Covid-19 “Dramatically accelerated” e-Commerce Up to 5+ Years: Kohl’s CEO…

It has been very interesting to see the dramatic effect that the Coronavirus and the ensuing March lockdown has had on the economic sector. This was initially observed when the lockdown first happened and funnel-forced us as a society to use e-commerce in droves.

I have been thinking about this phenomenon where the natural progression that would have organically occurred over the next 5-10 years, has now been forcefully squeezed into the past 7-8 months.

The natural progression predicted that the change would have happened as the younger generations (Millennials, Gen Z), who grew up with and naturally embrace digital technology as a part of their everyday lives, continue to do so.

But, what’s been really interesting to observe is that the older generations (Greatest Generation, Boomers and even some steadfast Gen X), many of whom may have been content to still go about their previous old-school methods of living have now been FORCED to update and embrace e-commerce and newer technologies (see: Amazon, Zoom, et al.), in order to obtain the basics of life from food/grocery/prescription deliveries to video-conferencing medical appointments.

This article from Yahoo Finance illustrates the point as Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass admits that COVID-19 has “dramatically accelerated” the pace of online shopping “shifting customer behavior up to five or more years earlier than it would have otherwise.”

“Clearly COVID has dramatically accelerated digital adoption,” Gass says. “I mean, some would say, five-plus years what it typically would have taken across all demographics.”

“We’re always going to go where the customer is,” she adds. “So we’re leaning into that.”

via Yahoo! Money

via Yahoo! Money