Interview
E-Commerce’s Steepening Curve
- U.S. e-commerce growth is expected to peak at 93% in May followed by a slowdown in June, while European growth is predicted to continue accelerating in June and Asian habits, particularly in China, are projected to remain at very high levels.
- Projected global e-commerce growth of 17% over the next three years has been revised upward to 24%, reflecting a 700 basis point acceleration that extends through the same three-year period.
- Amazon's warehouse robot count, which stood at 200,000 at the start of 2020, is forecast to increase significantly by the beginning of 2021, while companies like Uber and Lyft may shift business models to include grocery delivery to maintain driver employment.
- The pandemic is anticipated to force faster corporate decision-making and technology adoption, bringing 2025–2026 behavioral and technological realities forward to 2020–2021, resulting in a healthier brick-and-mortar environment than would have occurred otherwise.
- The future delivery landscape is expected to evolve rapidly with drone delivery becoming a near-term reality, evidenced by Walmart testing programs, though current technology still requires catch-up time to be fully deployed.