In just seven days in March, as the coronavirus bore down on the U.S. and governors ordered businesses closed, foot traffic to brick-and-mortar stores fell by 97.6%, according to investment firm Cowen and Company.

Meanwhile, as people practiced social distancing and stayed inside, they continued to shop online. In March, e-commerce transactions grew by an average of 25% across the country, says Adobe Analytics, beginning with panic buying of toilet paper, cold medicines, hand sanitizer and canned goods, and now moving into homebound activity items like workout equipment.

For those promo products companies that offer e-commerce, sales are still coming in, albeit slowly. In recent years, industry firms have gradually added more digital capabilities as the costs for building and maintaining them have fallen. ASI’s 2019 State of the Industry survey found that about 40% of distributors offered e-commerce ordering to their customers, and 80% of suppliers and distributors said it will overtake traditional distributor/end-buyer sales by 2025.

But the industry is largely still one of face-to-face selling and relationship-building, while orders often have a plethora of moving parts and countless ways things can go wrong. For these and other reasons, companies have been slow to offer it. However, this current crisis has emphasized the importance of having e-commerce in times of disruption; for many, it’s their only revenue stream right now.

If you already use a website builder like Squarespace or Wix, it should have built-in e-commerce capabilities. See if you can access the plug-in to launch your store, says Mark Lewis, CEO of e-commerce development and consulting firm Netalico Commerce. “Look for the simplest and fastest solution because you’re quickly losing sales,” he adds. “It’s all virtual for now. Make sure all your products are there so customers can find what they’re looking for.”

While the country is in the throes of the crisis, include regular updates on your homepage. “Operations are changing, and people want to know,” says Lewis. “They’re more understanding these days, because they know things are changing quickly.”

In addition, those distributors that offered online stores on behalf of their customers before the coronavirus seem to be in a slightly better position, though orders have slowed here too. “Demand for them was already trending upward, and now I suspect it’ll be higher than ever,” says Brad Moxley, associate director of the corporate business channel at Cutter & Buck (asi/47965). “Online store sales generated by our distributor partners, especially for essential businesses like grocery stores and pharmacies, continue to provide us with a nice reliable flow of business. Distributors who have e-commerce will see an influx of new clients as companies with cut budgets look online for better deals. This is the time to explore all options and start building a plan to capture more business using online storefronts.”

Although supply chain disruptions continue to hamper those few promo sales that are still happening, the crisis has shown how important it is to be able to pivot quickly. “We need to make sure business can continue no matter the circumstances,” says Sarah Whitaker, co-owner of Williams Advertising (asi/360402) in Hopkinsville, KY, which offers company stores to end-buyers. “We need to make it as easy as possible for shoppers. But right now, it’s a sensitive time to push anything. With all the supply chain uncertainty, it’s a little risky unless you’re very clear with customers.”

One distributor is currently leveraging e-commerce to benefit their local community. Inkmule (asi/231867) in New Orleans has launched the NOLA Relief site where people can buy T-shirts to benefit local bars, restaurants, musicians and artists impacted by the virus. Every DTG design is put on a Softstyle cotton T-shirt (G640) from Gildan (asi/56842) with CMYK inks to keep the process simple and quick. With the proceeds raised, participating companies can shore up their ongoing operating costs, offer extra money to furloughed employees, donate to organizations like the U.S. Bartenders Guild and make the decisions they deem necessary to stay in business.

“Places like bars and restaurants have always thought they could only do business in their physical locations, but that’s changing now,” says Inkmule owner Logan Roberts. “Multiple bars have already asked us to keep the store going after this is all over. They’re seeing money come to them without much work. Family-owned dives that have been around for like 60 years are interested in it, when they never would have been before.”

As we recover from the crisis, there’s going to be a widespread move to even more e-commerce shopping, so companies should be prepared. “Everyone’s going to default to it more often because we’ll have emotional scars,” says Lewis. “We’re ordering more groceries online now, and people might think, ‘Why didn’t we do this before?’ Companies might not want sales reps just dropping by with samples because it’s ‘unnecessary contact.’ Buying behaviors are changing, and this virus is going to throw gas on that fire.”