The main drivers behind five changes in consumer behavior caused by COVID-19
Findings and suggestions in this article are based on research executed in March and April 2020 when the first measurements as a consequence of COVID-19 started.
The impact of COVID-19 on society is profound and sudden. Almost instantly, people around the world are going through an unplanned life event together. And typical for life events is that people reconsider all their (basic) needs and this leads to lasting changes in consumer behavior and motivations. Which of these new behaviors will be temporary or permanent? In order to answer this question, we need to first get a grasp on how decision-making, moments of truth (MOT’s), motivations and consumer behavior have changed. In this article we compare behavior and motivations of consumers worldwide before, during and ‘after’ the measures of COVID-19.
In the past weeks, many reports have been published about how consumers have changed their purchase behavior after a corona outbreak. For example, there’s a sales increase in instant noodles and soy sauce in Asian countries. These reports tell us what is happening, but what can we learn from this? How should we act upon this? In our study we take a deep dive into the meaning of this behavior; motivations, moments of truth (MOT’s) and experiences (why). Understanding why this is happening will help us to predict which changes in motivations and behavior will stick, also after the crisis. Why are consumers behaving the way they do? Which behavior is permanent, and which is temporary? For this research we conducted interviews with people — singles, couples, families — from all around the world (Japan, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Canada, Italy, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands). Valuable, touching and emotional stories have been shared during all these conversations.
Since the virus has started to affect different countries at different times, some people are more ahead in this situation than others. It’s interesting to hear from them what advice they have for people who still have some time to go in quarantine.
What would you have told your Future-self?
Some have already been working from home for two months, for others it’s just their second or third week. What would you have told your future-self, while you are now in this situation? What would your advice be to a person who’s in the first week?
These are the three things people wished they would have started doing from the very first day in quarantine:
- Keep a daily structure from day one to secure your free time and work hours
- Prepare yourself mentally for an unknown quarantine time
- Watch less news because it’s not going to make you feel better
Shifts in consumer behavior through the lens of Maslow
Miraculously enough, many things in our daily lives can continue with most of us staying at home. However, there is more going on than just a shift from all our activities and work from outside our homes to inside our homes.
Life events make people reconsider all their needs. Do the things I used to do still suit my current situation? Especially in threatening situations like this, basic needs are the number one priority. Just a few weeks ago the activities, goals and the focus of most of us in the western world were aimed at the higher levels of Maslow’s pyramid: self-actualization and status. We tend to focus mainly on status and the person who we aspire to be. In our ‘normal’ lives we used to take the lower levels for granted, because we already created a situation in which we were able to take care of these needs. But now, our focus has shifted from external — What do others think of me? or, who do I want to become? — to internal — What do I need to stay sane? or What is necessary for my wellbeing? We have returned to the basic needs of Maslow’s hierarchy.
Typical for a crisis is our focus on what we really need to be healthy, and to take care of our families. Things that increase our status, like how people see or perceive us, or things we want to achieve or how we want to be seen are no longer relevant. We go back to the lower levels of Maslow’s pyramid and try to make sure we have all basics to survive; food, water, rest and warmth. And that we are safe and secure at home and have a belonging. An internal focus on the essential and less on the surplus.
Also, relationships take on a different dimension. They become more functional and less about aspiration. It’s about the people we really need and the people who need us. And again, it’s less about who we would like to be for others, or how who we like others to see us.
Through the lens of Maslow’s hierarchy needs, the recent changes in consumer behavior become clearer, because it helps us to understand what the ‘new normal’ will look like after the crisis.
Next, to give more insight on how the full context of daily life has changed, we will share the main drivers behind the five consumer behavior changes we found.
1.Consumers stay close to their existing way of doing grocery shopping
Think of the last times you did your grocery shopping before the quarantine. How did you prepare? Did you use a shopping list, or decide what to buy in the store? Did you go every day or once a week? Order online, or shop offline? Did you visit one store, or multiple? Probably you realize you created your own way of doing your groceries. Why? Because based on your personal experience this works best for you.
And how do you do your grocery shopping now with the restrictions because of COVID-19? Do you still plan? Do you still go every day, of less frequent? Do you visit one store, or more? What is the biggest change?
One would expect most consumers start planning for one big shopping moment, but the opposite is true.
People all over the world, who are 2 months or 2 weeks in quarantine, stick to their own system but adjust it for a little bit more safety.
People who like to go to the store (almost) daily, because they don’t like planning and want fresh products every day, still go shopping for groceries with a frequent rhythm these days. Not every day, but maybe three or four times per week. Instead of only thinking about what to buy for tonight’s dinner, they now think: what to eat the next two or three days? They don’t take two apples, but four. So, they increase their number of products per store visit. Another example are people who used to shop once per week and go maybe a second time if they would run out of certain (fresh) products during the week. These people still like to have this structure of having all their groceries in one go, but now they make sure they purchase extra items to avoid going a second time. Especially consumers with kids buy more products per visit to make sure there’s enough for the kids. Some order online to still have a full cart, while skipping the physical store. In some countries, like The Netherlands and Indonesia, online grocery delivery services have no time slots available for coming two weeks. The current infrastructure and systems were not prepared for such a big increase of online orders.
The current situation seems to make consumers shift within their own system. This can be explained by the fact that in periods of big change, people are looking for things they can still control, and habits they are familiar with, because familiarity feels safe. Certainly, we don’t exclude the fact that this change might evolve in the coming month(s) once people are little more used to the current situation.
Also, having enough and good quality food at home seems to be more important at this moment than price. But it’s likely that consumers will be more price-oriented when effects on the economy have become more visible.
“I used to go to the supermarket every day, but now I go two to three times per week and buy groceries for two dinners. And I feel stupid if I would not also take an extra bread with me to store in the fridge.” (Sanne, Hong Kong)
“One big cart with groceries in the weekend and then after work I would buy fresh vegetables at the market. Now I only go to the supermarket and skip the market. I try to avoid these places now. So, I buy more products to have enough for the whole week.” (Miya, Japan — Tokyo)
“To be honest, I maybe changed a little bit. Before I was going a minimum of once a week and if I needed something extra, so for example last minute I wanted a ham, I was going only for that. But now I’m making the effort to order in one go on pick up once a week. There is only one category that I buy more, and that’s all related back to my son: the Belgium waffles! Instead of 1 pack I decided to bring 2 packs!” (Louise, Belgium — Brussels)
There’s limited space to select a timeslot to get your online order as there’s no capacity. Now in the 3rd week I figured out there’s no point in doing this during the day and my chances in getting an available timeslot increase at midnight. So, I create my basket in the evening and start checking every hour if there’s an available timeslot, usually right after midnight a timeslot becomes available. (Noyrin, Indonesia — Jakarta)
2. Fear drives consumers to eat healthier
More than ever people are aware of the importance to take care of themselves, and their family, in order to stay healthy. Most are afraid to get affected by the virus, and besides following the measures of the government, the only thing they control is the food they nurture themselves with. It’s perceived as a direct connection between cause and effect of a healthy and not healthy diet, while before this situation a healthy diet was aimed also for status or self-actualization. Look how fit I am! Look, I was at the gym at 7am! #fitgirl These days, healthy food is a basic need, it’s functional and not focused on the outside world. This explains why people are now intrinsically motivated to eat healthier than they used to.
Consumers buy (more) vegetables, especially the ones that have a longer shelf-life like carrots, pumpkin, beets, cabbage and potatoes. Fruits that contain a lot of vitamin C are popular, like lemons, oranges and grapefruits.
Next to vegetables and fruits, more people have started to cook. Partly, because restaurants are closed, but also because this feels as a healthier choice than ordering food.
Contradictory to the need of eating healthy, people admit they buy indulgent items as well. At a certain point during the day they feel self-pity and desire a moment to cheer themselves up. Popular indulgent items vary from chocolate, cookies and home-baked delights to cheese and wine — items that are not in alignment with their healthy diet but fulfil an important (daily) need/mood.
“I’m trying to eat healthier, because I can’t move, I can’t go to the gym, so also the food I eat and buy is healthier than before. I don’t buy junk food at all, because if I have it at home I know I will eat it all. So I try to avoid it.” (Camilla, Italy — Milano)
“These are not normal circumstances and I don’t want to refrain myself my favorite item: cheese. It’s wáy to expensive here, but I did buy it. Also, we bought a typical brand of ‘party nuts’ which I would never buy normally.” (Kathy, Hong Kong)
The focus is now to have vegetables in all our meals like adding avocado or tomato to our breakfast and lunch. We’re BBQ-ing a lot and having salads for dinner. I buy more snacky products like crackers or frozen fruit and vegetables. I buy less sweets cause I don’t want to have unhealthy stuff in the house. (Vanessa, Australia — Melbourne)
3. Structure is the key to satisfaction… and sanity
Wake up, make yourself (and the kids) ready for the day, have a quick breakfast — if at all — and rush to the kindergarten, school and work. This is just the beginning of what a normal working day used to look like for a family with kids. Everyone had their way of managing this, but suddenly this changed from one day to another. The roles you play in life remain but all take place in the same space, blurring the lines between work and private life. Parents became full time teachers next to their jobs, while singles and couples on the other hand find themselves having a lot of spare time left. And no one knows for how long this will continue. This combination creates a mental challenge for most people; how do you surrender to this unknown and insecure situation? How do you deal with your relationships to keep them healthy and how do you keep yourself sane? For most people, the first days in quarantine started disorganized until a point where they realized they don’t get things done and above all they don’t feel satisfied by the end of the day. That’s why most people, employed or unemployed, started with creating a new daily structure and stick to it.
People seem to realize the importance of a structure more than ever, especially its effect on their mental state. The structure helps them to separate all the different roles they need to play during a day all between the walls of their home. A lot of people mentioned they started investing time for self-care and create time for activities like mindfulness, yoga or sports. Important to note here is that people with (young) kids are having a harder time than before COVID-19 to find free time at all.
“My suggestion to be start since the beginning to have another mindset, because this could impact a lot on the coming weeks. If you start thinking it’s only 2 weeks maximum and later you realize it could last longer, this is very different. The second thing is to schedule since the beginning the days. Have a daily routine and take time to rest.”(Sofia, Italy — Milano)
“It’s way less than before. Before I was traveling quite a lot for work, at least 2 days a week, so in the evening I was doing whatever I wanted. Now I’m more, pretty much always, spending time to work in the evenings because I have to partly entertain my 2-year old son during the day” (Louise, Belgium — Brussels)
4. People create more meaningful relationships… at a distance
Worldwide or national disasters, crises and problems unite people. Think back to the big Tsunami in Indonesia and Thailand, 9/11 or the big fires in Australia. They connect. The big difference with the current situation is that we are all in it at the same time, although in different stages. And that creates deeper connections with the people close by, but also with people we don’t know.
People mentioned they feel a need to connect with their family, because it makes them feel safe and grounded. Also, contacts with close relatives are important. Since the quarantine most mention to have more contact and feel deeper connections with their closest circle of people around them than before. In addition, a lot of people mentioned they also have a need to connect with people they didn’t want to connect with before. Someone that lives in an apartment building and doesn’t know their neighbors, is now happy to have a chat from the balcony — to keep the social distance. Someone that only knew his next-door neighbors vaguely is now bringing groceries to neighbors at the end of the street. And it goes further, people feel a natural need to help others. They don’t connect with others for status or self-actualization. No, there’s a need to connect with the people you need. And the people who need you. COVID-19 fuels people with a feeling to survive together and therefore, help others in need. The only thing that bothers some people, is that they want to contribute, but don’t know how.
“There is this sort of community that wasn’t there before. For example, yesterday there was a moment in the evening at 6 pm. where everybody opened the window and played music on their balcony for everybody. It was super nice.” (Camilla — Italy, Milano)
“My friends have been taking part in mutual aid groups, they join WhatsApp groups with local neighbors and receive shopping lists, going out and buying for their neighbors who are more vulnerable. I am excited to see more acts of kindness like this in these difficult times! I am going to join the aid group for my street, my flat mate is running the phone line for it, so when I am not working I want to help out” (Vanessa, UK — London)
I didn’t see my family that often, while it goes back to the roots and I feel safe. That helps me also to go through this time. (Natascha, Germany — Frankfurt)
5. The rise of innovative technology and embroidery
Being surrounded with technology is not that new for most people. But to be fully relying on it, feels slightly different. Although everyone agrees that technology like conference calls can’t replace in-person contact, most are happily surprised by how well it works to continue working from home, but also to maintain personal contacts. Multiple tools allow us to connect with people. Think of the app Houseparty. Who has already celebrated a birthday or just met with friends on Houseparty? Or, your dad in his late 60’s sending you an invite for a call on Zoom. A few months ago, this would be unimaginable and probably your dad had never heard of its existence. But now, it’s normal.
Most stores also rely more than ever on technology to create a safe environment with the help of self-scan, but also contactless payments. People seem to easily adjust to using these technical tools.
At the same time, there seems to be a contradictory change: old fashioned games and activities start to get popular again. People mentioned they are playing boardgames, puzzles and started hobbies like embroidery, (spool)knitting and other things that have nothing to do with innovative technology. This can be explained by the fact that people are looking for safety and security and this reminds them of ‘good old times’. But also, because people choose a hobby just for themselves now and not with the aim to achieve something, or to show off (on social media). FOMO (fear of missing out) is no longer relevant, there’s less reason to share and show off or to look for external satisfaction — like for like. People have other things on their mind than your status. Instead, they find satisfaction in placing the pieces of a puzzle. Did you know that this creates a lot of endorphins as well? Be quick and order your 500+ puzzle now!
Another component that caused the popularity of nostalgic hobbies is the massive media around corona. In the beginning people kept up to date with the news but after a certain period they realized it doesn’t make them feel better. Instead, feelings of anxiety and fear arise. More and more people started a news detox and only allow themselves a short timeslot per day to get an update. In the spare time, they get themselves in a positive flow by knitting a scarf for next winter.
“Look, I even bought these two board games (Yahtzee & Rummikub)” (Kathy, Hong Kong)
“I bought this guitar to enjoy my free time. I’m not good at it at all, I just started haha.. I do this in the morning before work, if I don’t feel like a workout.” (Seung, South Korea — Hee-Young)
“I’m so happy, yesterday they delivered a package with toolkit to start embroidery” (Annette, The Netherlands — Amsterdam)
New habits to remain
At this stage, you might realize yourself how you adjusted your behavior to this current situation. Some changes you might experience as big and challenging, but other changes you might be happy with because they have brought you more than expected. Which things do you want to keep after this situation? We asked all people we interviewed the same question, and this is what they said:
- Frequent contact with closest family and friends, even if it’s more often via video-call
- Maintain the slow-pace lifestyle (mentioned by people who don’t have young kids)
- Working from home as it saves commuting time and can be efficient
- Keep on cooking (and baking)
What’s next, what do these changes mean for (food) retail?
The lens of Maslow helps us understand better what a ‘new normal’ will look like after the crisis. When the crisis is over people will climb up the Maslow pyramid again. Though, the big difference is that elements of the lower levels of Maslow will permanently be different and these are the needs to feel safe, trust and belonging to others. This leads to the following challenges for (food) retailers:
- Level 1 of Maslow ‘Primary needs’
Retailers have shown to be able to deliver on those needs in crisis which creates trust. Can the retailers sustain this? - Level 2 of Maslow ‘Safety & trust’
How can retailers make consumers feel safe in (big) stores again? How much do consumers (dare to) rely on e-commerce (again)? How can retailers make consumers trust and rely on them? Have retailers shown to be also loyal their loyal consumers in times of crisis? - Level 3 of Maslow ‘Belonging’
How do retailers play an (pro)active role in the local community? How do retailers show more local personality instead of being just the big corporate? How do retailers show their support to people that have been (financially) impacted by the crisis?
This research project is three-fold. We started with 1-on-1 deep dive interviews to understand decision-making, motivations and experiences of consumers who are in quarantine worldwide. Based on these findings we wrote this article. After, we conducted interviews with retailers all over the world to understand their biggest worries, challenges and the things they want to understand from their consumers. Finally, we validated all findings with a survey. All insights together resulted in a worldwide COVID-19 consumer report where we also give suggestions on how to act as a (food) retailer as a response to the changes in consumer behavior. Read here about the five essential themes for foodretailers. Want to receive a free copy in your mailbox? Give us a shout at uxlab@icemobile.com
Interested in what this means for your business or region? We can tailor the research to your specific interest. Send an email to: lenneke.vandermeijden@icemobile.com
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Read here what we learned about Gen-Z’ers with our worldwide Gen-Z panel👇🏼
