Some businesses which boomed during the Covid pandemic are seeing their popularity fade.
Drew Cockton says people are buying fewer candles online now that lockdowns have endedSince then, he's seen a sharp reduction in sales. The reopening of physical stores has meant a pick-up in competition, and he says businesses like his, which are primarily online, have suffered as a result.
"Everyone was bored during the lockdowns, furlough money was burning a hole in people's pockets, and we did really well out of that," he says.Official figures also suggest the pandemic surge for online retail has not been sustained. Online retail sales peaked during the coronavirus lockdowns, and have been on a slow decline since then, according to the Office for National Statistics ., as the cost of living rose. The biggest contribution to the slide came from a drop in online sales.
Online retail giants such as Asos, Boohoo and AO World saw their share prices jump in the early days of the pandemic but have now come crashing back down."Online retailers were big beneficiaries from the pandemic and lockdowns, but there is now a willingness to get back to High Streets, helped by lower levels of fear over catching the virus," says Nick Carroll, from market research firm Mintel.
"As the demand for e-commerce rebalances following the lockdown boom, small businesses are using their new resiliency and creativity to develop new innovative routes to market," she says. "This includes click and collect models, hybrid experiences and bringing the best of both digital and physical worlds together."
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