Did lockdown make you an Amazon addict?

AT the start of lockdown I don’t think I’m alone when I say “ I may have overdone it a little on Amazon”. Browsing the site became a little obsessive and I’m wondering, did lockdown make you an Amazon addict too? Well according to surveys, the answer is a big fat yes.

I suddenly ‘needed’ new baking equipment, exercise gear ( because of the weight I was gaining, due to the baking of cakes and cookies every day), arts and crafts to keep the toddler entertained, and then decorating things (because of the arts and crafts stuff ending up all over the walls), bikini’s because as an expat living in Spain this was a golden opportunity to get a tan (after living here for a decade), and various colours of hair dye because being locked in a house when no one can see you is the perfect opportunity to try a new look.

According to Fablious.co.uk during the course of lockdown, users as a whole have spent 17 per cent more than they did when compared to the previous, which includes the run-up to the festive period of 2019, including all of that Christmas shopping!

Everyone I know did the same, we all shared Pinterest recipes and exercise videos and tried to embrace this new lifestyle. Whilst I admit I enjoyed the time at home with my family, I did miss the social interaction and I think that is where the high-street needs to focus its efforts.

A girls day out shopping needs to be more of an experience now when you can pick up clothes online for half the price. I’m thinking personal shopping, better changing rooms, in-store coffee, cava and cupcakes.

Fewer than two in ten (16 per cent) of UK consumers intend to return to their old shopping habits and I totally understand why this is the lasting change that COVID-19 will have on the retail industry.

Since lockdown began, 77 per cent of frequent Amazon shoppers, an estimated 15 million people, used Amazon to buy a product they’d not purchased on the platform before.

According to research commissioned by Molzi, the top categories that Amazon shoppers ventured into for the first time were personal care (34 per cent), hobbies (e.g. puzzles, painting) (30 per cent), technology (e.g. keyboard, headphones) (25 per cent), clothes (23 per cent), and cooking/baking (22 per cent) with the average value of purchases (spent on products which were not bought on Amazon before) totalling £117.60. But now, as lockdown is over, 97per cent of online shoppers will continue using Amazon for these new categories with 15 per cent saying they will not return to physical stores and will use Amazon only.

Amazon has been so widely adopted by shoppers since March it ranked ahead of the following for the most valuable lockdown service: Amazon (60 per cent), online food delivery (30 per cent), streaming services like Netflix (25 per cent), video conferencing services like Zoom (19 per cent), and gas/electricity providers (14 per cent).

In fact, the perception of Amazon has greatly benefited during the pandemic: 42 per cent of respondents say their impression of Amazon has improved and only five in a hundred (5 per cent) say its worsened.

Chris Mole, CEO of Molzi, said: “For many people, the lockdown has turned Amazon into a necessity. Consumers stuck at home have relied on the platform to buy essential and non-essential products for the first time and hugely valued the service. This is no accident. Jeff Bezos has built the entire business on delivering an unrivalled customer experience and it’s paying off. Clearly Brits’ appetite for Amazon is here to stay.”

The online survey, conducted by Censuswide, polled 1,007 respondents who shop on Amazon at least twice a month.

Along with Amazon, Netflix and Zoom other companies who saw a huge increase in online spending include, Ann Summers, online gaming subscriptions for Xbox and Playstation, DIY and Home stores such as B&Q and The Range, Food delivery services JustEat and Deliveroo, Online bingo and casinos like JackpotJoy and online greeting card site Moonpig.

Unsurprisingly the high-street took a knock and in-particular mid-range fashion brands like Debenhams and Marks and Spencer saw significant losses as we spent less on fashionable clothing, possibly due to the fact we didn’t need to look good sitting on the sofa.

Starbucks and Costa took a big knock too along with many other restaurants, cafes and bistros.

So, what does this mean for the high street now? Did lockdown make you an Amazon addict? As more people have had to source things from alternative online stores and have set up PayPal and online store credit features to make this process simple why would we go back to the high street? The majority of things online are cheaper due to lower overheads, returns are relatively simple and its something we have all become comfortable with. Only time will tell what happens to the high-street as we know it, but things have to change if they’re going to compete.

We hope you enjoyed this article “Did lockdown make you an Amazon addict?”.

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