The New Consumer Behaviour Paradigm amid COVID-19: Permanent or Transient?

Abstract

A critical situation pushes human behaviour towards different directions with some aspects of behaviour being irrevocable. COVID-19 pandemic is not a normal crisis, and to control the spread of disease various measures were taken including complete and then partial lockdown. Since all elements of the economy are intricately interrelated with public health measures and lockdown, this resulted in economic instabilities of the nations hinting towards change in market dynamics. In every market, consumers are the drivers of the market competitiveness, growth and economic integration. With economic instability, consumers are also experiencing a transformation in behaviour, though how much of transformation experienced during the crisis will sustain is a question. This article looks at the consumer behaviour during COVID-19 crisis and in the subsequent lockdown period when the world stood still for more than a quarter of a year. Further, the article attempts to weave through the maze of literature available about consumer behaviour in normal times and in crisis times, strengthens it with the rapid assessment reports culled out by the different consulting organisations during lockdown phase, substantiates the same with first-hand telling and retelling of experiences by consumers and professionals with marketing background to bring up a hypothesis of the pandemic affecting a paradigm shift from consumer materialism to consumer spiritualism. The proposition offers further testable hypotheses for future research to understand consumer sentiments or requirement in buying ‘what is enough’ within the marketing context and how it can be reinforced post-COVID crisis for ensuring sustainability of business models. It would also be interesting to explore the correlates of this forced consumer behaviour with other variables such as learning from crisis, changing needs, personality, nationality, culture, new market segment and age to develop new models of consumer behaviour.