2020, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its officials or Member States. The designations employed and the presentation of material on any map in this work do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Since the outbreak of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, UNCTAD has played a critical role in raising awareness on the opportunities emerging from the crisis through increasing the uptake of e-commerce and digital solutions. At the same time, UNCTAD has voiced concerns about the risk of rising digital inequalities, particularly in least developed countries (LDCs).1 The 2020 eCommerce Week organised virtually by UNCTAD and partners of the eTrade for all initiative provided a unique platform convening a wide range of stakeholders to assess implications of the crisis and explore in-depth key digital issues in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.2 As a follow up, UNCTAD assessed the impact on e-commerce businesses across developing countries and LDCs to understand the magnitude of the impact, identify key trends and challenges faced by e-commerce businesses, as well public and private policy responses to cope with the crisis. This paper is based on the results of a survey that investigates the impact of COVID-19 on e-commerce businesses from early March to end of July 2020. It focuses on 23 countries, mainly LDCs, in Africa and Asia-Pacific.3 The countries have all benefitted from UNCTAD’s e-commerce capacity building programmes, either through an eTrade Readiness Assessment (eT Ready) or a national e-commerce strategy. 257 representatives of e-commerce businesses, out of 699 invited, responded to the survey and shared their experience following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses have been divided into two groups: companies selling at least parts of their goods or services online and thirdparty online marketplaces. The responses from the private sector were complemented by public sector responses from 12 countries,4 elaborating on measures taken during the COVID-19 crisis to support e-commerce as well as to use e-commerce for economic recovery efforts.
E-payments have experienced fast growth, but cash on delivery remains prominent. Shifts in consumption habits have been accompanied by a faster uptake of cashless payment methods. Nearly 60 per cent of e-commerce companies and 70 per cent of online third-party marketplaces are seeing relatively higher growth rates in mobile money payments, followed by transaction through e-banking and credit cards. However, as cash on delivery remains prominent in absolute terms, particularly in LDCs, it has continued to grow since the outbreak of the pandemic as consumers have increasingly turned to e-commerce. While the pandemic has been an opportunity for many digital-driven business models, business outlook looks challenging for a significant share of e-commerce businesses. Some 56 per cent of respondents reported that their workforce has remained stable so far or might even increase in the short term. Still, a high share (44 per cent) of respondents have had to downsize their business workforce.
Policy responses and private sector measures have contributed towards business transformation processes and enhanced consumers’ readiness to embrace e-commerce. Respondents further reported that the challenges encountered, and measures taken by both the public and private sectors, have contributed to lowering the hurdles for businesses and consumers to use e-commerce services, while pushing businesses to seek greater business efficiency and new market niches.
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