Changes in consumer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic

Source: The ESET Global FinTech Study

It has become increasingly common for people to stay home more often and spend time on the internet and with those closest to them. They avoid large gatherings and maintain social distance in stores. Consumer habits have changed and many people have switched to working from home. Research has shown that the greater and more pronounced a fear is, the greater will be the change in consumer shopping behavior. The economy of the whole world has slowed down, many workers have been laid off and wages have been reduced. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have drastically reduced their shopping trips to minimize the risk of spreading the infection. Instead, they are doing everything possible from the safety and comfort of their homes to reduce the transmission of the virus.

Changes occurring in consumer behavior

Since the very beginning of the virus outbreak (early 2020), consumers have changed behavior that significantly deviated from their usual shopping behavior. It is predicted that the pandemic will affect consumers and change their existing habits, and that online shopping will become more and more popular. During the pandemic, consumer shopping behavior was mainly influenced by fear. In general, the higher the level of fear, the more significant the change in consumer shopping behavior.

Consequences of the pandemic

• Reduced clothing purchases
• Increased purchase of personal care products
• Increased purchase of basic foodstuffs
• Increased purchase of cleaning products
• Increase in online shopping
• Increasing financial savings

In situations where the virus is spreading at an increasing speed, consumers are less and less willing to shop in stores. However, even during a pandemic, food is still a basic human need that we cannot live without. During the pandemic, food products and beverages accounted for as much as 35% of purchases among online shoppers.

Various world markets are seeing an increase in sales of laundry products and a general jump in sales of cleaning products. It has been shown that during COVID-19, people were more inclined to maintain hygiene than usual due to fear of infectionIt is predicted that customers will continue to shop online at a higher rate even after the pandemic, regardless of whether stores are open. The pandemic has caused an increase in digitization due to quarantine and physical distancing rules. Due to the closure of brick-and-mortar retail stores, online shopping has become the only means for consumers to meet their spending needs. COVID-19 has forced people to buy in this way, and there are fewer and fewer of those traditional ways of shopping.

During the pandemic, it was observed that financial savings became a key factor influencing customer behavior. With reduced incomes, people were less inclined to purchase expensive products. Some of the newly emerging changes will become permanent and consumers will continue to apply them even after COVID 19. Because of the pandemic, some long-term changes in consumer behavior are expected. Consumers will likely become more careful and cautious before making certain purchases, leading to more frugal spending habits.