COVID: Consumer Behavior and Its Consequences
By: Sejal Chhetri
(Credit: Getty Images)
The novel Coronavirus—COVID-19—is on the forefront of everyone’s mind. Ever since the start of the first wave of COVID-19 during the month of March, consumer behavior has been largely impacted. Consumer behavior, influenced by a multitude of factors, saw a drastic change following the lockdown and stay-at-home orders. This was seen in consumers’ panic buying, stores facing discrimination, and the real estate business booming among others.
With a population of 331 million people, and most of whom were required to stay at home, online business certainly grew. Especially during the first few weeks, where people still had jobs, savings, and also other consumers to contend against. As panic was setting in over this new virus with a high mortality rate, panic buying was inevitable. Consumers rushed to stores leading to shortage of not only sanitizers, cleaning supplies, and masks, but also water, food, and vegetable items. This panic buying was causing shortages all over the country. In El Paso, store shelves were empty, people were hogging items—in their minds rightfully so—while simultaneously causing food insecurity for those who were late or could not afford to buy items in bulk. This not only caused relevant markets to inflate their prices, but also overwhelming pressure on supply chains and manufacturers to meet the demand.
For the first few months, people either visited stores strictly out of necessity or opted to sign up for home delivery. This not only saw decreased face-to-face consumer interaction, but caused the online shopping and food delivery services to boom. While restaurants and stores were successfully going online, the Asian-American restaurants had to face prejudice and xenophobia. Whether knowingly or unknowingly, Asian food services, particularly Chinese restaurants have borne the brunt of the COVID’s spread being associated with China. This also shows how consumer behavior is influenced by the media and news. Despite safety measures put in place, one can never be too sure, but why did xenophobia become synonymous with safety during those months?
Consumer behavior is largely impacted by the consumers’ income. However, with unemployment at a high, the initial weeks of spending might have taken its toll on those with income insecurity to deal with food and housing insecurity as well. This not only affects consumers’ lifestyles but also their spending habits, causing them to gravitate towards affordable items despite compromised qualities. On the other hand, those with steady income having to work from home are investing in real estate. The boom in the business has been seen in El Paso too. The pre-COVID work environment was such that a person spent most of their waking hours at work with an established place for productivity—which is much more suitable for an employed person. However, with remote work being preferred for safety purposes, it has been a challenge to balance work and home. Where some would have previously preferred a place to just sleep or rest, they now want a space of their own where they can be productive, but also unwind.
As described, consumer behavior is both predictable and unpredictable. It is prone to influence and has many short term and long term consequences. While panic buying has died down, the initial months of COVID have left many households with a stock supply of comestibles, leaving the formerly empty shelves stocked to the brim with items. Online shopping is booming but income insecurity is causing people to reevaluate their choices while others are investing in their forever, or for-now homes.
The novel Coronavirus—COVID-19—is on the forefront of everyone’s mind. Ever since the start of the first wave of COVID-19 during the month of March, consumer behavior has been largely impacted. Consumer behavior, influenced by a multitude of factors, saw a drastic change following the lockdown and stay-at-home orders. This was seen in consumers’ panic buying, stores facing discrimination, and the real estate business booming among others.
With a population of 331 million people, and most of whom were required to stay at home, online business certainly grew. Especially during the first few weeks, where people still had jobs, savings, and also other consumers to contend against. As panic was setting in over this new virus with a high mortality rate, panic buying was inevitable. Consumers rushed to stores leading to shortage of not only sanitizers, cleaning supplies, and masks, but also water, food, and vegetable items. This panic buying was causing shortages all over the country. In El Paso, store shelves were empty, people were hogging items—in their minds rightfully so—while simultaneously causing food insecurity for those who were late or could not afford to buy items in bulk. This not only caused relevant markets to inflate their prices, but also overwhelming pressure on supply chains and manufacturers to meet the demand.
For the first few months, people either visited stores strictly out of necessity or opted to sign up for home delivery. This not only saw decreased face-to-face consumer interaction, but caused the online shopping and food delivery services to boom. While restaurants and stores were successfully going online, the Asian-American restaurants had to face prejudice and xenophobia. Whether knowingly or unknowingly, Asian food services, particularly Chinese restaurants have borne the brunt of the COVID’s spread being associated with China. This also shows how consumer behavior is influenced by the media and news. Despite safety measures put in place, one can never be too sure, but why did xenophobia become synonymous with safety during those months?
Consumer behavior is largely impacted by the consumers’ income. However, with unemployment at a high, the initial weeks of spending might have taken its toll on those with income insecurity to deal with food and housing insecurity as well. This not only affects consumers’ lifestyles but also their spending habits, causing them to gravitate towards affordable items despite compromised qualities. On the other hand, those with steady income having to work from home are investing in real estate. The boom in the business has been seen in El Paso too. The pre-COVID work environment was such that a person spent most of their waking hours at work with an established place for productivity—which is much more suitable for an employed person. However, with remote work being preferred for safety purposes, it has been a challenge to balance work and home. Where some would have previously preferred a place to just sleep or rest, they now want a space of their own where they can be productive, but also unwind.
As described, consumer behavior is both predictable and unpredictable. It is prone to influence and has many short term and long term consequences. While panic buying has died down, the initial months of COVID have left many households with a stock supply of comestibles, leaving the formerly empty shelves stocked to the brim with items. Online shopping is booming but income insecurity is causing people to reevaluate their choices while others are investing in their forever, or for-now homes.