Study: Consumer behaviour changes post COVID-19
July 2, 2020
IBM released a study showing that COVID-19 Is significantly altering US consumer behaviour and plans post-crisis, personal mobility, retail shopping, and event attendance are among the areas most impacted.
Findings from an IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) survey of US consumers reveals shifting personal behaviour and preferences resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study polled more than 25,000 US adults in the month of April to understand how COVID-19 has affected their perspectives on a number of issues, including retail spending, transportation, future attendance at events in large venues, and returning to work.
The results revealed that not only do US consumers surveyed plan to make significant changes in the way they go about their lives and work in the wake of the virus, but also that there tend to be stark regional contrasts about those plans depending on where those consumers reside.
“The study provides further evidence that COVID-19 is permanently altering US consumer behaviour. There are long term implications of the new consumer behaviours for industries like retail, transportation, and travel among others. These organisations need to quickly adapt their business models to serve the new consumer behaviours in order to survive and thrive,” said Jesus Mantas, Senior Managing Partner, IBM Services.
Due to their concerns about COVID-19, nearly 40% of consumers surveyed said they are likely to use contactless payment options via their mobile device or credit card when shopping. More than 75% of respondents indicate they are choosing to visit stores to buy essential goods (i.e., food & beverages and household & cleaning products); however, responding consumers in the Northwest were more likely to buy essential goods online and ship to home or another destination than any other US region.
The study also reveals that the pandemic has created a priority on shopping local for those surveyed – with 25% of respondents indicating they are now shopping more often at locally owned stores and buying more local made, grown or sourced products.
The forced shift to operating as a largely remote workforce has led to nearly 40% of respondents indicating they feel strongly that their employer should provide employee opt-in remote work options when returning to normal operations. And remote work appears to be growing on people, as more than 75% indicate they would like to continue to work remotely at least occasionally, while more than half – 54% – would like this to be their primary way of working.
For more information and findings of the survey, click here.
Categories : World Focus
