Consumer behavior during Covid-19 pandemic: Analysis of FMCG and auto industry

Abstract

Motivation: With the lockdown and drastic change in the lifestyle of consumers, all industries have suffered a financial setback and are looking for innovative products and solution to attract their loyal customers and engage new ones. Digitization of processes has helped companies in cutting costs and also save time; consumers on the other hand have safety and savings on their mind. By studying the recent trends of the FMCG and Automobile Industry, we want to assess how each industry coped with the pandemic in the last year and what could they do henceforth to grow and strategize their initiatives further. Process: We made a short survey to gauge how the buying behavior of consumers have changed due to the pandemic. Our research also involves in depth interviews to understand the needs of consumer and how these needs have seen a substantial change in the recent past. Our secondary research pertained to how each industry transformed- technologically, communication-wise, etc. in this time and how did customers react to it. Further we linked our primary and secondary research findings to recommend future initiatives and understand shortcomings. Findings: From our analysis we found that consumers were receptive towards communication from brands regarding safety, health and other health protocols. Additionally, ease of purchase including zero-contact delivery, online payments, zero contact and sanitization practices were appreciated.