E-Commerce

Buying stuff online

Here’s a fun time series:

This trend shows the relentless digitization of our lives from the perspective of retail sales. Specifically, the e-commerce aspect of retail sales versus total sales.

My first observation from this chart is that putting an “e-” before any word feels so darn '90s. But, I kind of like the nostalgia. Maybe we should bring that fad back. Perhaps starting with a rebrand to “e-EndlessMetrics”?

The next, slightly more serious, observation is that this is an increasing trend. I mean, duh. Ask nearly anyone if they buy things online and the answer is going to be “of course.” Chances are, they buy more things online now than they did ten years ago. So, this chart is basically a quantification of a really obvious phenomenon.

But, having observable numbers is useful even if the results are obvious. In this case, by measuring something fairly mundane, we will get to see what happens in the coming quarters due to the quarantine.

My (very obvious) guess is that we will see this trend accelerate drastically. After all, physical stores are closed. But the internet? Well, the internet is always open for business. That is…assuming we don’t have a global e-pandemic next. Just be careful not to open any e-mail with the subject “ILOVEYOU” or else we will have a digital curve to flatten as well.