COVID-19 ANXIETIES ARE DRIVING SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
As the world prepares to emerge from the pandemic’s profound disruption to normal life, our collective experience over the past year has imprinted on how we will behave going forward. Restrictions prompted by COVID-19 differed across the globe in their scope and severity. But consumers across the board have had to learn new behaviors and adopt new habits in their everyday lives.
Our ongoing study of changing consumer priorities has found that two-thirds of consumers are optimistic about a vaccine. But while many will go back to spending through familiar pre-pandemic mechanisms, others will not abandon behaviors learned during this period anytime soon. It is imperative for consumer companies to understand what has and is continuing to cause these permanent shifts.
People have been riddled with anxieties about finances and physical as well as mental health over the last year. Our study has found that consumers who have felt the most vulnerable are more likely to exhibit permanently changed habits. Significantly, the survey found that these consumers span all age groups, genders, income levels, and locations.
Mapped by the two main vulnerabilities—health (this includes mental and physical) and finances—consumer behaviors take on four distinct dimensions that companies must consider going forward in addition to traditional demographics. Continue reading to learn more about these behavioral dimensions.
Latest report: Changing Consumer Priorities Study (H2 2021)
Spending spikes around the globe are only telling a partial story of the pandemic-hardened consumer
COVID-19 forced all of us to press pause on longstanding purchase patterns and ascertain how to prioritize going forward. According to AlixPartners research, 44% of consumers around the globe say their buying habits, motivations, and patterns have changed forever. As we continue transitioning into the post-pandemic world, we will increasingly see the rise of the more intentional consumer. The intentional consumer does not necessarily spend less – but is much more deliberate about how and where to spend.
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