What has Covid-19 pandemic changed in the methods of online shopping & e-commerce in Oman

With the beginning of 2020, a great change occurred in the world in all aspects of life, as the Corona epidemic spread, which made people panic and confusion due to what everyone does not know about its future effects, but almost two years after this pandemic, people are more coexisting and aware than ever before of what is going on around them.

E-commerce is one of the most unparalleled aspects of development, as it is expected to continue to develop amazingly in the coming years, because with ease the e-commerce sector has been able to prove its importance to the whole world in light of this global crisis that still directly affects our daily lives. .

With the beginning of closures and home quarantine in many countries, we wanted to notice the weakness of applications and electronic shopping websites in the services provided to buyers via the Internet, from here many brands and stores began trying to keep pace with this development and the rapid changes that took place in the market and are still developing, which today We will discuss the changes brought about by the Corona pandemic to online shopping in Oman

How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way you shop online in Oman?

In view of the fact that not a large number of people have turned to online shopping to buy their various products and needs in the home stone and try as much as possible to stay away from crowded places and malls in Oman, we will discuss the following points

Huge increase in online shoppers in Oman after Covid pandemic

In the past, most of the shoppers used to buy their various needs from the markets and malls / shops scattered in Oman, as it can be said that a small number of people depended or tried online shopping or even browsed one of the online shopping websites.
But this situation has completely changed with the spread of the Corona pandemic, which forced them to find other solutions that prevented them from leaving and exposing them to danger in these difficult times, especially with the emergence of every mutation of this virus that brings us back to all those difficult times that we went through, and this growth appears clearly in the Saudi markets For example, as it increased according to the latest statistics in the year 2020-2021, which indicated that approximately 77% of Saudi society has become dependent on online shopping to purchase their various needs.
After going through the online shopping experience, which was mandatory for some shoppers, but with every online shopping experience in Oman we are witnessing an increase in the number of shoppers due to the ease of purchase, the freedom to choose products, the huge and huge variety of options available in addition to the home delivery service in Oman that protects the buyer from infection.

Large number of online shopping websites and applications

We all certainly remember the days of home quarantine when people began to turn to shopping websites and social media pages. Boredom and the urgent need to buy different products without having to go out and be exposed to danger is the biggest factor in increasing this demand to set up projects interested in providing various sales services.
Many online shopping websites and social media pages have begun to appear that seek to keep pace with the changing requirements of online shoppers in Oman to purchase and their different needs due to the lowest prices and in an easy way.

New categories and products appeared after the COVID pandemic

In the era of Corona, we witnessed the emergence of new products that we were not familiar with before or at least were not that important in our daily lives, as masks, sterilizers and cleaning tools are a small part of these products, in addition to that, there are other products that have increased in demand greatly, such as foods, toys Family games, video games, sports equipment, grooming products and many more products that will make spending time with your family in quarantine conditions enjoyable.
Also, working from home in light of the Corona pandemic, has also shown a great demand for electronic devices, laptops, paper printers, wooden desks, office furniture and other products that employees and business owners need in Oman to complete their work.
The market for comfortable home clothes has also witnessed a great boom, because most of us prefer to stay at home with the volatile pandemic conditions and the emergence of mutants from the virus.
All of this contributed to the emergence of new products on electronic shopping websites in Oman to meet the needs of shoppers that suddenly appeared and transformed, which made many companies and brands to make fundamental transformations, whether it was closing sections and establishing new sections seeking to keep pace with the changes, all of this with high quality and competitive prices.

Brand loyalty declines with and after the Corona pandemic

The pandemic contributed to unveiling the marketing tricks that many websites follow, the most prominent of which is the significantly lower prices on most products, which sometimes reached up to 65%, in addition to the lack of high stock and poor services provided, which contributed to shoppers searching more and finding what they needed. From brands and brands that they did not rely on or know about in the past.
As there are reports indicating that more than 80% of online shoppers went to brands and online shopping websites that were not in their options or did not know them, which puts international brands in an unenviable position, as it obliged them to double the interest in the services and prices provided and not be satisfied with the name of the brand .

New shopping habits after the Covid pandemic

All people agree that the world after Corona is not similar to the world before it in many respects, as Corona affected all different sectors “educational, economic, political, financial, agricultural, etc.”, and since our news today is concerned with talking about economic aspects and how Corona played a role Essential in changing the concept of shopping for people, in short, we can say that we have turned to shopping for sterilization and cleaning supplies more than ever, in addition to the reliance of many shoppers to buy groceries online in Oman.
We can also point out that sports products also witnessed a rise in electronic shopping operations, due to the closures and the need for people to maintain their activities despite all the difficult circumstances.

Spending Patterns Changing After the Covid Pandemic

Corona played a major role in changing spending patterns that were previously, with the changing priorities and the low level of economic income for some online shoppers, people have become more cautious when purchasing their various needs, as they moved away from buying unimportant products to turn their tendency to buy basic products more.
It also brought about a great change in all aspects of life to people reviewing their way of thinking and consuming behavior, as they became more conservative when using their savings by striving for maximum benefit when shopping online.

Increased selectivity for online shoppers in Oman after the Corona pandemic

Despite the growth of e-shopping and the diversity of products offered in terms of quality and prices, this has had a wide impact on the selectivity and choice of shoppers, as the options have become open and multiple for them, which raised the level of competition between online shopping websites in Oman and forced them to provide the best products and services.
All this stems from the most famous brands and brands in providing what the shopper needs and complying with his desires and needs, because this point has been closely associated with the increase in shopping websites that provide all the diverse needs of shoppers at competitive prices in addition to the point of disloyalty to many of the brands that we referred to in this news .

The increase in the demand for websites that provide contactless services after the Corona pandemic

The famous saying “Necessity is the mother of invention” applies to this case, as online shopping websites in Oman aim to provide a safe environment for online shoppers by adopting strict sterilization policies in addition to contactless services such as online payment and delivery of products to the door of the house without the need to deal with Delivery representative.

Preferring contactless payment services with the Covid pandemic when shopping online

It is unreasonable for us to shop online to guard against the Corona virus to avoid direct contact or friction, and then use normal payment methods that may expose us to risk, which contributed to relying on credit cards or online payment cards, which most banks in Oman participated in launching bank and credit cards that work without In addition to the possibility of using money transfer websites such as PayPal and many others.

Rely on discount coupons when shopping online in the COVID pandemic

Stores and online shopping websites in Oman compete to offer renewable coupons and discount codes, through competitive policies aimed at encouraging online shoppers to try buying from the most famous online shopping stores and applications.
Therefore, we found many shoppers spend a long time searching for Oman coupons to complete the purchase online, as a large percentage of shoppers may cancel their orders if they fail to find a discount coupon for their favorite store.
This prompted stores and websites to think intelligently and cleverly in acquiring a larger number of shoppers by providing coupons, promotional codes and discount codes of up to 40% that include all purchases, even discounted ones.

Oman stores compete by offering huge discounts for online purchases in the Covid pandemic

Online shopping websites have been active recently, and the competition has become fierce among them by polishing the quality of their products and improving their various services, in addition to discounts and SALE from Oman stores , which is huge, as the discounts of the most famous online shopping websites in Oman reach to more than 80% on a renewable and almost daily basis.
All this contributed to bringing a large number of shoppers to experience online shopping during the pandemic, especially with the adoption of many stores to provide exclusive services and discounts for online purchases in Oman

Increase awareness in customer satisfaction and customer services

In light of the fierce competition among online shopping websites, those websites that are keen to achieve customer satisfaction and provide the best services to them have become dominant. There are many options and opportunities available to everyone, but excellence always remains the first and last key to success.
Various stores and shopping websites have used many effective shopping methods and strategies over the years, all of which are originally aimed at attracting the largest number of online shoppers, the quality of the products is a service and the speed of shipping and delivery is a service, and offers and coupons are considered a service, not to mention the free services such as free delivery , free returns and exchanges and additional gifts that differ from one store to another are also great services that online shoppers look for in Oman.
It is not limited to this extent, but each website allocates a team dedicated to serving customers, responding to their inquiries and facilitating their purchases through the use of the latest and most economical means of communication, and this is due to the belief of these sites in the importance of forming a close relationship between the shopper and the store to encourage him to visit again, and for this we are not surprised When the success and development of some shopping sites and failure of others.

Increase in demand for delivery services

With the spread of the Corona pandemic, all the places we used to go to for our favorite meals were closed, such as various malls and restaurants, which are considered one of the biggest danger spots that help spread this virus, and this matter created an urgent need for people to provide new ways that enable them to obtain their food and supplies in a safe and healthy manner. What are the most important of these methods, and did they succeed in solving the problem or not?
We found a large number of applications that have spread in Oman markets to meet the needs of online shoppers in order to share the discovery of shopping websites, restaurants and grocery stores that were not known or enjoyed that fame previously, so it is expected that reliance on these services will increase after the pandemic because of the convenience and speed they provide.

Low prices of some products due to the Corona pandemic

Despite the great impact of the Corona virus on the global economy, and all economic analysts expected the high prices of various products and commodities, this did not go as expected, as many products became less than their usual prices, especially those luxury products, such as: clothes, makeup, accessories, some electronics and many more.
In fact, the reason for this is due to the lack of demand for these products and the change in the order of priorities of shoppers, for example, at the first moment when it was announced that the Corona virus is a global pandemic, people started rushing to markets and catering stores in Oman to buy basic foods and consumer products from food. paper, tissues, detergents, sterilizers and other important products in our daily life, which has caused a huge imbalance in the demand for some other products.
That is why online shopping websites and malls in Oman have provided huge discounts on secondary products to get rid of the overstocked quantities in their stores and motivate online shoppers to buy these products.