Report: Electronics and online F&B delivery spending surges amid pandemic

With the continuation of the impact of COVID-19, customers in Asia Pacific went to online channels to shop necessities and even non-essential items. Unsurprisingly, travel-related purchases dropped, according to a Collinson report.

Based on data from its clients' online shopping portals across 23 markets globally, Collinson revealed that at the very early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, with travel purchases down 69% year-on-year, sales of electronics and appliances from merchants such as Kogan.com were up 19% as consumers prepared to work, cook and entertain themselves at home.

Food and beverage brands with online delivery capabilities also performed well, including Australian and New Zealand online food and beverage ordering app Menulog, as well as Hong Kong-based ParknShop

Health and beauty products have also seen strong growth after waves of restrictions and lockdowns. A 21% year-over-year sales jump for brands like iHerb, lookfantastic.com and L’Occitane was recorded, indicating consumers’ preparations to re-enter daily life and meet with friends and colleagues, and underlining the deeper interest in personal health and wellness in the COVID-19 era.

“This has been a challenging time for both consumers and businesses. For organisations who invested in online earn or redeem platforms, the COVID-related surge in online retail has provided a much needed ancillary revenue stream; while enabling companies to remain in contact with consumers through value-add touchpoints," said Todd Handcock, president for Asia Pacific at Collinson.

James Berry, commercial director of Collinson’s loyalty commerce, commented, "Loyalty commerce platforms are now seeing a massive growth in relevance, especially for travel and financial service providers. The pandemic has caused a substantial swing in consumer spending habits and we expect the effects of this to ripple out for the next few years at a minimum."

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