Insights: Some Good News for Ecommerce Merchants

With all of the bad news that comes with a public health crisis like the one we’re all facing today, we thought it would be worthwhile to bring attention to some good news instead. In particular, the good news that is coming from our world -- the world of ecommerce.

Ecommerce Stays Afloat in Stormy Seas

While the American economy reports a downturn pretty much across the board, businesses that do most of their sales online (especially those that sell directly to consumers) are surviving, and even in some cases, thriving.

Retailers in the US experienced a YoY online revenue growth increase of 68% as of Mid-April, surpassing the previous high of 49% in early January (the end of holiday shopping season). 

Data from CCInsight.org

Businesses categorized as “pure ecommerce” are performing even better. Without having to factor in the lost brick and mortar or wholesale sales that many traditional retail businesses are dealing with, pure ecommerce businesses are growing across the board compared to last year. 

Some industries are seeing a particular boom as a result of the safer-at-home orders in the US. Two of the most prominent examples are Toys & Games and Sports & Fitness Equipment:

With families stuck at home together with no breaks, toys and games to keep the kids busy have become all but essential.

Similarly, with gyms closed pretty much everywhere, anyone trying to stay in shape has had to resort to at-home workouts:

The data was collected by ShipBob, a fulfillment company that has been kind enough to make their industry-based volume numbers public.

Shopify Stores See BFCM-Level Traffic

Jean-Michel Lemieux, the CFO of Shopify tweeted out the following chart:

Beginning in March with the start of “safer at home” policies in the US, the Shopify platform has grown to a level of traffic nearly matching the peak of BFCM (the busiest online shopping period of the year).

Merchants on Shopify can confidently scale their stores knowing that the platform is built to handle the load. As many of our clients can attest, Shopify is as reliable as gets when it comes to uptime -- even when traffic spikes.

Klaviyo Coronavirus Ecommerce Insights

Our partners over at Klaviyo have done a consistently awesome job surveying and reporting findings from users on their marketing platform. You can check it out yourself here.

As a whole, Klaviyo is reporting a significant increase in order value across Essentials, Non-Essentials, and New Essentials:

Email marketing is always a powerful tool for any ecommerce business, but now more than ever, it's crucial for businesses to leverage it.

As represented in the chart showing Shopify store traffic, many merchants are seeing an all-time high in site visits -- and with it, and all time high in first-time visitors. Email is an especially powerful tool in converting a first-time customer into a lasting customer.

An effective welcome email series is one of the best ways to land that initial sale. Take it from the masters themselves.

From there, email remains equally important in turning a first-time customer into a loyal customer over the long-term.

Stay Positive, Keep Selling

We want to bring this short update to a close by saying that although times are more uncertain than ever, the data points to a great opportunity for merchants on Shopify -- especially if you’re selling toys or fitness equipment…

Here at Simplistic we’ve been helping our clients navigate these times and leverage them as an opportunity to grow their business. We’d love to chat with you if you’re interested in working together.