In 2020, supply chains were put to the test as omnichannel retail accelerated and more sales moved online. Take a look at some of the most impactful statistic of the year and how forward-looking retailers and brands are embracing the change and mapping the road ahead.
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Introduction #
The COVID-19 pandemic is a black swan event—the first since the Great Recession in 2008. It is global, it permeates every facet of life, and it’s ongoing.
For commerce, and the retail and logistics industries that support it, there are a lot of uncertainties. 2020 exposed the vulnerabilities of the supply chain. While eCommerce has steadily grown over the last 10 years, the supply chain and logistics networks built to support omnichannel commerce haven’t caught up. It has left retailers and brands wondering what’s next and what it will take to adapt to the new normal.
Stay-at-home policies and store closures moved retail online, almost overnight. In Q2 2020, more than $1 in every $5 was spent online—up 44.4% over 2019. No business was prepared for the swift shift to eCommerce. Not even Amazon.
In March of 2020, goods were classified as one of two things: Essential or non-essential. Stores closed, panic-buying ensued, and society saw Amazon, one of the world’s leading retailers making massive tradeoffs for the first time.
The increase in eCommerce orders inundated Amazon, causing some Amazon Prime products to take a month to deliver. It had to deprioritize the shipping of nonessential goods to increase the throughput of essential products. The pandemic unraveled the same business that conditioned shoppers to expect almost everything in one day.
