It comes as no surprise that e-payment providers are facing surges in demand amidst efforts to contain the coronavirus. These efforts have created a new market of homebound shoppers trying to maintain some sense of normalcy in these uncertain times, and business owners are struggling to deal with the sheer volume of payments.
Sudden spikes in volume of orders like this are not entirely unprecedented: Black Friday, as an example, traditionally marks a burst in online orders that retailers have had to deal with well before the Covid-19 outbreak upended everyday life. Retailers are now beginning to tap into on-demand contingency systems designed for these seasonal bursts to meet the demands of corona shoppers, but even that may not be enough to stem the tide: video streamers like Netflix and Youtube have had to reduce quality of video streams amidst fears of overloading the network, suggesting that the internet is reaching a breaking point.
There are a couple things of note that can be drawn from this article. The most prominent of these is the re-emphasis of the value of online retailing as an alternative means of allowing customers to purchase products, particularly one that is capable of continuing even amidst a public health crisis. This helps businesses maintain some degree of activity even when shutdowns are enacted, hopefully shielding them from the worst impacts of these crises. Such leads into another relevant lesson: the importance of keeping up with opportunities presented by advances in technology. Businesses (particularly smaller ones) that have little to no online presence are largely cut off by the current outbreak, with little means of continuing effective operation, and in drastic situations like this, even the marginal amount of activity generated by online business is preferable to no activity at all.
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