In light of recent events, everyone is trying to understand what will happen to businesses and to the overall economy during and after this Coronavirus outbreak. There are dozens of industries which are profiting from it and as many are indeed suffering from its proliferation. Let’s analyse data and what we know so far of what could potentially be the next big chapter in history.
Coronavirus And eCommerce
In recent news, it has been pointed out how many eCommerce businesses have seen a net increase in sales even after the Covid outbreak. With shops going out of stock and with people being scared of physically leaving their houses, there are tons and tons of businesses which have started delivering and selling their products online on a larger scale. If there’s one thing this virus will definitely do, that would be the increase of digitally-oriented features within businesses.
Full Remote Control For Businesses
A superb example of the above-mentioned digitalization would definitely be the real estate sector. There are, in fact, a lot of agencies who took face-to-face processes i.e. commercial property auctions and moved them online. Some of them are even hosting the actual auction via Livestream, just so people could actually “enjoy” the process of an actual, face to face auction. Remote events are slowly making their way through a market which wants to maintain its schedule even if the virus is forcing people to stay at home. This is something which will eventually happen in the events industry as well, given how major festivals like Coachella, Glastonbury and many more have recently been postponed or even cancelled.
Hospitality Suffering, But Coping With Digital Deliveries
If there’s one absolute loser in this situation, that would definitely be the hospitality sector. Bars, pubs and restaurants are all struggling given how people are required to stay at home. Of course, the ones who can, remain open and do deliveries, whether if it’s via Uber Eats, Just Eat or Postmates. The ones who are bit tech-savvy, though, have developed their own digital delivery architecture, therefore taking 100% of the entire delivery, without having to give the above-mentioned companies any money. Creating those architectures or applications isn’t an easy task, though, as there are plenty of situations in which the geo-localization of the delivery person won’t be as precise as Uber’s, which uses dedicated servers that are perfectly integrated. Having that level of technology, though, requires a lot of money in hardware which, in most cases, isn’t applicable to small bars and restaurants.
To Conclude
The COVID-19 isn’t supposed to be a particularly deadly virus, but its media coverage has definitely set the tone for what could potentially become the next big economical crisis, with the same proportion as the second world war. No one, for now, knows exactly whether if this will actually happen but, for now, we can safely say that the future of businesses (the ones who can not operate online) is very uncertain. It’s important, though, to stay safe and remain calm, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.