Confined to their homes, consumers now have more than the impetus of convenience to shop online. It’s become necessity for many people—a condition that will likely boost ecommerce habits for years to come. Nearly four in five adults (79%) in Canada spent 20% or less of their total shopping budget online prior to COVID-19, according to a Forum Research poll in April 2020.

Ecommerce’s share of total retail in Canada is higher than we previously expected, as brick-and-mortar outlets are forced to shutter and online shopping becomes a necessity.

Coronavirus effects have radically altered the US retail and ecommerce landscape, with surprising changes in consumer behavior and category and retailer performance.

The US retail sector could take years to recover from the impact of the coronavirus, and the hit could be worse than that of the Great Recession. According to eMarketer’s latest forecast on US retail sales (which includes auto and fuel), total retail sales will drop by 10.5% this year, steeper than the 8.2% drop in 2009. Ecommerce is the only bright spot, jumping 18.0% this year, as Americans rely on Amazon and other online retailers for necessities.

Smart-home devices are on the verge of mainstream adoption, and with that comes the opportunity for marketers to gain deeper insights about their audiences though user data. In our “Smart Homes 2020” report, we looked at how marketers use smart-home technology to integrate brands with the internet of things (IoT) universe and how consumers may react to hyperpersonalized advertising inside the home.

eMarketer research analyst Daniel Keyes, principal analyst Andrew Lipsman and senior forecasting analyst Cindy Liu at Insider Intelligence discuss what happened when Amazon eased up for a few months and what will happen when it hits the gas. They then talk about some new Google features, Amazon looking to buy a driverless car company and some maybe permanent grocery store foot traffic trends.

Clothing and apparel retailers will see steep declines in 2020 as spending on discretionary items comes to a near halt amid the ongoing pandemic. We forecast a drop of nearly 22% in 2020 for total sales of apparel and accessories, which equates to a year-over-year loss of over $100 billion.

COVID-19 has altered the relationship between TV viewership supply and advertising demand.

Frictionless commerce, a trend permeating many facets of the customer journey today, leverages technology to improve the retail experience by saving people time and hassle. And arguably the most competitive battleground in frictionless commerce is in fast and free ecommerce delivery.

Walmart's US ecommerce sales are expected to rise 44.2% to $41.01 billion this year, a significant bump from 2019’s stellar 36.8% growth—and an increase from our January 2020 estimate of 27.0%.

As convenience becomes an increasing driver of consumer behavior, we explore how friction-reducing technology advancements are helping retailers generate more sales.

Today’s consumers find positive brand experiences more influential than advertising. Now more than ever before, marketers must forge the right relationships to make the identifiable consumer connections necessary to compete in a cookieless world.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Blake Droesch and senior forecasting analyst Oscar Orozco discuss whether ride-hailing apps can whether the storm, how much power will Facebook's oversight board actually have, Starbucks reducing its reliance on cash, Amazon possibly buying AMC Theatres, the next wave of sports programming, updated cookie consent, what does yawning tell you about yourself and more.

With more viewers leaving traditional TV for digital streaming options, marketers are figuring out how to comprehensively measure their video audiences.

With much of the US still under stay-at-home orders, consumers are growing more accustomed to grocery shopping online. Brick-and-mortars, delivery startups and ecommerce retailers are adapting to the new normal, but even leaders in online grocery like Amazon and Walmart have struggled to keep up with demand.

eMarketer principal analysts Andrew Lipsman and Nicole Perrin discuss what to make of Amazon's Q1 2020 earnings from a retail and advertising perspective. They then talk about Walmart's "Express Delivery," a new company that automates brand creative, Amazon using independent seller's data and why a senior executive stepping down is such a big deal.

eMarketer was pleased to moderate a Tech-Talk Webinar featuring ChannelAdvisor's Michael Schwartz, manager of client strategy, and Ryan Barker, sales engineer. They’ve compiled a number of tactics and tips to consider implementing on the Amazon marketplace in the wake of this crisis.

Grocery companies—and more specifically their systems and services—have really been put to the test amid the pandemic. Many grocers are having trouble keeping items on the shelves. And even the most prepared are encountering issues with supply chain logistics.

Advertising on Amazon has been volatile for the past few months as consumers caught on to the approaching coronavirus crisis and began stocking up on supplies. Shopping surged, driving many products out of stock. That in turn dried up advertising competition in certain categories—and Amazon’s de-prioritization of nonnecessities had the same effect on other categories.

Consumers have been conditioned to expect fast delivery of online orders, but the pandemic has flashed a spotlight on how strained supply chains can get—even among savvy retailers like Amazon, which heavily focused its business on expedited shipping.