Impact of global pandemic COVID-19 on the Ecommerce market

This research aims to identify the impact of global pandemic COVID-19 on the Ecommerce market, with a focus on Amazon. The study will analyze the strategies adopted by Amazon to increase sales during COVID-19. The research methodology includes a survey and systematic literature review.

Research Methods
(Impact of global pandemic
COVID-19 on the E-
commerce market)

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Background of the topic..............................................................................................................3
Rationale with proper justification..............................................................................................3
Project aim, objectives and questions.........................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................1
Explain the concept of E-commerce market along with its types used within UK retail
industry?......................................................................................................................................1
What is the impact of global pandemic COVID-19 on the E-commerce market?......................2
What are the strategies adopted by Amazon to increase sales during COVID-19?....................2
INTENDED RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...............................................................................4
RESOURCES REQUIRED AND ACTION PLAN........................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Background of the topic
E-commerce is the procedure of buying and selling services and goods by using Internet
(Reardon and et. al., 2021). Computers, tablets, smartphones and many other advance
technologies are used for doing e-commerce activities (Nanda, Xu and Zhang, 2021). E-
commerce defines the activity which is done electronically buying and selling of goods by using
Internet. The global pandemic COVID-19 has disturbed the business operations because people
were not allowed to move out from their houses (Beckers and et. al., 2021). During this outbreak,
people were using online methods to purchase and sell their products and services. The current
investigation focuses on taking out information about the impact of global pandemic on the sales
of e-commerce (Galhotra and Dewan, 2020).
Rationale with proper justification
The major purpose of conducting the existing research is to take out detailed data about
the impact of global pandemic over e-commerce sales (Bhatti and et. al., 2020). This report also
includes the advantages experienced by e-commerce organisations during global pandemic
COVID-19. This also assists me in attaining my personal and professional objectives. In respect
of personal perspective, I will learn about the behaviour and personalities of people of during
COVID-19. I will also learn about the importance of patience and calmness to do work. On the
other hand, in terms of professional perspective, I will learn about the various strategies that are
adopted by e-commerce companies to continue their business operations in tough situations.
Project aim, objectives and questions
Research Aim:
To identify the impact of global pandemic COVID-19 on the E-commerce market. A
study on Amazon
Research Objectives:
 To understand the concept of E-commerce market along with its types used within UK
retail industry
 To determine the impact of global pandemic COVID-19 on the E-commerce market
 To analyse the strategies adopted by Amazon to increase sales during COVID-19
Research Questions:

 Explain the concept of E-commerce market along with its types used within UK retail
industry?
 What is the impact of global pandemic COVID-19 on the E-commerce market?
 What are the strategies adopted by Amazon to increase sales during COVID-19?

LITERATURE REVIEW
Explain the concept of E-commerce market along with its types used within UK retail industry?
According to Wang, Somogyi and Charlebois (2020), E-commerce can be defined as a process of
buying and selling products products, goods and services through digital platforms to cover a
wide area with large customer base. E-commerce is also known as electronic commerce or
internet commerce enables business to carry out business activities smoothly for gaining more
sales and growth in the competitive market. With the changing technology and market trends and
situations, it is important for the UK retail industry to adapt to new technologies for gaining
success and to customer satisfaction. The retail companies offer products online for easy
purchase which also helps in saving the time and effort of the customer as compared to
traditional form of marketing. It is generally conducted by using tablets, computers, smart
devices and smartphones for easy payment and delivery of company products and services. E-
commerce operates in four segments of the market and it is explained below:
 Business to consumer – B2C is considered as the retail part of electronic commerce
available on the internet. It is defined as the famous business model in which retail
businesses sell goods or services directly to the consumers without including any
middleman. This business to consumers simply means that online retailers sell their
quality products and best services to consumes by the internet facility.
 Business to business – B2B e-commerce business model is defined as the process of
selling products and services to another business like a wholesaler and manufacturer or a
retailer (Janjevic and Winkenbach, 2020). Business to business model is not about
directly facing customers and usually includes products such as raw materials, products
or software that are combined together.
 Consumer to consumer – C2C e-commerce model is defined as the process of selling
products and services to other consumers. Consumer to consumer sales is directed
through digital platforms such as e-Bay, Fivver, Etsy and so on.
 Consumer to business – Consumer to business e-commerce model is when a consumer
sells their products or services to another business organization. C2B business model
influencers offering photographs, exposure, freelance writers, consultants and so on.
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What is the impact of global pandemic COVID-19 on the E-commerce market?
According to Abdelrhim and Elsayed (2020), E-commerce is defined as the purchase and sell of
raw materials, goods, services and any other kind of products or services by an electronic mode
by the retailer, business and consumer. After the surge of COVID-19 global pandemic, people
has to stay at home and follow social distancing which forces customers towards doing online
shopping. The COVID-19 has impacted the e-commerce market positively as it helps the retail
industry in attaining more market share and customer base by selling products and services
through digital platforms. The global pandemic has adversely affected the sales and profitability
of various business organization. Because of e-commerce market the company start to gain more
growth and productivity in the retail industry. The changing demands and expectations of
customers is changing now a days with the situation of complete lock-down in the time of
pandemic as they are more scared of getting infected by the deadly virus. The effect of global
pandemic has created excess of goods, increased demand for basic products and unnecessary
goods and discontinuous supply chain movements. Increased sales and demand for basic
products and services by customers by online websites has provides several facilities to them
which creates high satisfaction. The consumers are now more likely to spend their time on social
media as they stayed at home and this has changed the behaviour of shopping to buy products
from online stores to avoid inter-person contact (Pollák, Konečný and Ščeulovs, 2021). It is
important for the companies to create a sense of trust among their customers in order to build
brand loyalty and high growth in the market at the time of pandemic times. The customers also
want retail stores to deliver products at their doorsteps to reduce contact and to receive quality
goods and services in order to gain high profitability. Thus, emergence of e-commerce has
helped several industries to produce products and services to the customers and to do business in
the time of complete lock-down also.
What are the strategies adopted by Amazon to increase sales during COVID-19?
According to Hillen (2021), The whole world has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,
with nearly every individual life and every industry. The government is trying its best to keep its
people safe and secure from he affect of deadly virus in the economy. Many people has lost their
jobs which affected their livelihood as industries are challenged financially very much because
of no sale and productivity. Amazon has adopted several strategies that helps it in increasing
their sales and profitability in the time of pandemic is explained below:
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 Focus on existing customers – In the time of COVID-19 it is impossible for the
company to bring new customers for buying their products and services. The main
strategy that Amazon adapt is to focus on its existing customers and providing them with
facilities in order to gain success and growth in the time of global pandemic.
 Move everything online – Next strategy that Amazon uses is to provide everything
online so that customers get the convenience of ordering products online by digital
platforms. It is important that company provides most of its products online so that
customers ned not to travel outside for purchasing products (Ivanov, 2021).
 Invest in digital platforms – Another important strategy that Amazon adopts is to invest
major amount of money and effort in building sales through digital platforms. As the
customers are spending most of their time on social media, this make the company to
focus on choosing best digital platforms so that they achieve high sales and growth in the
competitive market.
Thus, it is necessary for the company to adopt effective strategies that helps in increasing the
sales and profitability in order to sustain in the competitive and in the time of global pandemic.
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INTENDED RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
It is one of the sections in the whole investigation which helps in collecting and analysing
data in a systematic manner (Abutabenjeh and Jaradat, 2018). This is the section which plays
quite important role in the process of determining, examining and taking out results in a
systematic way. The framework of Saunders research onion will be used by investigator to get
right methods to collect, examine and evaluate data.
Research Philosophy: It gives appropriate principles for the systematic evaluation of
information (Basias and Pollalis, 2018). This has two kinds that include: positivism and
interpretivism philosophy. Researcher will select positivism philosophy so that numerical
information can be evaluated and analysed in a proper manner. The main benefit of choosing the
positivism philosophy is that it only focuses on numerical data.
Research Approach: The approach is divided into two kinds which are: inductive and
deductive approach (Rutberg and Bouikidis, 2018). Investigator will choose deductive approach
with the motive of analysing statistical piece of information in a systematic manner. The major
advantage of using the deductive approach is that it only gives importance to numerable data
which eventually helps in saving time of the investigator.
Research Strategy: The strategy is essential for doing the systematic investigation. This
has several kinds which include: action research, case study, survey, interview, observation,
systematic literature review etc. Investigator will use survey to gather raw information in
numerical form. Survey is the great strategy as it facilitates in the collection of primary piece of
information (Rinjit, 2020). On the other hand, investigator will select systematic literature review
to collect second-hand information. This strategy gives researcher various sources to assemble
data such as books, newspapers, articles, books etc.
Research Choice: The choice is classified into two parts which are: qualitative and
quantitative choice. Investigator will show dependence over quantitative for the purpose of
collecting numerable data in the systematic manner (Solihatin and et. al., 2020). The major
benefit of quantitative choice is that it focuses on carrying out comparable and measurable data
in the shorter period of time.
Data Collection: It is the method of research which assists researcher in identifying kind
of information needed to attain objectives (Mohajan, 2018). This has two forms which are:
primary and secondary method of data collection. Primary method helps in taking out
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information by directly approaching the source of information. On the other hand, researcher will
also use secondary method to collect already published information. The secondary sources are:
books, journals, articles, publications etc.
Sampling: It is the methodology to select right number of respondents. It has two kinds
which are: probability and non-probability sampling (Mertler, 2019). Investigator will depend
upon probability sampling so that large number of participants can be added to the investigation
and they can contribute in providing great piece of information. 50 managers will be selected
from Amazon to collect information from them because they have detailed information about the
impact of COVID-19 on sales of E-commerce.
Time Horizon: Time is the component which assists in dealing with every activity of
investigation in a systematic manner. This has two kinds which are: cross-sectional and
longitudinal time horizon (Dźwigoł and Dźwigoł-Barosz, 2018). Cross-sectional time horizon
will be chosen by researcher so that objectives can be met in real time.
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RESOURCES REQUIRED AND ACTION PLAN
In the present investigation researcher will take help of various resources. Researcher will
approach questionnaire, secondary sources, right amount of funds, guidance from expertise and
many more so that investigation can be completed in a systematic manner.
Gantt chart will also be considered by investigator to complete each activity and task in a
systematic way. This helps in timely completion of the whole investigation.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Abdelrhim, M. and Elsayed, A., 2020. The Effect of COVID-19 Spread on the e-commerce
market: The case of the 5 largest e-commerce companies in the world. Available at SSRN
3621166.
Abutabenjeh, S. and Jaradat, R., 2018. Clarification of research design, research methods, and
research methodology: A guide for public administration researchers and
practitioners. Teaching Public Administration, 36(3), pp.237-258.
Basias, N. and Pollalis, Y., 2018. Quantitative and qualitative research in business & technology:
Justifying a suitable research methodology. Review of Integrative Business and
Economics Research, 7, pp.91-105.
Beckers and et. al., 2021. COVID-19 and retail: The catalyst for e-commerce in
Belgium?. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 62, p.102645.
Bhatti and et. al., 2020. E-commerce trends during COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal
of Future Generation Communication and Networking, 13(2), pp.1449-1452.
Dźwigoł, H. and Dźwigoł-Barosz, M., 2018. Scientific research methodology in management
sciences. Фінансово-кредитна діяльність: проблеми теорії та практики, 2(25),
pp.424-437.
Galhotra, B. and Dewan, A., 2020, October. Impact of COVID-19 on digital platforms and
change in E-commerce shopping trends. In 2020 Fourth International Conference on I-
SMAC (IoT in Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud)(I-SMAC) (pp. 861-866). IEEE.
Hillen, J., 2021. Online food prices during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Agribusiness, 37(1). pp.91-
107.
Ivanov, D., 2021. Supply chain viability and the COVID-19 pandemic: A conceptual and formal
generalisation of four major adaptation strategies. International Journal of Production
Research, 59(12). pp.3535-3552.
Janjevic, M. and Winkenbach, M., 2020. Characterizing urban last-mile distribution strategies in
mature and emerging e-commerce markets. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and
Practice, 133. pp.164-196.
Mertler, C.A., 2019. Quantitative methodology in adolescent research. The Encyclopedia of
Child and Adolescent Development, pp.1-14.
Mohajan, H.K., 2018. Qualitative research methodology in social sciences and related
subjects. Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, 7(1), pp.23-48.
Nanda, A., Xu, Y. and Zhang, F., 2021. How would the COVID-19 pandemic reshape retail real
estate and high streets through acceleration of E-commerce and digitalization?. Journal of
Urban Management, 10(2), pp.110-124.
Pollák, F., Konečný, M. and Ščeulovs, D., 2021. Innovations in the Management of E-
Commerce: Analysis of Customer Interactions during the COVID-19
Pandemic. Sustainability, 13(14). p.7986.
Reardon and et. al., 2021. “Pivoting” by food industry firms to cope with COVID‐19 in
developing regions: E‐commerce and “copivoting” delivery intermediaries. Agricultural
Economics, 52(3), pp.459-475.
Rinjit, K., 2020. Research methodology.
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Rutberg, S. and Bouikidis, C.D., 2018. Focusing on the fundamentals: A simplistic
differentiation between qualitative and quantitative research. Nephrology Nursing
Journal, 45(2), pp.209-213.
Solihatin and et. al., 2020. DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHING MATERIALS"
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR STUDENTS BASED ON QR
CODE. PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 17(5), pp.395-408.
Wang, O., Somogyi, S. and Charlebois, S., 2020. Food choice in the e-commerce era: a
comparison between business-to-consumer (B2C), online-to-offline (O2O) and new
retail. British Food Journal.
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