The uncertainty caused due to the Covid-19 pandemic has led to many wondering what the impact of this will be on brands, retailers and eCommerce as a whole. It’s also uncertain as to how it will impact consumers and what the new “normal” will look like. We discussed these changes and the new trends that will come as a result of the pandemic in our virtual lunch and learn session with eCommerce experts. They shared with us their eCommerce insights on tackling this situation and how brands can emerge stronger after this phase. On our experts panel we had Dean McElwee from  Kelloggs, Sri Ganesh Santhiram from Victorinox, and Jeannette Potts from Isobar, and the discussion was moderated by our Co-Founder, Niall O’Gorman.

Insights from Experts

Many of us experienced the quick transition that companies went through to mobilise their workforce to work from home. Our eCommerce experts shared how their companies have adapted to the new “normal” of working from home. Sri Ganesh, Senior Manager Global Digital Marketing at Victorinox AG shared that after the initial transition phase, there is now a positive momentum of work. He said “we are also seeing a lot more collaboration and things are moving a lot faster”. Sri Ganesh explained that it has also led to increased sharing of best practices and resources within the company.

Dean McElwee, European E-Commerce Leader at Kellogg explained that remote working has led to closer integration within the company. In addition, “eCommerce has become a lot more top of mind”. He mentioned that one of the key areas that has been impacted by COVID-19 on brands such as The Kellogg Company is the supply chain. They have had to secure suppliers for a longer time period than they have in the past. In addition, it has also been a challenge to secure enough supplies. This is due to “quite a good increase in sales” and the need to cater to increased demand for breakfast cereals.

Jeannette, Brand Marketing Lead at Isobar shares her insights from her vast experience from both a brand and an agency’s perspective. She tells us how brands can adapt an online strategy quickly and swiftly shift online during the discussion. According to Jeannette, there is an opportunity to streamline operations with the widespread move to working remotely:

Stay connected with your consumers, whether it is online or offline. Continue doing as much as you had planned, but think about what needs to be changed. It requires very much an agile mindset. Think about whether you need to move budgets around or do you need to move people around?

She also suggests that brands should consider what type of “taskforce” and “resources” they need at a time like this. She reiterated the need for an agile mindset. To this, Dean added that it’s vital for companies to adopt business process reengineering as “ecommerce isn’t just a project, it’s a way of working”. He gives many more insights on this during the discussion that you can watch/listen to here. 

Apart from this, we also discussed Amazon’s decision to cut fulfilment of all non-essential goods. To tackle this, Sri Ganesh provided insights on how to mitigate the risks posed by Amazon cutting fulfillment for non-essentials products. He shared that while Amazon is a key component of many businesses, brands can begin with focusing on their DTC website. He says, consider your website and the consumer “experience in terms of offering the kind of eCommerce experience”. In addition, it’s vital to understand who you consumers are.

In addition, the panelists discussed the impact of online sales traffic on retailers and gave in-depth eCommerce insights. They also discussed how increased investments in technology will be a key part of retailer strategy going forward.

You can watch the on-demand panel discussion here to get more insights to relevant issues surrounding eCommerce at the moment.

Upcoming Insights

We will be posting a blog with all the answers to the questions that we couldn’t answer during the webinar. If you need anymore information or have a question please reach out  to us here.