E-commerce revenues jump 71% in Q2 amid Covid-19 – report

Forced to shelter in place by the Covid-19 epidemic, people all over the world turned to online shopping in record numbers, a new report by Salesforce shows.

Revenues from e-commerce grew by an unprecedented 71 per cent in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the previous year, according to the Salesforce Q2 Shopping Index.

The sector grew by 20 per cent in the first quarter, as the coronavirus pandemic began to impact retail.

Traffic to e-commerce sites (37 per cent), conversion rates (35 per cent), and spend (34 per cent) also experienced a historic year-over-year increases in Q2.

Sites offering buy online or curbside pick-up options saw Q2 digital revenues grow by 127 per cent over Q2 2019. Meanwhile, sites that operate physical stores but did not offer a pick up option only grew by 54 per cent.

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While large increases in traffic during a shopping moment like the holiday season usually means that the conversion rate falls, Q2 bucked that trend. With retailers experiencing a 37 per cent increase in digital traffic compared to Q2 2019, conversion rates reached 3 per cent globally, up 35 per cent since last year’s Q2 conversion rate of 2.2 per cent (with health and beauty sites hitting close to a 4.1 per cent conversion rate).

Global discount rates continued to increase in Q2, jumping 13 per cent over Q2 2019 to an average of 18 per cent. General apparel merchandise was the most likely to see the highest discounts, averaging 22 per cent throughout the quarter, followed by luxury apparel merchandise (17 per cent). Meanwhile, toys and games as well as home goods saw the smallest discounts, averaging 9 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

The report also found that since Q2 2019, global digital spend on essential goods (which includes food, personal care items and other items commonly found in grocery stores) increased by 154 per cent, compared to a 66 per cent increase in spend for non-essential goods.

As people around the world continue to spend time at home, demand for entertainment and comfort remained high. Revenue for toys and games grew 181 per cent in Q2 compared to the previous year while home goods grew 134 per cent. Interestingly, health and beauty kept pace with 138 per cent.