How did the coronavirus change your habits?
2020 forced many of us to change our habits and also businesses have to adapt.
2020 forced many of us to change our habits. Some of the changes are permanent and force businesses to adapt, too.
In the beginning of the year, many market research companies predicted their trends for the year. The predictions concerned the length of the surveys and wider use of artificial intelligence, for example.
What many of the forecasts didn’t take into account was the outbreak of the coronavirus in the first months of the year that ended up changing many of our behavioral patterns, some of them probably for a long time.
How has this unprecedented time changed consumer behavior and are these changes going to last?
This is what the Italian digital agency Arkage set out to explore in their consumer behavior survey. The company surveyed 3700 Italian families in collaboration with Verint, Surveyeahand Luminoso.
Less money, less consumption
Unsurprisingly, coronavirus and lockdowns had a severe impact on households’ revenues: four out of ten families reported their revenue had decreased since the beginning of 2020.
Many families’ savings had suffered, too: every other participant mentioned having less money saved.
Hence it shouldn’t come as a surprise that consumption habits had been impacted as well. The impact was biggest on clothes, cosmetics and gifts purchases.
Amid the lockdown, there was no need for office wear, cosmetics – and there weren’t too many parties to bring gifts to, either.
Who are the winners?
At the same time, the research shows that there were winners, too.
Since many families spent most of their spring months at home, the demand for household products increased. Every tenth household also consumed more than usual on home maintenance.
Discount supermarkets, such as Lidl, gained popularity as well. More than a quarter of survey participants had steered their weekly grocery shopping towards discount stores and almost as many – a fifth of families – said that they prefer cheaper store brands over more expensive options.
One of the winners was online shopping, and especially buying food and beverages online. This trend is probably going to continue in the future as well, alongside restaurants’ delivery services.
Stumble block: consumer understanding
With big and lasting changes happening at lightning speed, it’s more important than ever for businesses to stay in touch with consumers. Only if companies manage to answer consumers’ demands and needs can they stay relevant and afloat, or even grow despite the difficult situation.
Arkage’s research revealed, however, that there is an important gap between what consumers want and what companies think they want.
For example, 80 % of the managers think families have increased the use of online entertainment services, like Netflix. When the same question is asked of families, only 10 % reported an increase.
At the same time, managers do think that customer centricity is a good strategy in the times of coronavirus. To really put this philosophy into practice, companies need customer insight more than ever.
Join us!
Earn money online and join our consumer panel. Choose surveys that interest you and voice your opinion on important topics.