22 March 2021 - Given drastic shifts in product category preferences, greater momentum in conscious consumerism and 15 million new e-shoppers in 2020 vs 2019, Covid-19 has transformed e-commerce, offering new opportunities to retailers and e-tailers. / Key take-aways: • Food, formerly a niche product, has dethroned fashion and shoes as the category that e-shoppers purchase the most often. In response to strict lockdown and quarantine measures, consumers turned to e-commerce for groceries as well as ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat meals. • An omnichannel approach has become an essential ingredient in the success of e-tailers, obliging them to develop an online offering and appropriate delivery methods (e.g. Click & Collect) to continue selling their merchandise during the health crisis. • The desire to set a time for delivery is very important to buyers, as it meets new needs in post-pandemic lifestyles such as home office life. Next-day delivery continues to grow in popularity, especially for perishables. Contactless delivery as well as multiple delivery choices are also key. • Among the recent adopters of online buying is a new e-shopper persona, the senior e-shopper, whose rise creates what DPDgroup has dubbed “super stretch e-commerce,” i.e. the remarkable differences in shopper profiles that the industry must stretch itself to serve, from millennials to seniors, experts to novices. • Sustainability must be an active constant for all e-commerce players as e-shoppers continue to seek eco-friendly products and services while expecting e-commerce websites and brands to do their part in reducing their carbon footprint.