Understanding the changing Consumer Sentiment & Behavior during the

COVID-19 crisis

Even though the COVID-19 outbreak set the Indian economy at such a low level that threatened a standstill condition arising, post unlock phase 1, the Indian economy got back on track. Just now industry experts have deduced that the baseline forecast showcases the decline in global GDP in 2020 envisions a 5.2 percent contraction.

Indian consumer sentiment has been impacted severely due to the low economy faced in the initial years of the lockdown. After the unlock 1.0 of a three-phase reopening plan, the ups and downs brought a series of issues causing the consumer sentiments to drive into a state of confusion and transitions.

A country’s economy is said to be on a smooth and right path when the private consumption and the government’s expenditure runs hand in hand. Any ups and downs bring a series of issues starting from the healthcare sector being affected and the fall of business disruptions, which stirs a change in consumer sentiments.

Moreover, it has been extracted by the experts that India’s economic growth is likely to decline by 2 percentage points in the next financial year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

© Copyright 2020. ExpertsConsult. All rights reserved01

02

Changes in Consumer sentiments and BehaviorThe COVID-19 outbreak has lead to a lot of changes faced by consumers as well as businesses. They have gone through the phase of running after essentials to finding some essential products getting out of stock.

When a lot of things were easy to reach, there were many problems in facing things that were out of reach. However, having essential food items, entertainment, internet network, household supplies, and browsing became easily available and products such as clothes, decorative items, alcohol, transport, medical treatment, and care became hard to get.

Myriad of consumers took remote working as their essential working approach and the changing environment kept them hanging inside the doors for safety and security.

The consumers who aren’t engaging in the out of home activities are all dependent on the healthcare sector and experts to dig the R&D and create a Coronavirus Vaccine as they got to go out and face the security issues and practice social distancing till they’re out.

© Copyright 2020. ExpertsConsult. All rights reserved

03

Impact of COVID-19 on the economy & different Consumer sentiments

There is no denying the fact that consumers are the ones that provide the real reviews, feedbacks, and outcomes of how a business is changing in a better way or not and similarly it is the consumers and their changing behavior that has been impacted due to COVID-19.

Even though a lot of things have been faced by the consumers in the initial stages of the pandemic, a lot of others have faced economic issues with the declining Indian Economy which was already on its low scale before the COVID-19 hit the globe. According to the Business Standard, the unemployment rate may face a steep blow and as many as 6.1 million young people (15-24 years) may lose jobs in India till the end of 2020.

The difference has been witnessed as per the industry experts and expert network company the unlock phases have led to an optimistic side of the Indian economy with 11% people believing that it will stretch the loss in the economy to a state of recession and 38% people believing that the decline in economy will not be faced more than 6-12 months and 51% believes that post unlock phase the economy can grow better and may also get stronger than usual.

Also, according to a market research survey conducted by Mckinsey & Company, more than 75 percent of people state that their economic status has been effective and they need to be more careful about their expenses and savings post-COVID-19.

© Copyright 2020. ExpertsConsult. All rights reserved

Overall Indian Consumer Sentiment

04

The consumer sentiments concerning their economic status, healthcare, and personal growth has been impacted due to COVID-19 on different scales.

42 percent of people are saying that their family’s and relatives’ health has been affected negatively due to the COVID-19 and only 27 percent disagree about this.

Similarly, 54 percent of consumers are saying that the pandemic has affected their ability to meet the financial end they planned and it has been negatively impacted. On the other hand, the uncertainty about the economy of India is preventing its 56 percent of consumers from making any kind o purchases

According to the Business Standard, the unemployment rate may face a steep blow and as many as 6.1 million young people (15-24 years) may lose jobs in India till the end of 2020.

Moreover, the survey provided information on consumers’ economic as well as healthcare sentiments and it gathered data on how 67% of them are cutting back on their spending's. And, 58% of consumer’s payments have been deducted or impacted in a negative way.

© Copyright 2020. ExpertsConsult. All rights reserved

The change in consumer buyer behavior

It is not just the economy and healthcare that has been impacted or changes, there are several alterations made in consumer behavior which led to rapid digital adoption and technology.

When consumers are running after the essential products, in the race of finding the essentials consumers are ignoring the brand and price tag which has completely changed the business strategy of a number of manufacturers. When the essential comes under essential irrespective of the price and brand name, businesses are rapidly adopting new ways and strategies to provide the essentials in the best deal possible to attract consumers.

One thing that also brought a clear sight is how the consumer spends money on things that are not essential. COVID-19 made the fact quite clear that with the uncertainty in the economy of the country, it is the right decision to spend less and save more. As per the market survey conducted, 61% of the consumers (people) are being more mindful as to where they are spending their money. Furthermore, when 45% of people are shifting on to expensive products, 40% of the people are researching brands and their brand choices before buying.

05© Copyright 2020. ExpertsConsult. All rights reserved

Insights Into Consumers Boston Consulting Group (BCG) said more than 3,000 urban consumers interviewed in its fifth survey between 20 July and 2 August showed improved sentiments on income and spending outlook. Deloitte said households were marginally less anxious about the state of the pandemic and its impact on their lives in the first week of August.

However, consumers have been using the digital platform far more widely than they were using it before the pandemic. The usage of Netflix and online entertainment has increased at an exponential rate where all people across the globe are using such platforms at the same time. Also, as social distancing is a measure of security and safety, the adoption of digital technology and application has been increased at a high rate overnight due to the pandemic.

More than 20% of the overall population of the country has adopted online shopping for groceries and 10% and more consumers are buying apparel online due to COVID-19.

© Copyright 2020. ExpertsConsult. All rights reserved06

07

About UsExpertsConsult is a technology-driven platform that uses advanced techniques including Artificial Intelligence to search and match industry experts based on the required insights. Our system evaluates more than 30 data points to find the right expert from our database.

ExpertsConsult helps professionals to connect with experts and seek consultation to overcome business and operational challenges, gain market insights, develop skills, and test ideas.

With a strong global network of experts across industry groups and sub-groups, ExpertsConsult is able to offer quick and on-demand insights to clients worldwide. Not just that, we also have a dedicated team of researchers that will help you find an expert matching your requirement through our custom recruitment process.

Since our founding, ExpertsConsult has been connecting professionals with subject matter experts across fields. Today we make professionals gain smarter insights by connecting them to our network of more than 50,000 experts, including industry experts, analysts, consultants, academics, retirees, and also subject matter experts. We serve professionals from research firms, management consulting firms, corporations, and other professional services firms.

© Copyright 2020. ExpertsConsult. All rights reserved

THANK YOU!

633, SE Clay St Portland,Oregon 97214 USA

info@expertsconsult.org

+1-971-336-6410

www.facebook.com/ExpertsConsultLLC www.linkedin.com/company/experts-consult-llc www.twitter.com/ExpertsConsults