Eugene is a city for everyone, full of vibrant art and music, known as “TrackTown USA,” encompassing a wide variety of scenic landscapes and destinations and, of course, home to the University of Oregon. Those who have grown up in the area, tourists and college students alike can attest that there is no lack of culture within the Eugene community.
However, as it did across the world, the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc among local cultures. Between the rise in exposure rates and various lockdown restrictions, Eugene was just one example of a city put on pause. This caused the local businesses that once gave Eugene its unique culture to be placed on the back burner. Meanwhile, the already growing e-commerce industry expanded to fill the void.
A United Nations report on trade and development found that “businesses and consumers increasingly ‘went digital,’ providing and purchasing more goods and services online, raising e-commerce’s share of global retail trade rose from 14% in 2019 to about 17% in 2020.”
Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, reported a net profit of $21.33 billion in 2020 while “accounting for over 40% of the United States’ e-commerce market,” as reported by Statista. Other companies such as Walmart and eBay, both of which are near the front of the pack in the nation’s e-commerce market, benefit from a system in which large companies are able to easily dominate the industry due to the sheer amount of resources at their disposal.
On the other hand, local businesses, miniscule in comparison to chain corporations, are left hanging by a thread in a world that does not give them even a remote opportunity to survive. These businesses are the driving force behind the Eugene culture; yet, due to the slim size of staff and income, many businesses couldn’t transition their operations online.
Within Oregon alone, nearly half of businesses closed temporarily and several shut down permanently. Additionally, almost all businesses showed a decrease in sales, according to a statewide COVID-19 business impact survey.
As reported in a previous Daily Emerald article, the pandemic has left local favorites such as the Bijou and David Minor theaters permanently closed, leaving the Broadway Metro as the last indie theater standing. And, while one might assume that with the closures of other local theaters the Broadway Metro would gain the monopoly of the movie theater industry, this idea has not become a reality. Even companies such as movie theaters must compete with the e-commerce giant in the form of digital streaming services.
Similar to the rest of the online shopping trends, digital streaming services have seen a rise in subscriptions over the past few years with a tremendous increase during 2020. Digital streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu and HBO Max, reached over 1.1 billion subscribers in 2020 — a 26% growth from the previous year, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. This occurred while box offices reported the lowest amount of revenue from ticket and concession sales in decades. If companies as large as AMC have suffered losses up to $4.5 billion, there is no doubt that local businesses that already profit less have suffered immensely.
With the rise in online consumerism, there is a clear and present danger to the local, culture driving shops within the Eugene area. Even as vaccination rates increase and many in-person aspects of life return, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for local businesses if they regain the customers they had before the pandemic while acquiring new ones.
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October 25, 2021 at 07:00PM
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Opinion: The battle between local business and e-commerce - Oregon Daily Emerald
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