How the shift in consumer behaviour towards e-commerce is shaping our industry.

Overview of the state of e-commerce following 2020

If you are unaware of e-commerce, then you must have been living under a rock for the last 10 years. The shift in consumer behaviour towards online shopping has drastically altered the way in which businesses sell products and services to consumers. This has since been accelerated by the recent pandemic where all non-essential retail in the UK were forced to close physical stores. Thus, businesses responded by increasing their e-commerce presence.

E-commerce has truly exploded; according to GroupM, global e-commerce sales in 2020 were due to hit $3.9 trillion. However, by the end of 2020, consumers pushed this over the $4 trillion mark. The biggest change has been for CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) manufacturers where e-commerce based retail sales have increased by 277%.

It is impossible to ignore such a huge shift in consumerism. A natural increase in people using the internet, specifically social media, on a day-to-day basis made digital platforms a natural target for any forward think marketer. Naturally, making the products available online was the next logical steps in driving sales. A top example is one of the pioneers of e-commerce – Amazon. During the third quarter of 2020, Amazon saw their net income for Q3 hit $6.3bn, 3 times what it was in 2019. This can largely be attributed to consumers inability to be able to go to the shops.

So, what does this mean for people who are in the warehousing and logistics industry?

With a drastic increase in e-commerce, the demand for warehouse space has gone through the roof. Occupier take-up in H1 2020 had reached 17.7 million sq ft – 20% higher than in H1 2019. This is where QTS as a company fit in. As a UK supplier (part of the notorious Made in Group) and fabricator of mesh materials we have seen a big increase in the demand for our products already with this expected to continue through 2021. It would be an incredibly poor business decision for us if we did not choose to move with the times and create our own e-commerce platform to make the setting up and maintenance of said warehouses much more efficient.

With that being said, we would like to introduce you to our new online shop! We have created this platform which intends to make our standard products available to you at the click of a few buttons. It is the perfect place for ordering products for small to medium sized projects.

We have created this shop with our trade customers in mind. By contacting us and setting up a trade login we are able to offer a huge discount on the RRP. For large or bespoke projects, please continue to contact our expert sales team who will be able to find you the perfect solution.