More opportunities with e-commerce
The French logistics group Geodis and Accenture Interactive, part of Accenture (NYSE: ACN), have published a whitepaper on e-commerce. Amongst others, the study confirms that the pandemic fostered online sales and that many brands estimate that e-commerce in 2020 will represent nearly half of their sales.
Before the crisis, companies were making 34% of their sales online (28% on average in marketplaces and 6% on their own websites). During lockdown, 65% of sales were made online.
Furthermore, a second finding indicated that most companies (52%) felt that their e-commerce potential is limited by their logistical capabilities. For example, 59% of European companies rely on marketplaces for their online sales, a number even higher than for American companies (46%).
However, most of the brands surveyed believe that over-reliance on marketplaces is not sustainable and wish to shift more of that balance toward owned ecommerce channels. Nearly two-thirds (64%) state that reducing their dependence on marketplaces is their first or second priority for the next six months.
Within three years, 76% of American companies and 56% of European companies surveyed wish to sell directly to consumers via their own websites, aiming to make 20% of their total sales there. (sh)