Shopping behaviors in a Covid-19 world.

In 2020, and in partnership with Roland Berger and Salesforce, we surveyed 2,260 consumers across 20 cities in 11 countries around the world, to get their insights about their shopping behaviors in a Covid-19 world. Explore the study results per city, and access the full data set via our interactive dashboard.


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Surveyed cities

New York · San Francisco · São Paulo · Rio de Janeiro · London · Manchester · Paris · Lyon · Rome · Milan · Madrid · Barcelona · Berlin · Munich · Riyad · Dubai · Tokyo · Kyoto · Beijing · Shanghai

 

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Explore key highlights of the study

Reductions in spending habits in 2020 across 11 countries:

The pandemic has raised consumer concern, which has resulted in more cautious spending, with 56% of respondents intending to reduce their outgoings. Increased saving has resulted in lower consumption for around 79% of respondents globally.

Reductions in spending habits in 2020-1

 

Question:
How do you expect that you will change your overall expenses for the remainder of 2020 compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic?

Rebound of spending in 2021:

There are signs of recovery for 2021, but cautious consumption will remain with only 29% saver, 36% constant, and 35% higher spenders. This trend forecasts a total reduction in consumption of 54%. Consumers are also changing what they spend their money on, placing greater priority on essentials such as groceries and personal care. This trend will continue, although in 2021, consumers are expected to shift some home-related spending to “micro” activities such as concerts, festivals or theatre visits in smaller groups.

Potloc Roland Berger Rebound of spending in 2021

 

Questions:
- How do you expect that you will change your overall monthly expenses in 2021 compared to the remainder of 2020?
- What will you most likely do to reduce your monthly expenses?

Shift in what consumers want from brands:

A global uptick can be seen in how consumers view the relevance of value for money, highlighting the increased importance of product quality as well as price. Most countries give both aspects equal weighting in their decisions, but quality plays a more important role in China, France, and Germany, while price is key in Italy and Arabic countries.

Shift in what consumers want from brands

 

Questions:
Which of the following criteria will be more important to you after the Covid-19 pandemic?
Answers represent the % of respondents, aggregated from city-level to country-level.

See the full results per country in our interactive dashboard.

Potloc Dashboard Roland Berger

Explore further information about this study

Roland Berger & Potloc: How to set up D2C business models in a post-COVID-19 world.

How to set up D2C business models in a Covid-19 world:

How has Covid-19 changed consumer behavior? What do customers demand from shops after a rapid digitalization push? And, what are key takeaways for retailers? Find all your answers in the global consumer study on Roland Berger´s website.


 

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Shopping shifted online in a heartbeat this year.

But are these changes going to last? Salesforce data, combined with the study conducted by Potloc & Roland Berger sheds lights on how consumer behavior is changing and what these changes mean for retailers and their D2C initiatives. 


 

Other insights covered:


  • The “reason why” is key to consumption: Consumer expectations have shifted.

  • Surprise and delight with additional benefits

  • Monthly expenses are planned with caution: The importance of value for money.

  • Shopping baskets are changing: The shift in categories and purchasing channels.