The coronavirus pandemic the global economy tremendously, changing buyers’ behaviors vastly. Apart from companies suffering major losses due to the related trade restrictions, customers’ purchasing habits appear to have changed drastically. While previously, a significant number of people preferred to shop offline and often bought unnecessary or overpriced items, the current trend toward online shopping and buying only the necessary products seems to have become a trend.
For instance, at the beginning of the pandemic, the propensity to buy items in stocks has been observed (Scacchi et al., 2021). Although the original media-induced panic has subsided, and people have become much more rational in their buying decisions, significant changes can still be observed compared to their purchasing patterns a couple of years ago. The massive transfer to the realm of digital shopping can be considered as one of the main shifts in the dynamics between customers and producers (Scacchi et al., 2021).
The specified alterations in the economic environment has affected offline businesses, particularly, small retailers, drastically, forcing mall businesses to be discontinued due to the absence of customers (Martin-Neuninger & Ruby, 2020). At the same time, a range of companies have ventured into the digital setting, discovering the opportunities which they would not have considered before (Fanelli, 2021). Thus, the described shift toward online shopping can be seen as a generally positive trend.
Personally, I seem to have neglected a range of products since the emergence of the coronavirus threat. Specifically, the requirement for cosmetics and sun cream has dropped, which is quite understandable given the unwillingness to leave houses due to the threat of the virus (Martin-Neuninger & Ruby, 2020). In turn, I have started buying significantly larger amounts of coffee and vitamins due to health concerns and changes in the work-life balance. Therefore, the general trend is quite predictable given the fact that the number of social interactions has been significantly restricted for most citizens.
Overall, the Covid-19 pandemic has definitely changed people’s buying behaviors, with the initial panic and hectic purchase of essential products having been replaced with a practical approach to buying and a strong preference for digital purchases. Specifically, the tendency to indulge in unreasonably expensive shopping and disbursing money without much consideration has been replaced with a much more careful, practical and, essentially, Utilitarian approach toward buying products. Specifically, the utility and effect that the purchased items produce has become the priority for buyers.
References
Fanelli, R. M. (2021). Changes in the food-related behaviour of Italian consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Foods, 10(1), 169. Web.
Martin-Neuninger, R., & Ruby, M. B. (2020). What does food retail research tell us about the implications of Coronavirus (COVID-19) for grocery purchasing habits?Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1448. Web.
Scacchi, A., Catozzi, D., Boietti, E., Bert, F., & Siliquini, R. (2021). COVID-19 lockdown and self-perceived changes of food choice, waste, impulse buying and their determinants in Italy: QuarantEat, a cross-sectional study. Foods, 10(2), 306. Web.