Jorge Díaz Cardiel, General Director of Advice Strategic Consultants, offered his vision on what consumer behavior will be like once the Covid-19 pandemic has been overcome.

The most important points published in Inforetail Magazine are the following:

Consumer Sentiment: Consumer optimism has declined in the Americas and Europe since mid-March, while most Asian countries have maintained or increased their level of optimism. Optimism levels have fallen since mid-March between 25% and 40% in the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy. As for the United States, the degree of optimism has suffered a 10% drop during the month of April. In contrast, optimism in China has increased 10% since March.

Consumer spending: Chinese consumer optimism implies a net increase in expected future spending, a situation also seen in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Nigeria. However, most European consumers (including those in Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom), as well as Korea and Japan, are less optimistic and expect to spend less as a result.

Spending Category: Consumers around the world continue to spend (and sometimes more) on staples such as food, household items, and personal care items. However, as the contagion curve varies, greater momentum is seen in select categories, as is happening in China, where consumers are betting on categories such as skin care, makeup and wellness. It is important to note that in Europe consumers are betting heavily on the largest brands, since their solid supply chains have meant that there are no shortages.

Expectations of personal impact: More than 75% of consumers globally expect the impact of Covid-19 on their routines and finances to last more than two months, and around 50% expect it to last more than four months.

Time use: In 11 of the world's 12 most developed countries, consumers continue to shift the use of their time to at-home activities including cooking, news consumption, digital entertainment and digital social connection. China is the only country where these activities are decreasing in favor of working more.

Adoption of new activities: Digital and low social/personal contact activities are growing, attracting both new users and more consumers during the pandemic. Activities such as telemedicine, videoconferencing and e-commerce have increased worldwide.

Long-term outlook: Consumers in the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan intend to make more purchases online, while consumers in the United States, Germany, France and Spain plan to reduce their online purchases once the curve of Covid-19 infections decreases. Additionally, consumers in all countries except the UK expect to return to physical stores once Covid-19 has passed.

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