Did you know that the first U.S. territory to impose a COVID lockdown was Puerto Rico? The governor of the unincorporated territory signed an executive order on March 15, days before health authorities in the San Francisco Bay Area ordered nearly 6.7 million people to stay home. And just two days later, on March 19, 2020, the governor of California would issue a statewide order.


Other cities and states followed suit, as did much of the world. And overnight, we became remote workers. Or did we? Well, most companies found ways to adapt quickly, while others had a rougher time. But we’re not here to pour on the negativity — our goal is to help you future-proof your business. 


Let’s take a look at two major industries— Automotive and Ecommerce —  and how they fared during the pandemic. We’ll also show you what challenges may lay ahead for them, and everyone else.

COVID case studies: Industries that successfully adapted


These aren’t the only industries to show phenomenal growth and adaptability during the pandemic, but they’re interesting cases where agility and quick-decision making proved priceless.

Auto industry 


The auto industry was one of the hardest hit when the pandemic slammed into North America. Since car manufacturers relied on a (fairly archaic by today’s standards) distribution model, which involved dealerships and exclusively face-to-face sales, they had nothing to stand on (or in) when showrooms closed in March/April.


Coupled with the decreased interest in spending, it looked like auto sales would tank and take years  to recover. But it turns out, that’s not the case. 


A series of Google studies found that in 2020 there was a:

  • 60% increase in searches for “car sales” globally year over year.
  • 80% increase in searches for “best car under” globally year over year.
  • 64% of new auto buyers said they would look for even more information online.

So, it’s clear that people are still interested in shopping for cars, they still want answers to questions about models/features, pricing, financing and availability.


What’s changed? 92% of car buyers research online before they buy, but do those same people feel comfortable buying a car they haven’t had a chance to sit in and test drive? Can they even buy a car online (or spend as little time in a dealership as possible)?


Automakers had to adapt to the new reality and digitally transform the car buying experience. 

This is what they did:
  • Engaged with shoppers digitally — through marketing and social media channels.
  • Introduced new features and integrations for inventory, development, payments, management, distribution and marketing.  
  • Simplified procedures for financing, introduced ways of allowing people to get financing online.
The results:

A picture is worth a thousand words. Compared to the 2008 financial crisis, 2020 is looking like a (almost) V recovery. 


2008 recession (shaded) vs. 2020 total vehicle sales. Surprising isn’t it?

fred total vehicle sales 2008 vs 2020 car sales covid 19
Source: FRED


A closer look at 2020. As you can see, April 2020 was nearly rock bottom, then sales started growing, and the trend is still positive.

fred total vehicle sales 2020 covid 19 car sales
Source: FRED
What they can improve: 
  • Create unique content like virtual test drives.
  • Use what they have (dealerships, showrooms, etc.) to create high-quality, exclusive content like car reviews.
  • Work with content creators to boost brand awareness  


Ecommerce/retail industry

Ecommerce was, is and continues to be a growing industry. It came as no surprise that online sales would stay strong through the pandemic, as people migrated to shopping more online. But what did come as a surprise was just how fast brick-and-mortar was replaced by digital.


Now, compared to the auto industry, ecommerce didn’t have nearly as many problems. There wasn’t a sharp decline in sales, but quite the opposite.

How did merchants/retailers do it?
  • Stores that already had an online presence stepped up their game —  adding new features, improving performance, user experience and digital marketing. 
  • Added services like curbside pickup and home delivery. Nearly half (43.7%) of the top retailers in North America offered curbside pickup in August 2020 compared to just 6.9% in December 2019.
  • Adjusted their marketing strategy to include more social media interactions with customers.
The results:

In just three months, ecommerce grew 10 years. Incredible!

mckinsey report ecommerce penetration 2020
Source: McKinsey


YOY sales grew to a 78% high in May but have slowly dropped off since then. However, keep in mind this is still growth compared to a year ago.

Room for improvement: 
  • Consumers are reconsidering brand loyalty. More and more people are visiting, browsing and buying from brands they’d never heard of before. 
mckinsey report brand loyalty covid 19
Source: McKinsey

COVID is accelerating digital adoption & transformation

Yes, we know that digital transformation is considered a buzzword, but there’s no better way of putting it. 

Here are the two main points every business should look at 

Increasing time-to-market for new features & new ideas

Bureaucracy gets in the way when you need to move quickly. During the acute phase of the pandemic we witnessed how bureaucracy was pushed aside for greater speed in decision-making. This agile approach has to stay, otherwise you risk getting steamrolled by the competition.

One great way of getting to market faster is a helping hand 

By extending your tech capabilities (hiring an external distributed team), you can:

  • Focus on your core product
  • Plan for the next phase of your roadmap
  • Outperform your competitors 

Customer loyalty and staying ahead of competitors

The tricky part about the new normal and the recovery phase will be how businesses face immediate challenges, but especially how they approach what’s beyond. This might mean creating a dedicated planning team or a roadmap for future plans.


As we saw above, consumers are looking at different brands and brand loyalty is harder to come by. This leaves open room for new companies and new approaches from established companies. To stay ahead, think about what consumers want, how they’re feeling and what they’re doing.


Consumers are:

  • Switching to mobile more and more
  • Craving high-quality, relevant content
  • Feeling stressed about everything
  • Consuming different types of content 
  • Looking at new brands

Takeaways: Explore, learn and act!


COVID didn’t digitally transform every business, instead it accelerated the process crazy fast. As you saw, it was a matter of weeks/months when before it would’ve taken years. 


The best course of action is to deal with challenges related to productivity, people and processes, but also explore new avenues of success: new revenue streams, strategic partnerships, and time-to-market for new features and projects.


Learn what your customers want. If you don’t know, ask! Once you know, it’s up to you to put plans in action —  with agility as the guiding principle. Be it auto sales, ecommerce, or any other industry, we can all find a way to rebound and rebuild.

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