Publication: Recommendations to Leverage E-Commerce During the COVID-19 Crisis
Loading...
Published
2020-05-12
ISSN
Date
2020-05-14
Editor(s)
Abstract
In the fight against COVID-19, economic activities that require close physical contact have been severely restricted. Governments around the world have put in place containment measures to slow down the rate of infection, including lockdowns, border closures, and restrictions on economic activities. Even where strict restrictions are not in place, consumers and businesses are opting for “social-distancing” to avoid physical proximity and potential contagion. Activities deemed as essential, such as grocery shopping and visits to health facilities, have not yet seized up in most countries – but are key remaining hotspots for potential new infections. In this context, e-commerce – defined broadly as the sale of goods or services online - is emerging as a major pillar in the fight against COVID-19.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Ungerer, Christoph; Portugal, Alberto; Molinuevo, Martin; Rovo, Natasha. 2020. Recommendations to Leverage E-Commerce During the COVID-19 Crisis. Trade and COVID-19 Guidance Note;. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33750 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Embedding Digital Finance in e-Commerce Platforms during the COVID-19 Pandemic(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-12)This study provides an early assessment of the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on e-commerce platforms and digital financial services, identifying the opportunities, good practices, and key challenges that have emerged in different regions. The focus of the study is to evaluate the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the use of e-commerce platforms across different regions and the role that digital financial services have played in the process. The emphasis is on digital and financial inclusion of consumers and small businesses and their impact on job creation and economic growth.Publication Digital Trade in MENA(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-03)A strong regulatory framework can provide essential tools for remote transactions and improve trust in digital trade. Yet, regulations can also introduce restrictions that hamper the conditions for digital markets. Based on a database of 20 Middle East and North Africa countries and 20 comparator countries around the world, this paper shows that the Middle East and North Africa region is falling behind in establishing a modern governance framework for the digital economy. The analysis focuses on a set of regulatory areas, including electronic documentation and signature, online consumer protection, data governance, cybersecurity, and intermediary liability regulations. It assesses each country's domestic regulatory framework in light of recent international trends and regulatory models. The study shows that regulation of digital markets in countries in the region is still in its infancy, being mostly governed by general laws that were not originally intended for the digital era. Some countries have tried to support an export-oriented information technology sector by keeping an updated regulatory framework. However, regulation in most countries in the region, regardless of their level of development, still features some major loopholes that can limit consumer trust in digital markets or reduce certainty -- and increase costs -- for digital businesses.Publication COVID-19 and Taxation(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-04-21)The objective of this working paper is to provide guidance on the dilemma that governments are facing because of the economic crisis triggered by COVID-19. Measures adopted by governments during the contention phase to alleviate cash flow pressures on taxpayers require budget expenditures that exacerbate revenue losses from reduced tax bases. In parallel, governments are struggling with public expenditure needs that call for creating fiscal space. During this crisis there has been a significant increase in digital transactions as well as an acceleration of digital economy business models and trends. As a result, new income sources have appeared, and governments must find ways of taxing them. The first part of this paper provides guidance on practical measures that may be applied by tax authorities to strengthen cash management and alleviate cash flow constraints on taxpayers. Most of these measures are applicable primarily during the contention phase of the COVID-19 health and economic crisis, but there are others well positioned to support the recovery phase. This paper elaborates on some of the recommendations profiled in the ‘Revenue Measurements on Tax and Customs’ document produced by the Fiscal Policy and Sustainable Growth unit,2 which serves as the umbrella document for this one. The main scope of this paper is to further develop specific practical measures for improving the cash management of businesses and households faced with liquidity constraints during this period. It also provides recommendations to revenue administrations for improving compliance and receipt monitoring during the contention phase. The second part of this paper focuses on post-crisis measures that may compensate for the fiscal deficit generated by cash flow management and temporary tax relief measures. This paper is a continuation, from a cash flow management perspective, of previous World Bank Group research conducted in the areas of fiscal policy and revenue administration implications in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.Publication Leveraging Inclusive Business Models to Support the Base of the Pyramid during COVID-19(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2020-05)The COVID-19 crisis is expected to roll back some of the progress made against global poverty over the last two decades, with the greatest impact on individuals at the base of the economic pyramid. Inclusive businesses that expand access to goods, services, and livelihoods for these individuals are responding to the crisis by reorienting and adapting their inclusive business models and operations. This note highlights seven actions that companies are taking to address needs at the base of the pyramid. We present their actions here as examples of what other businesses could do in response to the needs of those at the base of the pyramid.Publication Don’t Let a Crisis Go to Waste(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06)Vietnam has the unique opportunity to take advantage of the COVID-19 crisis. While the future is hard to predict, most would agree that the world will look very different in the post coronavirus era. There will be a notable reshaping of global value chains. Similarly, the development of contact-free services, telemedicine, and e-commerce will accelerate requiring fast adaptation of existing digital systems. Lastly, the importance and value of human life will increase as more governments prioritize the inclusion of the wellbeing of future generation in policy making. The ongoing transformation of the global economy provides the opportunity for Vietnam to take important policy actions and move faster toward its goal of becoming a high-income economy. We recommend five concrete pathways on which Vietnam can build on: tapping into the new global trading system, promoting digital payments for a new business model, promoting telemedicine, enhanced information sharing for increased resilience, and aiming for a low-carbon economy.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Recipe for a Livable Planet(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-09-20)The global agrifood system has been largely overlooked in the fight against climate change. Yet, greenhouse gas emissions from the agrifood system are so big that they alone could cause the world to miss the goal of keeping global average temperatures from rising above 1.5 centigrade compared to preindustrial levels. Greenhouse gas emissions from agrifood must be cut to net zero by 2050 to achieve this goal. Recipe for a Livable Planet: Achieving Net Zero Emissions in the Agrifood System offers the first comprehensive global strategic framework to mitigate the agrifood system’s contributions to climate change, detailing affordable and readily available measures that can cut nearly a third of the world’s planet heating emissions while ensuring global food security. These actions, which are urgently needed, offer three additional benefits: improving food supply reliability, strengthening the global food system’s resilience to climate change, and safeguarding vulnerable populations. This practical guide outlines global actions and specific steps that countries at all income levels can take starting now, focusing on six key areas: investments, incentives, information, innovation, institutions, and inclusion. Calling for collaboration among governments, businesses, citizens, and international organizations, it maps a pathway to making agrifood a significant contributor to addressing climate change and healing the planet.Publication Colombia: Regional Disparities and the Road to Integration(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-12-08)This report examines how these contrasts shape aggregate outcomes and, in turn, how aggregate outcomes reinforce Colombia’s territorial inequalities. It complements World Bank (2025) which explored country-wide constraints to economic growth, by analyzing the macroeconomic dimensions of territorial disparities, namely spatial barriers to growth and job creation, differences in stages of structural transformation, economic convergence patterns, and potential growth opportunities. This reports also complements World Bank (2024a), which focused its analysis on inequality in service access and outcomes. Together, these reports form an analytical triad to better understand Colombia’s aggregate challenges and persistent inequalities. The approach taken in this report is to characterize regions within the country based on their stage of economic development, identify their convergence patterns, and uncover spatial growth constraints that shape Colombia’s development path. It then focuses on two key opportunity areas going forward: the changing international trade environment, and Sistema General de Participaciones (SGP), Colombia’s main revenue-sharing mechanism across departments. By focusing on these two areas, the report aims to fill knowledge gaps and respond to current reform opportunities. The chapter on trade exploits detailed microdata and studies recent trends to explore the extent to which the evolving reallocation of global value chains can enable Colombia to leverage global trade to increase its productivity. The study of SGP is motivated by its relevance to the territorial inequality debate, both in economic development and opportunity gaps—and by the ongoing decentralization reform process.Publication FY 2025 Gabon Country Opinion Survey Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-12-05)The Country Opinion Survey in Gabon assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in better understanding how stakeholders in Gabon perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Gabon on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Gabon; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Gabon; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Gabon; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Gabon.Publication Innovations in Public Works: Rethinking Public Works for Jobs and Skills in a Changing World(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-12-05)Public works programs (PWPs) have long been a common choice to protect people in need by providing temporary jobs and income. They promise more than a paycheck: They offer dignity, visible community investments, and the prospect of long-term progress. But today’s world is changing fast. Climate, digital transformation, and shifting demographics are forcing us to rethink how economies can sustainably grow and create employment. Conventional PWPs—often centered on short-term, low-skilled infrastructure jobs—are struggling to respond. They typically provide immediate relief but often do not generate sustained benefits. A new generation of PWPs is emerging to do more and do better, improving how social policy is implemented and delivering broader and lasting benefits. The report Innovations in Public Works: Rethinking Public Works for Jobs and Skills in a Changing World examines a set of PWPs that represent three innovative approaches: • Green PWPs that focus on environmental sustainability and climate action. They build assets that protect ecosystems, mitigate climate risks, and boost community resilience. • Digital PWPs that focus on digital transformation. They create digital assets, build digital skills, and support the digitalization of public services and decision-making. • Care-providing PWPs that focus on unmet care needs and reducing women’s care burden. They provide community care, build care-specific skills, and enable women to work. The report reviews the design and implementation options introduced by these new approaches—focusing on new types of assets, forms of work, and delivery models—and highlights the opportunities and challenges they present. It shows that these innovations can better protect people, while supporting economic development that is inclusive, sustainable, and jobs-focused. The report is accompanied by additional materials, which include case studies of the public works programs reviewed, a brief 4-page summary of the report, and technical notes on green, digital, and care-providing PWPs, as well as on gender-smart public works.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.