It would be an understatement to say that 2020 has already been a hectic year, seven months in and the globe has experienced enough events for twelve.
Yet among all this, we at Change and Effect are unperturbed from our mission; to create a digital solutions platform that everyone can access to better themselves. The events of this year have not changed our goal, only how we go it. COVID-19 brought a grinding halt to the economy and is still rippling through our communities, yet it has also forced a great number of us as people to explore avenues we may not have otherwise. During the 3 months or so we spent during a global lock down, the digital marketing industry has undergone a little bit of a change.
E-commerce sales across the board received various boost in figures, with people spending more time online to avoid personal and abide by social distancing rules. In the US, E-commerce sales had reached $73.3 Billion in June, a 76% increase from last year. In the UK, analysts at Edge Retail expect a 19% increase instead of 11% from online sales. What does this tell us as digital marketers?
That people are not only spending higher amounts of time online but more importantly, purchasing and selling too. Our area of the industry was not wholly negatively affected by the outbreak, furthermore, sales were not the only important aspect of increased online presence.
Work did not stop for everyone during quarantine, a great number of people continue to perform their duties from home albeit in a reduced form. With roughly 46% of employees working in some capacity from home, and approximately 86% of those due to COVID-19 related reasons. Despite the mixed reception to this, many people in the work industry are proposing this may be the future of the workforce. Richard Eisenberg of Forbes investigated this very same question himself; concluding that post COVID-19 only some employees will be allowed to work remotely, some of the time. The reasoning being that while some employers will see the benefit of flexible work hours and potential increase in employee productivity, other skeptical employers will question performance levels and the full capabilities of such a setup.
Working from home is not something that is reasonably possible for everyone, appropriate equipment and stable internet connection is an absolute requirement to do so. More easily found in a white-collar environment but for the working class, not as abundant. This is one of the primary concerns of some industry leaders as it may alienate those of the workforce who do not have suitable devices at home. This barrier is one of the most prevalent in the case of ‘working from home’ along with it being a route of uncertainty, the structure surrounding the process is not as concrete as that around the standard workplace.
Enter digital platforms, our specialty.
With all that is going on in the world right now, with sides being taken and drawn in the sand; we at Change and Effect would like to use this chance to say our primary focus is progression. Yet in the jumble of politics we are neutral as we seek to build bridges and not walls, an age the inter-connectivity is already around us and we seek to be one of the first to usher in the next step. This is not limited to just wanting us to move forward as a community, but also to strive to create new paths in the marketing industry. Change and Effect is a digital solutions platform for progression.
Our slogan ‘Be one with the Journey refers not only to the personal journey of self-development, but also to the one we are all undertaking as society in London and beyond. Our readers of the Urban News understand that while Change and Effect’s mission starts with those around us, locally; our sights are much broader.
– Ayobami Adeyemo
