At risk of sounding like a broken record, COVID has dramatically changed the way we do a lot of things. One of the single biggest changes to how we live now has been in our buying habits and the retail world has had to adapt accordingly. This is of course obvious, but in any industry there is a demand for data that is more granular than just whatever is obvious on the surface. For that, you need a way to track purchases. Fortunately, this kind of system has already been in place for years in the form of bar codes. Most of those little rectangles of black lines on every product that you purchase was first issued by a company called GS1 US. Because this company issues most of the bar codes out there, it is one of if not the biggest aggregators of purchasing data in the world. It is their data that has shown through cold hard analysis the massive shift to online shopping.
How massive is that shift? So massive that in the first month of COVID lockdowns online shopping grew as much as it would have in eight years of normal growth. We are now approaching the one year mark since the first lockdowns were initiated in the US. During that time, online shopping has only grown, driven by continued restrictions, some businesses going under, and people who would just rather not deal with masks or other issues that arise when going out to the store.
That is only part of the story though. While some businesses have been destroyed by COVID restrictions, others have sprung into existence in the last year while others that were only niche businesses in 2019 are now mainstream. Take curbside pickup. There were a few restaurants and grocery stores that were already exploring these options. Walmart in particular – being highly data driven – had already identified that many preferred to not deal with going in the store. So when the lockdowns started to roll out, they already had the infrastructure in place for something that has now become a major part of their business. Not that these things are always flawless. If you aren’t careful, you can get a lot of interesting substitutions in your order. Fortunately, data analysis can help identify if there is a systemic issue that needs solving or if such things are merely anomalies.
One of the most interesting businesses that is well suited for the COVID world is Carvana. This business not only lets you buy vehicles online, it will deliver them to your door. They include several high resolution photos so you can get all the information you need on the car before making a purchase. That definitely helps if you are someone who would rather not deal with car salesmen and driving around to different car lots, sometimes taking days before you find one you like.
In many ways, COVID has merely accelerated trends that were already in motion. Even before 2020, businesses like DoorDash, GrubHub, UberEats and others were gaining steam. Shipt, Shopify, and others have shared similar explosive growth. It isn’t only relatively new companies or places like Walmart that have been moving in this direction though. Even established businesses with high end items like jewelry stores in New York City have gotten in on the game. I have it on good authority that it is possible to by jewelry for your fiancé from NYC while never leaving your desk in New Mexico. If you ask us, that’s a little wild, but a little awesome too.
The only thing we would like to add is that too many of these businesses are still reacting, operating on old data. TARTLE, through our data marketplace we can connect businesses to individuals directly, allowing them to identify trends just as they are getting started, if not before. In that way, we can help shape the future in a way that is better for everyone.
What’s your data worth? Sign up and join the TARTLE Marketplace with this link here.
