In Focus: An Evolving Last Mile

29 Oct 2020


News

Apart from the tragic global health implications, the economic fallout from the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic has been highly disruptive. The longer-term impact from the profound behavioral shift on the part of consumers who have — by necessity — been introduced to online shopping will persist long after the current recessionary cycle ends.

While some new online shoppers will go back to their pre-COVID habits once the pandemic is behind us, many will be “sticky,” finding the convenience of online shopping too alluring. One recent survey finds that 46 percent of shoppers currently plan to continue buying online.

From curbside and in-store pickup to home delivery, the growth of online retail was already well under way before the current crisis. The overall volume of e-commerce sales nearly doubled over just six years, rising to 11.2 percent in 2019.

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