incurring low costs in terms of production.
“Logistically, it’s very hard, but it’s fortunate for us because of COVID our e-com is increasing tremendously. That’s helping me survive the COVID time,” Shoji said. “if we didn’t have this strong e-commerce infrastructure for us, I think our business went down,” he added.
Many businesses have shifted from offline selling to online selling to stay afloat. A huge number of conversions based on data show more companies relying on digital sales. An example is the manufacturing and commodities sector, which increased its digital transformation spending from 8% to 15.7% after the outbreak. This became their way of keeping their businesses despite the challenges of COVID-19.
Big e-commerce platforms have also gained much profit from these transformations. Initially, many preferred to have shops as a better option than selling online. This allows the customer to evaluate the product physically. However, due to the COVID restrictions of social distancing and lockdowns, many shops were forced to close.
Converting online has proven success records. Microsoft took 5 years to complete its digital transformation and recorded a 258% growth rate in its share price. Nike took 2 years to complete its transformation and recorded a 69% growth rate.
If you are planning to shift to online selling, make sure to cover the basics. The first is to choose a suitable platform to sell. You can create your own website or sign up for any e-commerce platform like Amazon, eBay, Lazada for Asia, or Shopee. It all depends on your target market. Choose the more convenient one to access for them.