Changing consumer habits under CoVID-19: are they sustainable?

Abstract

In this project, we focus primarily on understanding the change in Indian consumer habits due to Covid-19. We have tried to assess if some consumer habits will see a permanent change or will they go back to pre-Covid times. The Covid-19 pandemic and the implication of social distancing & lockdown has disrupted consumer habits in almost every sphere of life. We tried to understand consumer habits in health & wellness, shopping, travel & payment industry. Consumers are learning to improvise and learn new habits. For example, if consumers are not able to visit stores, then on the one side, companies have changed their distribution channels, introducing the likes of Direct to Consumer, whereas, on the other side, customers shifted to e-commerce to order groceries or other products. It is highly likely that consumers will go back to old habits. Still, factors like public policy and the changing notion of convenience due to the changing lifestyles and technology are the major forces driving the adoption of modified and new habits amongst consumers. With a combination of secondary research and personal interviews, we found that not all habits will be permanent. For example, social gatherings or marriages will get back to normal because the frequency of these events during lockdown was way lesser to induce significant change; however, there is evidence that many organisers may want to limit the guest lists to save costs. Such observations would need further empirical analysis to be substantiated. On the other hand, consumers' overall digital literacy has improved. Both Demonetization & Covid-19 have pushed customers to use digital modes to carry out payments, shopping, and other day-to-day chores. Finally, we note that many new habits would emerge due to the early adoption of technological advancements by the changing demographics catalysed by the restrictions imposed by Covid-19, and consumers would come up with innovative ways to adjust with the new normal: to learn, work and leisure.