Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on French shopping behavior post-confinement 2020

The COVID-19 induced lockdown in France has boosted the e-commerce in a drastic way as consumers purchased more products online and made fewer trips to physical stores. Marketers have predicted that consumer behavior will likely not result in a pre-pandemic buying behavior. Thus, in April 2020, 23 percent of internet users in France aged 16 to 64 said they expected to visit physical stores less frequently post-pandemic, and 27 percent planned to spend less time in-store. Some 15 percent of respondents said they would adopt click and collect (Drive), and 17 percent would shop more online for home delivery.

Second "light" lockdown and the effects on Black Friday sales

The holy Black Friday dedicated to the madness of shopping will take place in France on Friday, November 27, 2020. Even if for deconfinement, all the retail brands had adopted the measures necessary for a return to a secure store, it seems that an important fringe of the population will shun these physical places. And with a second, "lighter" lockdown, marketers have asked themselves how the physical shopping sales loss will impact Black Friday or other sales seasons such as the French Days, as a significant revenue source for retail and the shopping economy in general.

Online presence for retailers

With a need for a plan to save physical stores, the development of online businesses has increased and so has the consumer adoption. While groceries are majoritarity carried out using Drive technologies and home delivery, the fashion retail sector has taken a toll for physical brands, which cannot be said to that extent about pure players such as Vinted.fr. But, as the sales for Black Friday had increased by 167 percent compared to it's previous shopping weeks in 2019, the sales season and the French days awaited shopping peaks have only increased by a small amount compared to previous weeks of online shopping in 2020. Thus, for the fashion retail sector, which is one of the most sought after sector after high-tech products, virtual purchases are a hope for sellers to support the survival of their businesses.