Pattern For The Future?

COVID-19 has effected a clear shift in consumer behaviour, but will it stay for long?

- Ambi Parameswaran

A few days before Diwali, as we were driving past Mumbai’s Dadar market, we were awestruck by the crowds. While many of them had a mask on, some were using it as a chin cover, or a throat cover. There was no question of social distancing. This was the same market that used to be empty right through July and August, after shops were permitted to open. Even during the Ganapati festival, this kind of a crowd was not present. We wondered what was happening.

When the pandemic and the related lockdowns were in place, Professor Sridhar Samu (Great Lakes Institute of Management) and I were discussing changes in consumer behaviour. We wondered how consumers would behave during the lockdown, immediately after it would be lifted, and may be a few months after the markets open. The research we conducted uncovered a few interesting consumer segments. We thought there will be a significant number of ‘Revenge Shoppers’ in India. This term was originally coined after China opened up and Chinese shoppers went on a shopping frenzy. Our research told us that there were some Revenge Shoppers in India too, mostly affluent and younger consumers, but their numbers were not too large. Then there were the ‘Revelation Shoppers’; these were the consumers who realised, during the lockdown, that they needed a new iPad or a new dishwasher. This segment drove the Diwali consumer durables sales boom we saw in November. Then came the ‘Reduced Shoppers’ who were hurting and were keen on conserving their savings. These were the less affluent and older cohorts. The fourth group we uncovered was of those we called ‘Research Shoppers’— those looking for the best deal. These cut across all income and age groups.