Lasting impacts of the pandemic on the market
The COVID-19 pandemic led many countries to enforce sudden lockdowns. These badly affected businesses reliant on face-to-face interactions. Therefore, they had to either adapt to the challenges posed by these circumstances or close permanently.
Lasting impacts of the pandemic on the market
The post-pandemic consumers
According to EY Future Consumer Index, there are five different cohorts of consumers as of July 2020:
- 32% of consumers prioritize affordability, people who focus on keeping a budget and on product functionality.
- 25% of consumers prioritize their health. They are buyers who aim to minimize risks and increase safety through their consumption for their physical health.
- 16% of consumers prioritize minimizing their environmental impact.
- 15% of consumers value buying from organizations that are honest and transparent, as well as work for the greater good.
- 12% of consumers prioritize experience and are open to trying new things from the market.
In their conclusion, most consumers would prioritize health and affordability in the future even after the pandemic. Consumer priorities have changed even when they craved the old normalcy due to worldwide events in recent years. Hence, it only makes sense for the market to consider and be aware of these top consumer segments post-pandemic.
Digital marketing is the new normal
The lockdowns and initial “stay-at-home” order early on during the pandemic have forced people to rely on digital modes of communication. Large and small businesses have to involve themselves with different online platforms.
Restaurants join Grab and/or Foodpanda, and online shopping apps like Lazada and Shopee are sources of goods and necessities. Online-only stores set up in individual homes have multiplied during the pandemic. With how easy, cheap, and convenient they are to access, these online platforms are not phasing out as long as there is consumer demand for them even after the pandemic.
Post-pandemic marketing strategies
Businesses are forced to be more involved with online consumers and the internet culture to be “with the times”. This may involve the use of current memes, referencing current news, and/or referencing the current experiences and beliefs of the consumers in advertisements.
One marketing strategy I noticed is that many advertising companies collaborate with online personalities to sell their products. Davao Conyo has advertised for SM Lanang, SKY Fiber, and Lazada . Macoy Dubs, another famous internet personality in the Philippines has even been in an IKEA advertisement. They also sell to their viewers on Tiktok, a social media short-form video hosting service, directly from their self-made videos.
The food prescription box company, Bokksu, has also made use of YouTube personalities and relies on them selling to their viewers to gain consumers. Some examples are internet personalities and YouTubers the Anime Man, CDawgVA, and Gigguk.
Prescription boxes, various online games, and/or sites advertised in videos (“This video is brought to you by Raid Shadow Legends!”) are not new. However, it is only during the pandemic that food and clothing companies advertised in YouTube videos became a thing, too.
The future of marketing
It is not only that advertising companies make use of television, billboard, and radio advertising anymore. Internet topics and lines made famous online are now referenced in television, billboard, radio, and online advertisements. This is a testament that businesses are penetrating the internet in a unique way that personally engages consumers that previous marketing means could not do previously.
Considering that businesses during the pandemic took to new lengths to reach consumers despite the challenges posed by the pandemic and lockdowns, it is hard to imagine that they will stop anytime shortly. Especially when the pandemic gave consumers the means to purchase from the comfort of their homes, it would be difficult to get rid of these conveniences just because the pandemic ended.
