COVID-19 Impact on Global E-Commerce & Online Payments

COVID-19 Outbreak Accelerates the Shift of Global Retail to E-Commerce

Online shopper penetration increases during the pandemic

Faced with lockdown regimes and store closures, consumers turn to online and mobile shopping to buy groceries, daily necessities, and other products. A recent survey cited in the report revealed that a double-digit share of online shoppers was buying more digitally due to COVID-19, and some of them adopted the practice for the first time during the outbreak. The share of global retail sales generated via E-Commerce is rising, as a result, projected to reach one-third by 2024. At the same time, some segments, including travel and airlines, experienced a severe downturn due to COVID-19 in both online and offline channels. Online travel agencies such as Booking Holdings, Expedia Group, and Airbnb saw weekly accommodation bookings plummet by over -90% during April 2020.

Digital and contactless payment methods rise amid the COVID-19 outbreak

The coronavirus outbreak is not only transforming the way consumers shop but also how they pay for their purchases. Contactless payments received an unprecedented boost during the pandemic, seen by consumers as a cleaner way to pay in-store. Consumers are also trying out new payment methods while purchasing from E-Commerce websites, and favour those methods that have the strongest protection against fraud losses. Overall, total payment volumes are expected to decrease in 2020 due to losses in travel and in-store segments, but resume growth in 2021 and benefit from the shift to cashless payments and online shopping.

Report Coverage
The report covers the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on B2C E-Commerce and online payments worldwide. The report focuses on the present effect and future implications and trends. All major global regions were covered in this report, with data availability ranging by region and country.

Report Structure

A global chapter opens the report summarizing the effects of COVID-19 on global B2C E-Commerce, B2B E-Commerce, digital payments, and selected online verticals - travel, airlines, food delivery, fashion, luxury, education, and gaming.
The rest of the report is divided by regions. The regions are presented in the descending order of B2C E-Commerce sales. In each region, regional information is included first, followed by country chapters, where available.
Depending on data availability, the following types of information were included: data concerning the increase or decrease in online sales and orders (total or for selected product categories, such as FMCG); consumer surveys indicating a shift in consumer shopping behavior due to the outbreak of COVID-19 or its consequences such as lockdowns and quarantine regimes; retailer and E-Commerce merchant surveys concerning the impact of the coronavirus on their businesses.

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1. Management Summary

2. Global Developments

2.1 B2C E-Commerce

COVID-19 Impact on B2C E-Commerce, May 2020
Breakdown of The Perceived Impact of COVID-19 on Online Shopping, in % of Online Shoppers in Selected Countries, April 2020
Share of Purchased Made Online According to Consumers, in %, by Current and After COVID-19, April 2020
Breakdown of Perceived Changes in Frequency of Buying Products Online That Were Normally Bought In-Store, in % of Internet Users, March 2020 vs. February 2020
Expected Net Increase in Online Purchases in Selected Emerging Markets During the Pandemic, in %, by Selected Product Categories, April 2020

2.2. B2B E-Commerce

COVID-19 Impact on B2B E-Commerce, May 2020
Share of B2B Revenues Driven by E-Commerce According to B2B Companies Selling Online, in %, by Before COVID-19 and During COVID-19, April 2020

2.3. Online Verticals

COVID-19 Impact on Online Travel, March 2020
COVID-19 Impact on Airlines, May 2020
COVID-19 Impact on Online Groceries, Food Delivery & Online Fashion, May 2020
COVID-19 Impact on Online Gaming & Video on Demand, May 2020
COVID-19 Impact on Online Luxury & Online Education, May 2020
Year-on-Year Change in Weekly Short-Term Rentals, by Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia, Week 1- Week 18 2020
Year-on-Year Change in Weekly E-Commerce Sales of FMCG, By Selected Countries, in %, End of February/ Early March 2020
Digital Games Revenues, in USD billion, March 2019 & March 2020

2.4. Online Payments

COVID-19 Impact on Online & Mobile Payment, May 2020
The Impact of COVID-19 on Payments Revenues, incl. Payments Revenues in 2019, Pre-COVID-19 Forecast, and Payments Revenues Forecast Under The Impact of COVID-19, in USD billion, 2020
Post-COVID-19 Forecast for Digital Commerce & Payments Spending, in USD trillion, 2020f & 2021f Compared to 2019
Share of Respondents Who View Contactless as a Cleaner Way to Pay, in %, April 2020
Payment Methods Most Used When Shopping Online During The Pandemic, in % of Online Shoppers, by Selected Countries, April 2020
Payment Methods Used For the First Time When Shopping Online During The Pandemic, in % of Online Shoppers, by Selected Countries, April 2020
Criteria for Choosing a Payment Method in Online Shopping Which Became More Important Since The Pandemic Outbreak, in % of Online Shoppers, by Selected Countries, April 2020

3. Asia-Pacific
3.1. Regional

Average Increase in Mobile Spending on Selected Products and Services, by 1st Week of Containment and 1st Week of a Lockdown Following the Outbreak of COVID-19, 2020
Expected Changes in Demand for Food Delivery After the Coronavirus Outbreak, in % of Consumers, By Selected Countries and Territories, March 2020

3.2. China

Total Retail Sales & Online Retail Sales of Goods, in CNY trillion, Q1 2019 & Q1 2020
E-Commerce Share of Total Retail Sales of Products, in %, Q1 2019 & Q1 2020
Change in Consumption of Internet Users in Selected Industries, by Perceived Change During Coronavirus Outbreak and Expected Change 1 and 3 Months After, in % Compared to 2019, February 2020
Share of Consumers Who Said They Would Be More Willing to Buy Daily Necessities and Fresh Products Online After The Pandemic, in %, February 2020
Growth in Usage of Selected Online Medical Platforms, in %, December 2019 – January 2020

3.3. South Korea

E-Commerce Sales by Product Categories, in KRW billion, and Year-on-Year Change, in %, Q1 2019 & Q1 2020

3.4. India

Digital Activities Done Since the Covid-19 Outbreak, by Using More and Just Started Using, in % of Adults, 3-6 April 2020
Top Three Digital Payment Channels by Year-on-Year Growth During Coronavirus Outbreak, in %, February/March 2020

3.5. Thailand

Online Food Delivery Sales Projection, by Pre-Pandemic (2019 Forecast) and Post-Pandemic (2020 Forecast), March 2020
Share of Food Delivery App Users Who Use These Services Due To Fear of COVID-19, in %, by Generation, March 2020

4. Europe

4.1. Regional

Breakdown of The Perceived Change in Online Shopping in The Past 2 Weeks, in % of Online Shoppers, by Germany, The Netherlands & Norway, W/C March 23, 2020
Reasons For Shopping Online More and For Shopping Online Less in the Past 2 Weeks, in % of Online Shoppers in Germany, The Netherlands and Norway, W/C March 23, 2020
Current Effects of Coronavirus Pandemic on E-Commerce Businesses According to E-Commerce Associations and Industry Participants, March 2020
Top 5 Product Categories by Increased and Decreased Number of Online Purchases As Made by Online Shoppers in Germany, The Netherlands and Norway in The Previous 2 Weeks, by in % Change, W/C March 23, 2020
Year-on-Year Change in FMCG E-Commerce Sales During the Pandemic, in %, by Italy and Spain, Week 1 – Week 12 of 2020
Growth in Traffic to Education Information and Family & Youth Education Websites and Apps During the Lockdown, by Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK, in %, March 16-22 Compared to December 30, 2019 – January 5, 2020

4.2. UK

Average Weekly B2C E-Commerce Sales and Share of Total Retail Sales, in %, January-March 2019 & January-March 2020
Breakdown of Perceived Change in Online Shopping for Selected Categories Due to COVID-19, in % of Adults, March 11 and March 25, 2020
Consumer Expectations Regarding Their Shopping Behavior After COVID-19 Is Over, in %, March 2020

4.3. Germany

Share of E-Commerce Merchants Who Have Felt the Impact of COVID-19, in %, March 2020
Current Effects of COVID-19 on E-Commerce Merchants, in % of E-Commerce Merchants Who Felt The Impact of COVID-19, March 2020
Expected Effects of COVID-19 on E-Commerce Merchants, in % of E-Commerce Merchants, March 2020

4.4. France

Share of E-Commerce Websites in France Remaining Open Amidst Coronavirus Outbreak, in %, March 2020
Share of E-Commerce Websites With Increased or Decreased Sales Due to COVID-19, in %, March 2020
Share of E-Commerce Websites Reporting Delivery Delays Due to COVID-19, in %, March 2020
Year-on-Year Change in Weekly Sales of FMCG, by Selected Channels, in %, February 24 - March 1, March 2 – 8, March 9 – 15 (Before Confinement Due To COVID-19), 2020

4.5. Italy

Year-on-Year Change in FMCG Sales, by E-Commerce & Offline, Week 1 – Week 12 of 2020
Consumer Expectations Concerning Spending on Selected Categories One Month Following the Coronavirus Lockdown, in % of Consumers, March 2020

4.6. Netherlands

Breakdown of Expected Increase/Decrease in Online Shopping Post-COVID-19 Compared to Before, by Grocery and Non-Grocery, in % of Adults, April/May 2020

4.7. Russia

Year-on-Year Change in Weekly E-Commerce Volume Sales of FMCG, by Categories of FMCG, in %, Calendar Weeks 6-11 in 2020

5. North America

5.1. USA

Share of Consumers Shopping Online More Frequently as A Result of The Coronavirus Outbreak, in %, March 2020
Net Purchase Intent During Coronavirus Pandemic Over the Next Two Weeks, By Selected Categories, By Online And In-Store, in Percentage Points, March 30 – April 5, 2020
Online Merchants Purchased From During COVID-19 Outbreak, in % of Online Shoppers, April 2020
Breakdown of Expected Increase/Decrease in Online Shopping Post-COVID-19 Compared to Before, by Grocery and Non-Grocery, in % of Consumers, April/May 2020
Breakdown of Expected Effect of The Coronavirus on E-Commerce Businesses, in % of E-Commerce Retailers, March 2020
Top Expectations and Actions Taken by E-Commerce Retailers Due to Coronavirus, in % of E-Commerce Retailers, March 2020
Share of Online Shoppers Willing to Give Retailers More Time to Deliver Items, in %, April 2020
Expected Change in Preference for Food Services Due to COVID-19 Outbreak, in % of Consumers, Week Ending March 6 & Week Ending March 13, 2020
Breakdown of Changes in Online Food Shopping Behaviors Due to Coronavirus Pandemic, in % of Grocery Shoppers, March 2020
Change in Number of Downloads of Selected Grocery Delivery Apps, in %, Mid-March 2020 Compared to February 2020
Precautions Taken by Consumers Due To COVID-19 When Shopping In-Store, in % of Consumers, March 2020
Perceived Importance of the Contactless Feature in Credit Cards, in % of Consumers, by Pre COVID-19 and on March 3, 2020
Share of SMBs Seeing an Increase in Contactless Payments Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, in %, March 2020

6. Latin America

6.1. Regional

The Impact of COVID-19 on Online Payments in Latin America, April 2020

6.2. Brazil

Year-on-Year Change in Number and Value of E-Commerce Purchases, by Selected Categories, in %, February/March 2020
Year-on-Year Change in E-Commerce Sales of Selected Health & Hygiene Product Categories, in %, February & March 2020

6.3. Mexico

Breakdown of Expected Increase/Decrease in Online Shopping Post-COVID-19 Compared to Before, by Grocery and Non-Grocery, in % of Consumers, April 2020

6.4. Chile

Year-on-Year Change in Card Payment Transactions, by Online and in-Store, in %, Week 1 – Week 4 of March 2020
Online Share of Card Payments, in %, Week 1 – Week 4 of March 2019 & 2020

7. Middle East & Africa

7.1. Regional

Share of Internet Users Who Have Food or Groceries Delivered to Their Homes More Frequently Due to COVID-19 Outbreak, by Selected Countries in MENA, March 2020

7.2. South Africa