Impacts of COVID-19 on shopping behaviour

Capgemini has this week launched a new report, which looks at the impact of coronavirus on consumer shopping behaviour. The findings are based on a survey of over 11,000 global consumers at the beginning of April 2020.

Some key findings of the research are:

Globally consumers are optimistic about recovery: 48% are optimistic about recovery from the current crisis in the next six months. When asked about the next 12 months, positive sentiment increases, with 70% optimistic about recovery.

However, UK shoppers are more pessimistic: only 37% are optimistic that the UK will recover in six months

Attitudes to in-store shopping: 59% of consumers worldwide said they had high levels of interaction with physical stores before COVID-19, but today less than a quarter (24%) see themselves in that high-interaction category. In next 6-9 months, only 39% of consumers expect a high level of interaction with physical stores – clearly below the pre-COVID levels.

Automation is becoming a must-have: 57% of consumers would be more comfortable with complete in-store automation that does not require touch-based practices in a post-pandemic era (for example, product information search, in-store navigation, and order to payment is done on the consumer’s phone).

Safety is now a key differentiator: 77% of consumers will be more cautious about cleanliness, health, and safety in the post-pandemic era. Nearly 62% will also switch to brands that show higher levels of product safety and 54% will prefer local items over imports due to safety concerns over the use of foreign products. This increased consumer awareness translates into increasing demand for safety measures during in-store shopping and delivery.