Experts: The crisis permanently changes shopping habits

For many small specialty shops in city centers and shopping centers, the coronavirus crisis could mean the end. Because the crisis is likely to give the online trade a tailwind once again. But business with parcel senders is still quite normal.

Düsseldorf (dpa) - The shopping habits in Germany will change permanently due to the coronavirus crisis.

The biggest winner is likely to be online trading. This is assumed by the managing director of the Cologne Institute for Trade Research (IFH), Kai Hudetz, and the e-commerce expert Gerrit Heinemann from the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences.

Hudetz said that the crisis is once again giving online retail a powerful boost. Internet retailers are currently feeling the general uncertainty of consumers. But if something else is bought, then especially on the Internet. "It can be expected that online trading will also benefit from this crisis in the long term. Even if the issue of corona virus is over, more online purchases will continue than before the crisis," predicted Hudetz. The small stationary shops without an Internet offer would be losers. "Anyone who does not have an online offer now is without a functioning sales channel and can hardly make up for the omissions of the past," said Hudetz.

"The coronavirus crisis will not be the end of brick-and-mortar retail. But it will act as a catalyst and accelerate the end of many small local retailers without an internet presence," said Heinemann, an e-commerce expert.

So far, however, the deliverers have not yet registered a significantly increased number of parcel shipments. The parcel delivery company DPD announced that there were more shipments in the private customer sector, but fewer from business customers, which made up for each other.

However, Deutsche Post is prepared to do so should that change. "If more people in Germany decide to buy goods online or through traditional distance selling, there is currently nothing standing in the way of transport and delivery," said a spokesman. UPS also said that efforts were being made to adapt to the new pandemic situation as quickly as possible.

In fact, the online business is apparently not yet profiting nationwide from the closings in brick-and-mortar retail. At online fashion retailer Zalando, for example, demand is currently declining, as the company announced on request. "Until the curfews in several countries, we had no major business impact," it said. "Since the restrictions on public life, we've seen negative impacts in the form of lower demand in the affected areas." The reason is likely that many people are now mainly ordering things online that they can do something with at home, said a spokeswoman.