In October, The Netherlands was introduced to lockdown measures once again. We are seeing this cause an impact on the amount of visitors to brick and mortar stores in city centers. And in turn emptier parking lots.
According to Parkmobile since lockdown in October transactions fell by 12% compared to previous weeks. And due to the new restrictions and closing of restaurants once again we are also seeing a lot less parking in the evenings.
When the second lockdown was announced, large cities in the Netherlands saw offline retail sales experience a 39% decrease. This is in comparison to the same week a year ago. Furthermore, when the lockdown measures were tightened, sales dipped 46%. Additonally, the number of visitors to city centers were 52% less.
Many have questioned what this will mean post-pandemic. Clearly there will always be a demand for restaurants and bars. As things return to “normal” many will be excited to get back to being able to shop in physical stores. However, there is no question that consumers’ habits have changed as a result of COVID-19. And that the growth of ecommerce will continue. As it was already predicted to do so. We are merely seeing this at an accelerated rate as an effect of the pandemic.
With more people turning to online platforms, businesses will need to embrace this shift that is happening from physical to digital selling to ensure success post pandemic.
*Discover how the pandemic has impacted Ecommerce in this blog. Exploring the rising rends of 2021 in the wake of digital transformation.
