Pandemic-Related Changes in Consumer Behavior

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Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced various spheres of human life worldwide, in the list of which, consumer businesses apparently occupy the leading positions. The quarantine encouraged big amounts of people to reconsider their values and priorities, notably, give a preference to a healthier lifestyle as well as spending more time with their families. Such a transformation has resulted predictably in a substantial increase in the demand for the relevant goods. In addition, the popularity of online shopping, online payments, and delivery services has grown noticeably as compared to its pre-pandemic level. The recent trends in consumer behavior illustrate how the population adapt to the new conditions in order not to lose security and stability that are apparently the main priorities in an emergency.

Change to Lifestyle

During the quarantine, dozens of millions of people across the world had to stay home throughout the day, hence be in a closer contact with their family members. Meanwhile, Tien (2021) mentions family among the factors that have the most substantial influence on an individuals opinion and views. Considering that, the transformation of the needs and preferences, which great amounts of people have experienced, was inevitable.

The major spheres where a big share of consumers have reframed their priorities are eating habits, having fun, and health care. Thus, in Vietnam, 47% and 60% of the population, respectively, have reorganized their diets and entertainment (Tien, Ngoc and Anh, 2021, p. 55). In the USA, up to 20% of the respondents tried new brands that they considered cleaner or safer (US consumer sentiment, 2021, para. 5). These two examples illustrate the global trend for a lifestyle reorganization that, in turn, determines the new demands.

New Consumer Priorities

In parallel with the reconsideration of the values, a substantial amount of consumers across the world report seeking for stability as an indicator of returning to normal. In connection with that, affordability has gained additional importance to almost a third of purchasers (Vautier, 2020). In search for better financial security, the members of this new consumer segment opt for less expensive goods and services in order to mitigate the financial threats that they associate with the possible prolonged crisis.

The activities that allow for improving stability has predictably increased as well during the pandemic. In Australia, for instance, 46% of consumers began to cook instead of eating out, and 42% spent more time with their families than they had done before the quarantine (CommBank Consumer Insights, 2021, p. 9). 32% devoted their free time to books and podcasts, and 22% decided to start leading a healthier lifestyle (CommBank Consumer Insights, 2021, p. 9). The majority of those pastimes presuppose staying at a certain location for a long time, a cozy atmosphere, and less risks, which the population of the planet is apparently craving.

The shift in consumer priorities has naturally led to that in demand for particular goods and services. Notably, household products and food, including non-alcoholic beverages, occupy the first two positions in the rating of purchases during lockdowns. The next three lines belong to personal care, health products, and a variety of entertainments, such as books, movies, music, and other (Whitten, 2020). Other activities that acquired additional popularity during the quarantine are housekeeping, gardening, and handcraft (Impact of the COVID-19, 2020). The new conditions created the need for businesses to adapt rapidly in order to remain functioning.

Psychological Source of Behavioral Changes

In addition to staying home, a possible reason for the moves in worldwide shopping rates is anxiety. Specifically, in highly stressful situations, a personality seeks to compose itself by whether imitating the normal to which it is used or simply receiving a dose of endorphins. Shopping is, meanwhile, one of the most accessible ways to do both, which determines growth in desire for buying (Di Crosta et al., 2021). Due to the closure of physical stores in accordance with lockdown restrictions, the stressed population began to buy goods, which were not only necessities, online simply to comfort themselves.

Another psychological phenomenon that normally takes place in emergencies is an attempt to prevent a deficiency of the most necessary goods in case of supply issues. This leads to so-called panic-buying with a primary focus on staples and hygiene products, and the current pandemic is not an exception (COVID-19, 2020, para. 6). Similar to the behavior that is described in the previous paragraph, this pattern derives from fear and, consequently, is not completely conscious.

Preference to Online Shopping and Digital Services

The character of the pandemic-related changes in consumer behavior is not purely quantitative, but qualitative as well. Thus, regarding entertainment, the increased requests are not the only transformation in this sphere. The population naturally began to prefer having fun online, for instance, by means of games or streaming platforms. In other areas, including health care, the prevalence of digital services is also doubtless: all sorts of e-pharmacies and e-doctors are at scale (Kohli et al., 2020, p. 2). This tendency is apparently derivable from the irrelevance of frequent personal contacts and the consequent need for minimizing them.

The food industry has experienced the influence of the megatrend as well; specifically, more people started opting for ready-made food delivery. In Spain, for instance, electronic food commerce in the third quarter of 2020 was twice as profitable as a year before (Medina, 2021, p. 5). It is also worth noting that purchasers favor fresh organic products and larger packages that allow for less frequent shopping. Generally, it is possible to proclaim that the pandemic has boosted e-business in all areas.

Alternative Trends

Online shopping and delivery are, however, not the only ways to maintain the usual quality of life during lockdowns. Thus, a quarter of Russians prefer buying from physical stores that are not closed, but make fewer trips to them and buy more or substantially more than before on each (Ben Hassen et al., 2021). In Pakistan, the popularity of delivery services is lower in comparison with developed countries, which, according to Ali et al. (2021), is related to the lack of security. The desire to follow the pre-quarantine patterns may be another consequence of craving stability.

To summarize, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected consumer behavior around the globe so considerably that new trends have emerged that are mostly based on seeking stability. First, additional free time along with the search for tranquility has encouraged people to buy more entertainment and food products. The request for personal care and health care has increased as well, resulting from the tendency towards a healthy lifestyle. Second, there is an apparent prevalence of electronic commerce worldwide, including online shopping, delivery services, and even medical consulting via the Internet. By contrast, a certain share of the population continued giving a preference to offline stores during lockdowns, which may result from the desire to maintain the normal behavior for better security.

Reference List

Ali, S., et al. (2021) Consumer adoption of online food delivery Ordering (OFDO) services in Pakistan: The impact of the COVID-19, Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 7(1), pp. 10-33. Web.

Ben Hassen, T., et al. (2021) Food purchase and eating behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey of Russian adults, Appetite, 165(1), 105309. Web.

CommBank Consumer Insights (2021). Web.

COVID-19: How consumer behavior will be changed (2020). Web.

Di Crosta, A. et al. (2021) Psychological factors and consumer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic, PLoS One, 16(8), e0256095. Web.

Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on short- and medium-term consumer behavior (2020). Web.

Kohli, S. et al. (2020) How Covid-19 is changing consumer behavior now and forever. Web.

Medina, A. (2021) How COVID-19 is changing Spanish consumer behavior. Web.

Tien, N. H. (2021) Change of consumer behavior in the post Covid-19 period, International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Growth Evaluation, 2(1), pp. 53-58.

US consumer sentiment and behaviors during the coronavirus crisis (2021). Web.

Vautier, M. (2020) EY Future Consumer Index: five consumer segments will shape demand beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Web.

Whitten, S. (2020) Board games, yoga mats and yeast: what people are buying as they heed coronavirus stay-at-home orders. Web.

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