The positive aspects of lockdown for merchants (or the 10 things to remember from this period)

After more than two months of confinement and closure of businesses by the government due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we see businesses gradually reopening.

Despite clear losses for some sectors, this confinement has had positive aspects for businesses and has also brought good things to our consumption habits, or even accelerated a trend that would have taken several years to reach this level under normal circumstances.

Nature is taking back its rights and giving us hope

We have all appreciated images showing translucent water in Venice with swans swimming in it, dolphins in a port in Sardinia, pollution clouds disappearing from the sky of major cities and regions, or even a whale in the St. Lawrence River in Montreal.

Photo: Radio Canada

All these positive changes have made us aware of our impact on the environment.

In late 2019, Radio Canada’s website published a relevant and comprehensive article about our behavior towards nature, pointing out the race for the most beautiful photo on Instagram.

The example of waiting an hour in line to take a photo on the edge of a tree leaning over a lake is the perfect definition of this behavior between hypocrisy and selfishness for the benefit of one’s 2.0 image.

The travel ban has allowed us to rediscover the treasures of our region and the importance of respecting the environment. Social distancing has allowed us to explore off the beaten paths and discover less touristy places that have their unique charm.

Has our consumption changed?

In line with our awareness of our impact on the environment, our consumption has been directed towards “local” products.

• Acquiring a quality product: Avoiding mass-produced products where every detail is designed to reduce production costs
• Enjoying relevant customer service: Avoiding call centers. A phone number or email address directly linked to real sellers or merchants.
• Supporting the economy of our region: Not supporting the working conditions of employees in emerging countries benefiting multinational corporations.
• Reducing environmental impact: Avoiding products that travel around the world before reaching your hands.
• Enjoying faster (in general) delivery with the option of in-store pickup:

These are the promises of local shopping that have pleased us, and for a few extra dollars, we have enjoyed them in very large numbers.

Online shopping by Quebecers on Quebec stores created by the Panierdachat platform reached $1.7 million in April, four times more than in February of the same year.

This confinement period has shown us that we can do without the services of e-commerce giants, with Amazon at the forefront, and support our local businesses while enjoying better services/products.

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Will these habits endure?

Telecommuting and e-commerce are the two big winners of this confinement. But what about the future? For the post-confinement period?

For the first, telecommuting, forced by the government to continue business activity, has shown employers that working from home does not mean a decrease in production. And even, it can bring advantages that were previously unsuspected. It is not risky to say that the number of telecommuting days will increase in the future for these companies.

This trend has seen applications and web services supporting telecommuting explode, such as Zoom (and all video conferencing services), Maple (helping patients access a doctor from home), Dialogue (telemedicine specialized in the well

-being of workers), etc.

For the second, the confinement has provided merchants with what they were missing to take the “Online Commerce” step and for consumers, it has shattered the last clichés about online shopping.

Free time for merchants…

With the closure of their businesses, artisans and entrepreneurs saw their activity stop overnight.

The good side: they finally had free time to open their online store, which was until now just an idea in the back of their minds. An idea not realized due to lack of time and sometimes lack of knowledge of the available tools.

For these reasons, the Quebec e-commerce platform, Panierdachat, immediately wanted to help all businesses by offering, in addition to the usual 14 days, one month free of their package.

With no commitment, this offer of 45 days free can easily allow all businesses to benefit from a professional, optimized, and powerful online store.

With its intuitive and easy-to-use interface, as well as its customer service aiming to be the most understandable and responsive, Panierdachat is pleased to have helped hundreds of merchants switch to online sales during this exceptional period causing stress and doubts.

The working time required of merchants is concentrated mainly at the beginning when taking control of the tools and creating the online store.
Later on, management is simplified, merchants can enjoy all the benefits of having an online store without having to dedicate too much time (order preparation being the majority of the work).

…obligations for customers.

On the other hand, consumers, with the closure of stores, had no choice but to buy online for non-essential products or to avoid the spread of the virus by visiting enclosed places.

In past years, several surveys (Statista, Vouchercloud, etc.) have shown that the 5 main barriers to online shopping are:

1. Online payment is not secure (fear of data leakage)
2. Not being able to try/touch the products
3. Delivery times are too long (and costs too high)
4. Returns and refunds are complicated
5. Some sites are scams

With the obligation due to closures and driven by the government with local business directories, many skeptics of online shopping had to take the plunge.

These new online buyers realized that their barriers were no longer justified in 2020 and were able to discover the advantages of online shopping (receiving packages at their doorstep without leaving home, enjoying online deals, easily comparing products online, etc.).

A bright e-commerce future for all merchants

In summary, sellers and buyers, thanks to this period, have discovered the advantages and benefits of online commerce. They have also become aware of the repercussions of their consumption on the economy and the environment and have become “consum-actors.”

It is easy to say that this confinement has accelerated the positive evolution of online commerce.

Thanks to e-commerce platforms (like Panierdachat), access to professional online sales is facilitated for all businesses to allow them to compete on equal terms with e-commerce giants. Giants who are losing market share in favor of local shopping, which has become an important argument.

The 10 positive aspects to remember from confinement

1. Our environment was able to breathe for a few months
2. We became aware of our impact on the environment
3. Small and medium businesses had time to equip themselves with a professional online store to compete on the same level as the big ones.
4. We became aware of our role in the local economy
5. We learned to be more supportive
6. The stereotypes of unsafe or poor-quality online shopping were shattered in the minds of the last e-commerce skeptics
7. We saw the importance of our social relationships: family and friends, but also the small daily interactions with shopkeepers, delivery personnel, and sellers
8. Companies have seen the benefits of telecommuting and changed their views on working from home
9. We discovered new passions: DIY, cooking, painting, etc., which were unsuspected before confinement.
10. Many businesses were able to relaunch their activity by adapting to demand, creating masks, shields, filters, etc.