The rise of Covid-19 has resulted in a shift in consumer behaviour as consumers will pay more attention to products relevant to the current context and with brands that can showcase a role in Covid times, a recent study conducted by Nielsen on ‘Covid19: Shifts in consumer behaviour’ indicated. Moreover, consumers will pivot towards familiarity as the shift to the new normal unfolds. Hence, memories around brands/products that are visible and relevant will get strengthened.
According to the report, emotion too will play a key role as consumers will look forward to a positive, forward looking tone in the brand’s communications. For instance, there have been increased conversation on forward looking topics such as #AtmnirbharBharat, #vocalforlocal, #restartingIndia towards new normal as well as the Indian Government’s Rs 20 lakh crores relief package announcement.
There will also be a major disruption in the habits of the consumer in line with the new normal especially in terms of health and hygiene, says the report. For old habits to come back, consumers will need strong cues to encourage them to move back to their old habits. A reference of this is that malls and outing which were a common phenomenon in the past will have to give strong reassurances that all safety measures will be put in place for consumers. Having said that, another change in habit outlines people who had planned their outings amid the March-June period, of whom only 28% have decided to go ahead with the plan while 24% have put the plan on hold or cancelled it.
The report also draws the impact on the FMCG sector, which saw a 34% decline in April led mostly by traditional channels whereas modern trade continued to grow during the month. “The sharp degrowth of traditional trade channels can be attributed to area/ shop closures – on an average, a traditional retail shop was closed for 12 days in April due to various restrictions and constraint – this number was significantly higher for outlets other than Chemists (4 days) and Grocers (8 days),” the report said.
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