The world has changed since early 2020 when the virus was first discovered. It's now more than a year today and situation has not changed any better. In fact I am in the beginning of the second wave and the situation looks grim. The pandemic has upended life for people across the globe, from how we live, work and the way we socialize. Despite fluctuations in the pandemic the overall level of impact it has on the consumer has remained high. Experts say that the world will never be like before. We ought to change and adapt to the “new normal”. This pandemic has indefinitely altered societies and economics around the world and has hit various sectors of society in different ways. This unprecedented situation has totally changed the everyday life of consumers and has dramatically changed how businesses act and consumers behave. The current situation has made many consumers reconsider their established buying and shopping habits and even forced many to learn a new one and get used to the ongoing trend. There is now a definite need for retail marketers to watch the changes in consumers’ shopping behaviour and habits. They have to try and learn the changes in strategies that they need to adopt and cater to the needs of their customers.
A consumers' choice can be can significantly affected when the customers learn about the scarcity of products. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, consumers have showed stockpiling behaviours that are significantly unusual from their usual traditional shopping behaviour. Furthermore, new regulations imposing social distancing have a further vast impact on consumers’ favoured channel for shopping. The surprise addition to this is that the older and less digitally-savvy consumers have started learning and enjoying online shopping, welcoming the safety offered by technology. Consumers are switching to online purchases because it offers the safety and benefits of home deliveries and also cashless payment. The lockdowns have certainly caused disruptions and triggered behavioural responses in the minds of the people.
In the past we have read about the major transformations that happen during times of crisis. People now are deeply concerned about the impact of this virus, both from a health and an economic perspective. When it comes to shopping, a significant number of people are making online purchases more frequently during this pandemic than they did before, and less than 30% are shopping in person at stores. This shows the drastic change in consumers’ behaviour. Research shows that the virus and its consequences has led to fears, worries and anxiety and has become one of the major factors impacting the health and wellbeing of individuals worldwide.
Online store keepers have to think of a different approach when they deal with buyers who are not comfortable with online shopping. Especially in their purchase decision-making, fear for health, play an important role. Marketing communication and the retailing process have to address their fears and reduce the risks connected with the shopping process. Retailers have to produce after-sale services in order to have the customer happy. The e-commerce sector has responded rapidly to the challenge of creating positive experiences during this pandemic. Companies have widened their product ranges. This has attracted large numbers of consumers, and this will make many of them continue to buy online for a long period of time. E- commerce retailers that provide positive experiences are likely to last longer, particularly those driven by a customer-centric approach with good customer service.
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