Covid-19 and the dawn of a new consumer

Covid-19 has disrupted our lives in many ways. We, consumers, are not afraid today of conducting our daily lives without our domestic help, we are not longing to go out for a movie, shopping, or dining out. We have learned to spend our daily lives peacefully while being indoors. Shall we say that we have again discovered that we have a loving family?

With the imposition of the 4th phase of lockdown, our markets are getting reopened. A few offices have started working with less working force, restaurants have started giving takeaways and e-commerce platforms have started delivering non-essential goods in red zones too. With these measures and instances, I feel, the overall consumption pattern of the country is going to see unforeseen changes in the coming time.

I feel the overall out-of-home consumption across channels such as gyms, salons, eateries, theatres, shopping malls and others will slowdown and take at least 1-2 years to be back to where it was. Also focus on health and hygiene products is likely to sustain for the short to medium term. There will be some sort of ‘revenge’ shopping across non-essential and premium categories that consumers have been starved during the lockdown period. However, the focus on contactless deliveries and in-store pick-up will be high for retailers along with social distancing in stores with fewer customers and footfall per store in the short term.

The role of offline stores may change to focus on experience and collection, as people choose to ‘buy online, pick up in-store’. There could be an increase in online purchases across categories, including essentials and food products. As consumers look to stock up and reduce visits to outlets in the short term, we will see larger pack size consumption in urban areas. In rural areas, consumption will turn towards sachets and smaller sizes to conserve cash. Less social gatherings will mean less expense on events and occasions.

And we would expect and be willing to pay for sanitation efforts in malls, cinema halls, airlines, shared transport, and so on. Products and services that make us more independent will be in more demand. For example, personal transportwhether new or second hand. Washing machines and dishwashers, and even cooking tutorials should be in demand. However, it is likely that even post the rebound, the per capita consumption will show muted growth in the next three to five years as people learn to live within their means and start valuing a less wasteful lifestyle. Importantly, the care for mother earth that has aroused among us is the most precious gain of this fearful period.

Post Covid-19, we are looking at the new consumer who is healthier, caring, frugal, more conscious, less mobile, and yet more productive! This unique experience of work from home will stay at many offices and many of us will miss chatting face to face. In a country like India, hygiene probably will be at the top of the agenda.

Moreover, with the announcement of schools/colleges/educational institutions getting reopened in July with 30% occupancy and with 8th standard onwards students is another area to look after. In this regard, we await the government declared standard operating procedure to safeguard the health of the student community.

Cheers!