Post COVID-19: Will consumer behaviour patterns mutate? - ET BrandEquity

Almost overnight, hardwired mall shoppers and reluctant fence sitters were pushed into the deep end of the online commerce pool. Admittedly, it is too early to claim that, but with new hygiene and contagiousness concerns, it is possible that people will reconsider venturing into public domains such as shopping malls and movie theatres with the same carefree and reckless gusto as before. Would retail sales persons need to pitch their voices louder and farther in times of physical distancing? First of all, it is generally agreed that the number of people who would visit physical retail would first spike as release from enforced lockdown happens which later on taper out and stabilize. We are a social community with a high need for group activities – travel, tourism, shopping, religion, and entertainment. C-19 lockdown notwithstanding, people have been known to conduct religious gatherings, wedding ceremonies and birthday parties even at the peak of the pandemic. Brands must think of what can be done to bring optimism and positivity to how consumers behave after the virus is vanquished, or is in a state of suspended abeyance? If companies did not lay off employees when they were the most vulnerable, or if they offered their factories and hotels to be converted into quarantine facilities, would they be remembered at all after the return to normalcy? There is going to be a psychological impact of this lockdown on people who relieve the stress to some extent currently by making “we shall overcome” videos and sharing Covid memes. Retailers should be visionary enough and smart enough to help consumers navigate between online and offline experience journeys seamlessly by investing in an omni-channel world.