Retail e-commerce and COVID-19: How online shopping opened doors while many were closing

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered decisions at all levels of government to try and minimize its spread, including shutting down non-essential retail establishments. This led to an abrupt shift in the Canadian retail environment, to which many industries had to adapt. This paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on retail e-commerce as a method of doing business during the first months of the pandemic.