“Covid-19 caused huge shifts in consumer demand with many looking to embark on home improvements and DIY projects during the first national lockdown despite stores being forced to close,” said Chris Fisher, vice-president of operations for ECI’s Spruce division in Europe, in his summing up of the event.

“This led to far stronger than expected sales for some DIY and retail businesses who were able to shift operations online, and despite the challenges in the first half of 2020, many merchants reported strong growth in the second half of the year.”

Competing for online sales certainly became a key theme for 2020, with businesses forced to implement or upgrade to robust and reliable ecommerce systems in order to stay afloat and also meet this sudden surge in demand. 

“On paper, ecommerce hasn’t necessarily been the most obvious fit for the merchant sector,” said Mr Fisher. “Visualisation and inspiration, the need for advice and immediate access to product – especially for trade customers, and the customer requirements around delivery and timing led many to question its viability.

“Through necessity, merchants looked to rapidly transform their operation. By implementing online ordering, click & collect services, kerbside collection, timed in-store collection and numerous other inventive solutions merchants were able to replace the physical trade counter, with an array of new and often more convenient options.” 

Mr Fisher added that there is a strong case for implementing some form of click & collect offering, but for it to be a success it’s important merchants are working from a joined up system, can access key data and generate vital reports.

“Investing in a system that can automate these traditionally manual and often disparate processes, can really help set your business ahead of the competition,” he said.

“It’s also vital that you have full visibility across your business. For example, if a critical inventory item is low in stock, cloud-based systems will instantly send your purchasing manager an alert, ensuring that customer orders are always fulfilled and they aren’t left disappointed or unable to complete a project on time. 

“As we look ahead to 2021, merchants will need to continue to adapt to changing restrictions and guidelines, with ecommerce providing a reliable alternative to in store purchasing.”

To watch any of the sessions from the virtual roadshow, view the video library here.