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7 Ways The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Going To Change The Way We Shop
7 Ways The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Going To Change The Way We Shop
pandemic is going to
change the way we shop
P UB L ISH E D F RI, M AY 1 20203:28 P M EDT
Lauren Thomas @ L A U R E N T H O M A S
KEY POINTS
A new report from brand experience firm Big Red Rooster highlights seven key ways
Covid-19 is changing consumer behavior.
As people return to stores, they will be seeking out safe spaces, discretionary spending
will be limited and there will be a greater interest in buying from local brands, according
to the firm.
A shopper wearing a protective mask returns exits a retail store in Cleveland, Mississippi, U.S., on Thursday, April
30, 2020. Some retail stores began reopening at half-capacity in Mississippi after the stay-at-home order expired on
April 27.
Rory Doyle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
We’ve been socially distancing for weeks now, riding out the coronavirus
pandemic from our homes in the suburbs — or our studio apartments in
Manhattan.
We’ve turned to remote working and learning, virtual happy hours with
friends and family, online shopping and digital fitness apps just to stay
sane. Various studies on the internet say it can take anywhere from three
weeks to two months to form a new habit.
One way or another, many of us will emerge from this crisis with new ways
of doing things — especially when it comes to consumption.
Retailers, in turn, will need to adapt. And fast. Shoppers will be looking for
spaces where they feel safe.
A new report from Big Red Rooster, a brand experience firm owned by real
estate services company JLL, highlights seven key ways we are changing
as consumers because of Covid-19.
“You can’t un-live this experience,” said Emily Miller, VP of Strategy &
Insight at Big Red Rooster, who added that while the Great Recession
changed our financial habits, the coronavirus crisis will have a far more
dramatic effect on a host of behaviors.
The new habits formed during this pandemic in 2020 will go “far beyond
just our spending patterns,” Miller said.
For weeks on end now, we’ve been asked to keep at minimum six feet
away from our neighbors. And those social distancing guidelines will likely
be in place for some time into the foreseeable future.
When consumers venture out, tight and cramped spaces will be avoided.
Open-air shopping centers will be preferred over enclosed shopping malls.
Capacity will be limited in stores to make sure they do not become
overcrowded.
Electronics retailer Best Buy, for example, is gradually reopening its stores
— but only for in-store consultations by appointment.
3. Shop local
The pandemic has instilled in many consumers a greater interest in
shopping local. People want to support their favorite coffee shops,
breweries or dress boutiques — so that they don’t go out of business.
Many shoppers will still look to shop local, even post Covid-19, according to
Miller, who said it has made more people realize how much they appreciate
mom-and-pop shops.
Sixty-eight percent of people who have recently shopped local tipped more
than they normally do, Big Red Rooster found in surveying 528 U.S.
consumers, of various age groups, from April 9 to April 14.
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Retail sales plunged 8.7% in March, the biggest decline since the
government started tracking the sales in 1992. The drop is expected to be
even greater in April.
Big Red Rooster’s Miller predicts, similar to after the Great Recession,
consumers will be looking for bargains for quite some time and will think
twice before getting a new pair of shoes.
Retailers that sell things like clothes, jewelry and other accessories will
need to adapt or risk their sales slumping.
“We’ve just got to figure out a way to be relevant. ... We don’t sell things
people need, we sell things people want,” Pete Nordstrom, the department
store chain’s president and chief brand officer, said last month during a
virtual Vogue Global Conference.
They’ll need to find better ways to showcase inventory online, and to make
sure shoppers know what size clothes and shoes to buy.
Warby Parker, for example, has a virtual try-on feature for its glasses on its
website. Companies will need to offer more experiences like this, Miller
said.
The sneaker giant in March released an ad that said, “Play inside, play for
the world,” encouraging people to stay indoors during the pandemic to
reduce the spread of Covid-19.
For that reason, she believes consumers will be more conscious of where
goods are sourced from and produced, in a post-Covid-19 world. Retailers
will also need to be more transparent about their global supply chains, she
said. “This is giving us awareness about how dependent or interconnected
we are.”
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