Digital transformation was becoming the new normal long before 2020. But two years of living through a pandemic have fundamentally changed consumers’ relationship to technology. It’s also placed a new urgency on the need for every business to focus on a digital-first strategy, whether that business is a grocery store, hospital, video game design studio or multinational bank.

Consumers have spent more time than ever on their personal devices during the pandemic, and even companies that had the best digital tools and infrastructure in place faced unprecedented demand and strain, as well as threats from malicious actors. In response, these companies adapted, making their digital services faster, better, safer and more easily accessible.

Here’s how five industries managed the change — and how people’s daily lives are better for it.

E-commerce

Just a few years ago, most consumers didn’t even dream of having someone else pick their apples or bananas for them at the supermarket. Then the pandemic hit, lockdowns went into effect, and, to lower their risk of Covid-19 exposure, hundreds of thousands of consumers opted to order more products online. Clothing, toiletries, pantry staples, fresh produce and more began to be delivered, touch-free, to their cars or doorsteps.

Online purchases are as old as the Internet itself, but Digital Commerce 360 estimates that the pandemic accelerated the shift to e-commerce trend by at least two years, with online sales reaching $791.70 billion in 2020, up 32.4 percent from 2019. The trend is still growing. U.S. e-commerce sales for the second quarter of 2021 hit $211.7 billion, up 9.1 percent from the same quarter in 2020.

Learn More: www.washingtonpost.com/brand-studio/wp/2021/12/09/feature/brave-new-digital-world/