Delivery in the epidemic market is lagging behind. How did the online store respond and win applause?

During the pandemic, citizens try to reduce their outings. Many people buy daily necessities on online shopping platforms instead, hoping that they can be delivered directly to their homes, saving time and avoiding contact with too many people. However, the fifth wave of the epidemic is looming, the daily number of confirmed cases exceeds 10,000, all industries are affected, many online shopping platforms need to delay delivery, even cancel orders, causing customer dissatisfaction, online post "burst", and threatened to no longer "buy".

uMax Data focuses on the Internet big data from March 1 to March 18 this year, and analyzes the response methods of the two online shopping platforms to the incident from major social media and online news, how it affects netizens' perception of the platform, and thus provides suggestions for facing the crisis.

Influx of orders and lack of manpower eventually led to a crisis

The fifth wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong began at the end of December last year. Due to the high transmissibility of the variant virus Omicron, the virus quickly spread in the community, causing the epidemic to get out of control. The number of confirmed cases soared, with the peak number of confirmed cases exceeding 50,000 per day.。

Confirmed cases are spread across all walks of life, causing many stores to be forced to close due to lack of staff, including goods suppliers and logistics practitioners. In addition, there were rumors online earlier that the government would implement a curfew, which triggered a buying spree in both physical and online supermarkets. With a large influx of orders and a shortage of staff, online shopping platforms were paralyzed, causing the current crisis.

Delayed delivery and cut orders anger citizens

The main targets of netizens' criticism are the two online shopping platforms HKTVmall and Store. The data shows that there are more negative comments than positive comments online about the crisis caused by the two platforms this time. On March 2, some netizens posted complaints in the discussion forum, saying that the online shopping platform delayed delivery or even cancelled their orders. The post sparked heated discussion, and a large number of victims joined the discussion, mainly sharing their experiences of delayed or cancelled orders. In addition, a large number of victims left complaints on the Facebook page of the online shopping platform, saying that they "did not receive the goods" and that no one responded to the customer service. Some netizens even threatened to call the police.

Some comments from HKTVmall victims

「The first 1/3 was postponed to 11/3, and the second 4/3 was canceled directly with me. It seems that the first order is colder than water'. "Someone at the business has been diagnosed/quarantined and can't work, can't deliver goods, and someone who delivers to you has been diagnosed/quarantined and can't deliver goods to you, chain effect" "I've tried it in December. It's not related to the epidemic at all. If he likes to cut your stock, he will cut you off." "If there is a return I think it's acceptable."

Some of the store owners left messages

"I ordered D goods last week for almost a week, still in processing, called to ask, a few rings to cut the line, WhatsApp message two days no reply, you want to do it?" "Cs email phone no answer at all, goods not delivered, does someone contact you, what to do" "The epidemic is taking advantage of the situation! The first time I visited your store, I was deceived! Buy 20 items and get a few free. Where did the other goods go, no one answered the phone, no one answered WhatsApp! Is your store cheating? even blocked contact deleted comment ! ！ Do I need to call East and West? Or do I need to call the police?" "The money is accepted, the goods are 5 free, and no one follows up! They still continue to sell products, you can finish the delivery first!! The first time you buy, you will be deceived."

Stores did not respond and was "exploded". HKTVmall was open and honest and attracted likes

How do the two platforms deal with the influx of negative reviews?

HKTVmall issued statements on its website and social media platforms on March 3, saying that it is facing unprecedented operational difficulties under the epidemic, including suppliers and logistics. Due to manpower problems, it was unable to supply goods and was forced to suspend services, resulting in the cancellation and refund of some orders, and apologized for this.

From the sentiment analysis data, it can be seen that before HKTVmall issued the statement, netizens’ positive and negative emotions towards the platform were similar, accounting for 40.3% each. However, after the statement was issued, the emotions of some netizens turned positive, rising to 42.7%, while negative emotions accounted for 35.9%, a slight decline. It can be seen that HKTVmall’s approach has successfully calmed the anger of some netizens.

As for Ztore, it also posted an explanation on its Facebook page, but the time was delayed to March 8. The content also explained that due to the increase in orders and insufficient staff, the service levels in customer service and delivery were not up to standard, and apologized for the inconvenience caused to customers. However, sentiment analysis data shows that before and after Zto released its statement, netizens’ negative perception of the platform increased instead of decreased.

In addition, from the emotional distribution of Facebook, it can be seen that HKTVmall has more "miserable" expressions, indicating that many netizens expressed sympathy. On the other hand, there were more "hahaha" comments at Store, indicating that many netizens were mocking the comments.

Three principles for crisis response

Both online shopping platforms have issued statements explaining and apologizing for the incident. Why do netizens have different reactions? In fact, there are three basic principles for public relations crisis communication: the first is to respond quickly, the second is to communicate sincerely, and the third is to take responsibility. HKTVmall was able to continue to receive support during the delivery crisis this time, not only because it had a group of loyal "fans" backing it up, but also because it responded quickly and chose to be open and honest with its customers, explaining the company's true situation and admitting its mistakes, which was in line with the three principles mentioned above, and thus it was able to avert danger. Although Stores also issued a statement to explain, it was obviously delayed in time and failed to prevent the situation from deteriorating in time.

It is worth noting that HKTVmall continued to follow up on the incident and issued a total of six posts, regularly updating the service status to relieve customers of many necessary doubts and reduce negative reviews. On the contrary, Ztore did not make any follow-up statement after its post on March 8. Therefore, it can be seen from its Facebook page that even after issuing the statement, netizens still leave messages under its posts from time to time to inquire about the service situation.

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uMax Data specializes in social issue monitoring and has more than ten years of experience. The platform is easy to use and highly flexible, allowing it to cater to different departments within enterprises, such as public relations, market research, and product development, to grasp the prevailing social trends. Utilizing Cantonese natural language processing technology, it addresses the unique online ecosystem in Hong Kong. ————————————————————–

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