How will Covid-19 impact consumer behaviour?

As a strategic-led brand agency, we take on the role of an anthropologist, psychologist, analyst and sociologist all meshed into one. It’s therefore our innate curiosity and responsibility to understand and interpret how macro factors impact consumer behaviour.

So, over the last couple of weeks we’ve been observing what trend researchers had to say in order to gain a deeper understanding of what it will be like post-Corona.

Some argue that life will go back to normal, others are adamant that our attitudes and behaviour stand to shift dramatically. After the initial novelty of our “new” freedom wears off, the reality of the unknown will set in. We couldn’t agree more.

While we are already witnessing wealthy shoppers picking up where they left off — hitting the stores for bouts of “revenge shopping” — for most of us, this won’t be in the case. And how could it?

If we lost our jobs or our businesses are tanking as a consequence of the economy downturn, getting back to our feet will be twice as challenging. So how could we go back to our normal lifestyles when we have to work twice as hard to make up for the loss of income of the past few of months?

While we can talk about the anything and everything, we are particularly interested by the solidifying of two trends — Meaning Seekers and Community Revivalists.

Meaning Seekers

The economic security we had prior to coronavirus has been stripped away from underneath us. As such, we will be much more careful in how we spend our time and money, focusing our values around purposeful living and directing our money on things/experiences/services that cater to that. We will want to establish a deeper, emotional bond with brands. This presents an interesting opportunity for businesses as by humanising their brands, they will be able to forge those needed connections. This is the moment to peel back the layers and invite the audience in, giving them the sense of being behind-the-scenes, watching your brand story unfold. Many businesses do this very well — but those who have long focused on building a business around transactions will need to evolve. Now is the perfect time to delve deep, open up, articulate your mission and your passion in a way that will connect with a stranger. And please make that clear on the home page of your website!

If you find yourself on the lost side, fret not, we’re happy to bounce off some ideas and offer some advice during our free 45 minute consultation.

Community Revivalists

As I walk to my neighbourhood’s local grocery shop for some fresh veggies, I can’t help but count the amount of family-owned establishments closed. Not a few, not a dozen… hundreds — in less than 1 km. Once we emerge from this, it won’t be all that different. These aren’t greedy businesses with fancy cash flow analysis, but rather establishments driven first and foremost by passion or purpose, operating month to month. So as a result, we feel there will be an awakening of a sense of responsibility to connect deeper with the community. We won’t stop spending, but we’ll probably focus on spending local and reviving local supply chains as small businesses and local restaurants climb their way out of the red.

So what’s your take on all of this? Feel free to share your thoughts here.

On March 16th, four days after WHO announced the Pandemic, we reached out to our tour operator client with an idea. As with most tourism-dependent businesses, our client’s future didn’t look very cheerful. Manned with 20+ cars and drivers, this local operator could have simply given up, but they are fighters. And with any client who’s not easily defeated, we felt the urge to help. As such, we proposed to convert the tour operators into personal shoppers (for grocery and pharmacy runs), launching a campaign that spoke to the locals. The outpouring of support from the community has been tremendous. Instagram influencers felt compelled to help spread the message, and what was once a business walking on a fine line, today it is highly demanded. Most importantly, 20+ people continue employed.