2020 Q4 Trends and Projections: The Future of Amazon, Walmart, and E-Marketplaces

“In economics, things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could.” — Rudiger Dornbusch, Economist

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically accelerated consumers’ adoption of e-commerce. Even older consumers are growing more comfortable shopping digitally, and experts predict many will continue to do so even after the pandemic ends. With an anticipated 7.4 million new digital buyers in 2020, per eMarketer, the pandemic has put to rest the debate over whether or not brands and retailers should sell online. Consumers have particularly gravitated toward trusted online retailers and e-marketplaces, where they can browse and engage with countless brands and products across both essential and broader categories and rely on convenient, fast shipping.  Indeed, this shift in consumer behavior has solidified Amazon’s and Walmart’s dominant positions in retail and e-commerce. Sales across the e-marketplaces are showing sustained growth, even after the peak of the COVID-19 crisis, with sales up 43% in July compared to February 2020, according to Feedvisor data. As we approach the high-demand period of Q4, brands and retailers are now forced to quickly pivot their traditional strategies to appeal to consumers’ ongoing needs. Already, major retailers such as Walmart, Target, and Best Buy are scrapping their in-store shopping events around Black Friday, pushing shoppers online for holiday sales. Between Prime Day likely occurring in October, the threat of a second wave of COVID-19 outbreaks during flu season, and the sustained shift of shopping behavior toward online channels, Q4 this year is poised to be bigger and more critical than ever before. What must brands and retailers do to capitalize on this opportunity? In this groundbreaking analysis, 2020 Q4 Trends and Projections: The Digital Revolution of Retail and E-Marketplaces, Feedvisor’s experts unpack exclusive, proprietary data and insights on the COVID-19 impact on retail and e-commerce, pinpointing key growth trends and consumer behaviors, to reveal our projections for the future of e-marketplaces in Q4 and beyond.