Well ...
Peak Covid-19 will see doubling of home deliveries as people avoid crowds, forecasts ParcelHero.
Jinksy again. What a hero! I actually want to write about music, but ...
If the coronavirus, Covid-19, becomes an epidemic in the UK, the home delivery expert ParcelHero says e-commerce purchases are likely to increase to 40% of all retail sales at its peak. It is urging retailers to act now to ensure they can meet the switch from store shopping to home deliveries.
Let's be honest, our Jinksy is just guessing. It could go to 50 percent, or 60 percent. No one knows.
Anyway, he says ...
"In the Government's Coronavirus Action Plan, it says if the virus does get a foothold in the UK, the Government will encourage 'population distancing strategies such as school closures, encouraging home working and reducing the number of large scale gatherings to slow the spread of the disease.' It is likely that consumers will also want to avoid crowded shopping centres and the big weekly superstore shop for groceries. One obvious alternative is shopping online. Consumers who have so far resisted e-commerce are likely to change their minds and move online to buy food and household items to avoid busy stores."
Well, okay. Listen! I walked to Richmond yesterday, and I swear there were less people about. Cafes and shops were empty. Or maybe it was just my imagination. I don’t know. I got the Tube back for part of the way, and ... I didn’t feel comfortable, man. Other people looked nervous, too. Everyone was staring at everyone else. It was like some sort of horror film. Like Shaun Of The Dead. Maybe I'll go to the pub down by the river tomorrow and ask them if I can stay there.
There's a lot to this email. I'll just do this bit -
"Wales' Chief Medical Officer, Dr Frank Atherton, predicts if the virus does become an epidemic, cases will escalate from April, followed by six to eight weeks of a significant increase with a peak towards May and June, before a downturn. If this peak period does happen, we believe the rise in demand for home deliveries of food, household items and in particular products such as bleach and soaps is likely to increase by 100%. Retailers need to gear their omnichannel sales towards e-commerce and plan for a decline in store purchases over the coming months to be prepared."
Okay. That's enough.
ENDS
...
Music? Let's play something cheerful ...
Bright Side Of The Road. Van Morrison. / Great!
Brown Eyed Girl. Van Morrison. / Yeah, he's a positive guy. Strangely grumpy though. Never mind.
And It Stoned Me. Van Morrison. / Er ... I can't keep playing him.
Love Her Madly. The Doors. / The other Morrison.
On The Sunny Side Of The Street. Frank Sinatra.
Lust For Life. Iggy Pop.
Ah, that's enough.
...
Anything else? Not much.
If the weather was nice, I could go to Cornwall. I could live on my favourite beach. Just for spring and summer, like. Until all the trouble blows over. Yeah, in a tent. Or that pillbox that overlooks the beach, where Donovan spent a summer in the early Sixties.
