Source: freepik.com/ijeab
Two steps forward and no step back.
The boost in e-commerce is a call-to-action for packaging
Thomas Reiner | 20.04.2020
Even if it sounds macabre: the coronavirus is fuel for e-commerce. Many consumers avoid going to the supermarkets and prefer to order online. In fact, for most consumer goods, online ordering has become the only alternative as shopping malls and retail outlets in city centres are closed.
E-commerce is thus opening up new customer and product groups. Acceptance and use of delivery services and online retail are experiencing a huge boost. The dynamic growth figures of recent years will increase rapidly once again.
At the same time, the infrastructure required for e-commerce is being expanded with great effort. After all, even if retail and industry manage in a remarkable way to reliably ensure the supply of the population even in times of crisis: the existing infrastructure is not up to the exploding demand.
Anyone in Germany, for example, who wants to be supplied with food or everyday consumer goods will have recently faced long waiting times or even closed customer lists.
Once an expanded, more efficient infrastructure has been created, it will also be available after the crisis. Demand is also likely to remain at a much higher level thanks to new customer groups and expanded product offerings.
This development has a strong and direct impact on packaging. It must face the new challenges of the digital POS and the changed transport chains. These changes are similarly drastic, including the introduction of pre-packaged goods.
In the USA, around 75 percent of consumer goods packaging already has its own e-commerce version. In Germany and Europe we have for the most part culpably neglected this to date.
The current development must therefore be a wake-up call. We have a lot of catching up to do here. And time is not waiting for us. It is pressing!
