How consumer behavior will change post lockdown for the better: The post-COVID-19 lockdown impact
How consumer behavior will change post lockdown: The post-COVID-19 lockdown impact
Indian consumers have changed a lot of their purchasing decision due to the lockdown to fight Covid-19. Indian consumers have started spending hire on health and hygiene products and home deliveries over store visits.
Also, amid lockdown, people have ordered groceries and necessary products more from E-commerce websites and apps rather than standing in queues waiting for their turn to enter the store and buy their products.
Consumer behavior depends on three factors, such as:
- Income
- Preference
- Savings
The income of every person is not the same and different. And people are buying products and services according to their income. Many people have lost their jobs or working half salaries do they are eliminating non-essential goods and focusing on purchasing necessity products. Preference is another vital factor as it all depends on the customer what he needs to buy irrespective of his income and savings. Also, many are dependant on their past savings after being jobless due to the pandemic COVID-19 lockdown.
Consumption out-of-home will be slow
The restrictions have implemented both online retail and offline Markets. We have moved towards unlocking with precautionary measures, and all stores are practicing social distancing with customers. The store has that a queue system social dispensing, and therefore, people are buying only necessary products from store and shopping non-essential and premium products from contactless delivery. The role of offline stores has changed a lot as people prefer buying things online and then picking it up from the store
Home delivery has emerged as a more significant part of the restaurant business and has become more popular among consumers. In urban areas, people are buying larger pack-sized products so that they won’t be buying it for another short-term period. In rural areas, consumption is still towards sachets and smaller sizes to save cash for the future.
The reason behind consumption differences in rural and urban areas
As we all heard about the problems faced by migrant laborers to go back to their native land. Therefore, rural areas are more migrant laborers and people who are below the poverty line or comes under the status of the poor. They can’t afford large-sized products and can’t spend more money as they are jobless, and we don’t know when the situation will get regular, and they will get back to their work.
However, the construction sector, manufacturing sector, service sector, and agriculture sector are recovering day by day. However, things are still not as healthy as it used to be, and there is a fear of coronavirus in the nation. Whereas, in urban areas, people are doing work from home, and many offices are operating with 30% of the workforce. So, in urban areas, people are not entirely jobless and managing to sustain themselves with past savings.
The pandemic situation has made us independent and aware of hygiene
The pandemic has a significant impact on consumer behavior, and now we are more into buying hygiene and sanitization products for our home. The pandemic has made us independent and taught us about sanitization and hygiene behavior, focusing more on cleaning our surroundings.
Not only for our home, but we are also ready to pay for sanitation efforts in airlines, shared transport, cinema hall, mall, grocery stores, and so on to ensure safety. We all have become independent, and we can prepare me for a meal, drive our vehicle, and do laundry on our own. And this has led to a demand in the introduction to product services that make us more independent.
People are moving towards buying new or second-hand cars or personal transports, electronics machines and dishwashers, and even cooking tutorial videos are in high demand on YouTube. There is a spike in everything that gives us comfort, such as nostalgic content like friends and Ramayan on Doordarshan, cooking delicious food recipes cooked at home, and playing group games with the family such as Ludo.
The new consumer will be more economical and conscious
Consumers have shifted from spending money freely on non-essential goods and services to necessary and essential products and services and making them last longer. People are more sustaining on survivalist mentality and moving towards things that can sustain them for an extended time. People are learning to live within there means and started valuing a less wasteful lifestyle.
The tour and travel hospitality and commercial real estate sectors will restart from a new base. Also, in this pandemic, the need for business travel and the use of office spaces will see a massive fall as companies are becoming more comfortable and productive operating from their home effectively and efficiently. People are more focusing on buying personal and home care products to sustain themselves. The home cleaning products have witnessed a boost in its sales amid lockdown because people are more concerned about their safety and taking precautionary steps to combat COVID-19.
Technology limits people’s movement. It helps in reducing cost and allows in increasing productivity, such as video conferencing, online consultancy from doctors, and online learning will become the norm. Post Covid-19, Markets are looking at the new consumer who is healthier, economical, more conscious, active, and more productive.
