EAE News
How are consumption habits expected to change in the post-Covid age?
06 de October de 2020
“71% of Spaniards were concerned about their job during the lockdown and 89% changed how they shop”.
“The Covid-19 crisis is probable the most disruptive event that our society has faced since the Second World War”, explained Miguel Gallo. Among other reasons, this is because it is not just a matter of a health emergency, but also an economic crisis. The lockdown, uncertainty and the rise of the digital world have triggered significant changes in our social and consumption habits, plunging much of the world into a delicate economic and social situation..
So, how has this impact been felt at a Spanish level? What specific changes have taken place in terms of our consumption and social life? Miguel Gallo, a partner at the consultancy EY and specialist in business and digital transformation, answers these questions and more in his report entitled “Deconstructing consumers: The impact of Covid-19 on Spanish consumption habits”. Would you like to find out what results he obtained? Let’s have a look:
How do you think you will socialize after the lockdown?
With the aiming of gaining a complete overview, the report, based on research conducted on 5,000 people across Europe, analyses different areas of people’s social and economic life, such as their social life, holidays, leisure activities, essential expenses and spending priorities.
One of the first questions was “How do you think you will socialize after the lockdown?”, which received the following results:
“Half of Spaniards think that they will not socialize again like they did before, reducing their attendance at social events and gatherings, and limiting their interactions to close circles of acquaintances”, explained Gallo.
Moreover, the report reveals great support for the use of facemasks and limiting the capacity of commercial premises, as well as significant support for the application of an immunity passport scheme and the use of geolocation platforms.
When do you think that you will start doing the following activities again?
“Consumers expect the end of the health crisis, rather than the end of the lockdown period, to be the time to resume certain activities”, explained Gallo. Furthermore, the survey revealed a negative perspective of national tourism, with only 17% of those surveyed considering going to a hotel or renting a holiday home after the lockdown.
What impact has the pandemic had at an emotional and consumption level?
According the data gathered, during the lockdown, Spaniards predominantly felt concerned about their family, work, freedoms and finances. Moreover, they generally decided to buy only essential items, with significant changes in the way they shop.
How are you going to deal with your expenses?
The specialist went on to explain that “we can observe similar behaviour to the response to an imminent economic crisis: when our available income drops, we cover essential items and basic necessities, while reducing discretional expenses”.
This situation is an unexpected crisis that has affected people at all levels, including their priorities and habits, which has had an impact on consumption. As such, the transformation of consumption is a consequence of the crisis, rather than a cause, as claimed by some people.
¿What do you expect your spending on digital leisure and technology to be like? Do you think your level of digitization has increased?
The results obtained from the research show a strong increase in spending on digital leisure and technology during lockdown. Moreover, 8 out of 10 10 Spaniards report that their use of apps and digital technologies has increased during the lockdown.
“It is still too soon to be sure whether certain impacts will be circumstantial or structural”, concluded Miguel Gallo. “The length of the health crisis and the associated prevention measures will determine which changes that we currently see as circumstantial eventually prove to by structural”.
Meanwhile, companies have to take advantage of this opportunity to transform their businesses and experiences. “If we do not understand these results and characteristics and use them to generate a value proposition for our customers and non-customers, this will all have been a waste of time”.