As COVID-19 ravages the retail industry, e-commerce should offer a glimmer of hope, but online shopping brings its own perils these days
COVID-19 has forced store closures across the globe and fashion retailers have looked towards e-commerce as a potential lifeboat. One would think digital first retailers would have an advantage, but many have had to furlough workers, and even shut down operations. Amidst all of this, consumers are faced with a unique ethical choice: to shop online at their favorite retailers to help keep them afloat or to abstain from shopping to reduce potential exposure of workers along the supply chain.
A recent Morgan Stanley analyst report said that traffic to apparel and other soft goods retailers is down almost 100% due to store closures from COVID-19. All of the 22 store-based retailers covered by Morgan Stanley have closed in response to the pandemic. Additionally, none have indicated that their US online sales have grown versus pre-COVID rates. One would hope that this would mean digital native and e-commerce-based brands might see an uplift, but this hasn’t been the case.
In fact, many e-commerce focused brands have already been suffering serious consequences. Moda Operandi is permanently shutting their menswear site. The Modist, an online only platform focused on modest clothing, has shut down entirely. Amazon has postponed its annual “Prime Day.” Digitally native retailers like Everlane and Rent the Runway have furloughed workers. I’ve spoken to a few people who work in the industry and keep hearing the phrase, “what is happening right now is completely unprecedented.” The industry is clearly undergoing a painful transformation, whose effects will be felt for years to come. There are many questions left to be answered, but one has stood out for me as an individual consumer: should we keep online shopping?
I found myself spending my first couple days of quarantine oscillating between panic and panic shopping. I quickly added to my online cart a Nespresso machine and an office chair to work from home, and an immersion blender since apparently now was the time to start making soup (?). As days turned to weeks, I found myself avoiding apparel purchases — if we weren’t going to be outside, what was the point? On top of that, there were terrible stories emerging of workers in warehouses unable to stop working, but terrified for their health. Consumers across the country seem to be facing a similar conundrum: many of the fashion brands we love were already in a precarious financial position and online shopping could keep small brands alive in these difficult times and help save jobs along the supply chain. However, in order to receive the packages that we order from the safety of our homes, many workers are having to risk their health, from those packing our orders in warehouses, to the UPS delivery people who have to enter building after building. Many of these workers are in precarious financial situations themselves and can’t afford to stop the jobs that allow them to pay their rent and feed their children. As Vox succinctly put it, “Quarantine consumerism is either a way of stimulating the economy one pull-up bar at a time, or it’s an unnecessary risk both for ourselves and for delivery workers.” On top of that, clothing shopping feels frivolous when people are dying, and healthcare workers are forced to fight on the front lines every day without necessary protective gear.
I know I’m not the only one feeling conflicted on the topic: last week the New York Times published an OpEd titled, “Should We Still Go Shopping (Online)?” and the popular style blog, ManRepeller, published, “Should We Still Be Shopping? Leandra and Harling Discuss.” In both pieces, the authors discuss how they feel conflicted about online shopping in these times: is the help worth the harm? In a way, online shopping is a microcosm for the ethical dilemma playing out on a national scale: how do we make the impossible trade-off between economic ruin and physical health? I don’t have the answer to these questions, and I’m not sure anyone does.
Many fashion publications have been writing pieces in the past weeks about whether COVID-19 will push the industry into a new future: one where fast fashion is slowed down, supply chains are more sustainable, and extravagant fashion shows are moved to a more digital format. Technology offers many exciting solutions for the future of fashion, but right now, the solution might just be time.
Sources:
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/4/3/21206230/coronavirus-shopping-beans-seeds-weights
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/style/coronavirus-shopping.html
