A Study of Disruptions in Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Strategies in Response to the Pandemic in India

The COVID-19 pandemic that engulfed the entire world in the year 2020 was not only an unprecedented rare event but also brought about disruptive changes in consumer behaviour and consequent responses by companies in the form of their preparedness for new norms of consumer behaviour. Companies which were unable to adjust and adapt to the sudden changes posed by the pandemic perished very soon.The pandemic scenario in India led to a surge in demand for packed and staple food products but, at the same time, a decrease in demand for beverages (cold) and alcoholic and deep-freeze items, such as ice creams. There was a huge demand for previously less-demanded products, such as sanitizers, masks, disinfectants, laundry, and home and personal hygiene products, while visits to restaurants, shopping complexes, malls, and cinema halls declined sharply. Similarly, demand for digital products, such as smartphones and laptops, surged (to facilitate online education or work from home), as did demand for electrical appliances that eased domestic work (such as washing machines and dishwashers), whereas demand for other appliances dropped drastically. E-commerce, e-banking, and e-wallets use skyrocketed, but brick-and-motor stores or offline stores witnessed a steep decline in footfall, some of which were even on the verge of closure or facing merger.The current study, based on secondary data on consumer behaviour during the pandemic and post-pandemic times obtained by prominent research analyst firms, aims to investigate the changing demand pattern and behaviour of consumers in India. This study also gives an insight into the marketing strategy adopted during different phases of the pandemic in the country, from lockdown to unlocking, in response to consumers’ inhibitions to spend on non-essential purchases during the initial phase and a change in the mode of shopping and spending that is becoming the ‘new normal.’