Online Shopping Gets A Boost During Pandemic
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Online shopping got a big boost during the pandemic and new data shows that's not changing.
Even with retail stores re-opening, overall online shopping remains strong. A report from Adobe Analytics shows online sales up 42% in August compared to last year, reaching 63 billion dollars.
"Things like grocery and the electronics category as a whole, those types of categories have settled into what we'd assume as being the new normal for online commerce, where people have started just naturally buying some of these products online," according to Vivek Pandya, a lead analyst at Adobe Analytics.
The surge in orders is creating shipping delays, leading shoppers to buy online and pick up in-store. Those sales have the own acronym: "BOPIS" and they're up a whopping 259% compared to last year, according to Adobe Analytics.
"They can purchase online and can get it in the store with limited interactions in the store, and then to be able to also save money on shipping," said Pandya.
Tieandra Cole used to do all of her grocery shopping in person, but the coronavirus changed that.
"I really just don't feel comfortable going into the stores right now. There's not a need," Cole says.
So she's buying her food online through Instacart. Everything is delivered right to her home. Cole says she doesn't see a need to go back to the grocery store.
Cole isn't just buying on the internet, she also owns a small sauce company. Business is up 75% since the pandemic started thanks to a boost in online sales.
"This entire pandemic has forced everyone to kind of create a new normal and shift and change," Cole says.
For millions of shoppers that shift includes more pointing and clicking.