Back in 2020, the eCommerce industry exploded, surging by 82% when compared to the year before. This did not come as much of a surprise, given that last year was also the year when coronavirus struck, spreading around the world in a matter of weeks.

The virus led to a global economic meltdown, causing the stock prices to crash, worldwide lockdowns, business shutdowns, and more. A lot of firms could afford to have their employees work remotely, from their homes, but those who could not pull it off, either due to the nature of their business or financial and technological issues, were forced to close down shop.

That meant a surge in unemployment and a questionable future for countless families around the globe. So, why did the eCommerce sector thrive under these conditions? Can Mandir, a 20-year-old entrepreneur from Hannover, explained it.

eCommerce in the Time of COVID-19

Mandir may be young, but he is not naive. He recognized the opportunity that the eCommerce sector offers years ago, after discovering it online. At this point, he has been dealing with eCommerce for 4 years, one of which was incredibly challenging for the world, and incredibly beneficial for the eCommerce sector.

Mandir managed to create a successful dropshipping venture from scratch, and turn it into an extremely profitable company, and according to him — doing this takes a strong mindset, and even stronger willpower. Other than that, discipline is the entrepreneur’s most important tool.

He noted that the pandemic, devastating as it is, gave a massive boost to eCommerce because of two reasons — physical shops were forced to shut down, and people started spending a lot more time at home, which also means that they started spending a lot more time online.

This provided eCommerce businesses with an opportunity to push their advertisements and ensure that more people than ever before will see them. Also, people are not going to stop being consumers just because they are no longer able to go outside. This is why and how online shopping thrived.

Advantages of Online Shopping

eCommerce has been around for ages, but the current situation ended up providing the right conditions for it to rise. Of course, younger generations have been shopping online for years, but older ones were still holding on to physical stores, buying the item on location. With this no longer being a possibility, they were forced to go online as well.

The thing is — online shopping is easier and more convenient than ever. Meanwhile, there are no major restrictions on shipments of goods, and businesses tend to benefit from not having to have warehouses with goods waiting to be put on shelves and then sold to people. Firms did not have to buy items upfront, and hope that someone will purchase them.

On top of that, purchases with cryptocurrency are starting to become big, especially now, since crypto cards can be found on every corner. Not a lot of merchants accept crypto payments as of yet, but Mandir believes this will change in time.

Cryptos are very popular among younger generations, and he believes that these are the generations that can recognize future trends early on, and invest in opportunities that are only just emerging.

So, while older generations are resisting the trends of the future, younger ones are adopting them and adapting to the change, and in doing so, making the change come to pass.

In the end, Mandir believes that online shopping is the future of commerce as a whole, and that paying with crypto will be the main source of paying for goods and services down the road. It might take years for it to happen, but it will happen, eventually.