From a terrible purchase to shopping addiction .. How did the epidemic change our purchasing patterns?
More than a year after the World Health Organization announced the new Corona virus (Kovid-19) as a global epidemic, it has become clear that the effects of the epidemic go beyond the health aspect to include various aspectsDirectly on business strategies around the world as well.
Perhaps the phenomenon of terrified purchase, or "Panic Buying" was one of the first and most clear of these effects that appeared as soon as the World Health Organization is classified as a global epidemic virus.With many countries announced the precautionary closure procedures, people rushed to buy and store their supplies, whether from foods, especially dry foods and canned, or cleaning and disinfection products, and protection tools such as medical masks and gloves.
This reflects a natural behavior in such times, it is - only - attempts to feel some control in the face of fear and anxiety about facing the unknown, in addition to the presence of real concern about the high or rare prices of commodities in light of a crisis that no one knows where its extent is.This led to the spread of many photos and videos that highlight the shelves of empty stores on social media.(1)
The scene of empty shelves has not last for a long time. As the economic challenges resulting from the epidemic exacerbated, new fears emerged..According to the International Labor Organization report issued at the beginning of this year (January 25, 2021), the Kofid-19 epidemic has lost the equivalent of 255 million jobs in 2020, and Jay Ryder, head of the International Labor Organization, stated that this is the most severe crisis in the world of work since the great recessionIn the thirties.The global unemployment level increased by 1.1%, according to official figures, which made the global unemployment rate reach 6.5% last year.
On the other hand, the global action income decreased by the tenth almost compared to the average before the epidemic, and in the face of the loss of jobs and the low income, many families were forced to reduce their spending rates, and to re -prioritize their priorities.In Germany, for example, families' spending declined during the past year by 5% compared to the average of the past years, and according to data this was the largest decrease in consumption since the seventies of the last century.(2) In the United States of America, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the debts of US credit cards decreased to record the largest decline in more than thirty years with fears of increasing spending and increasingly inclination of people to savings in anticipation of the unknown.(P)
In his conversation with Midan, Ahmed (a pseudonym) says: "We and I lost my wife, our jobs at the beginning of the crisis, and with the absence of income we had to spend from our limits limits, and then we had to rearrange the priorities, we were limited to the basic needs only, and our entry is a permanent nightmareOn the depletion of our savings, and that a day comes when we cannot pay the rent of the residence..He adds shortly: "Things worsened more after I had a Corona virus in the absence of health insurance that covers treatment and test expenses.Fortunately, I found another job, and our physical status began to improve.But I think I have learned a lesson, I don't think I will return to the same old spending style for a long time..
Whether those who lost their jobs entirely or those whose income decreased, almost everyone was affected by the crisis in one way or another, and while many re -prioritized their priorities and gave up the purchase of luxuries, the loss of the loss or the decline of some to abandon many basics.According to the report of the United Nations Organization, in the period before the Koruna pandemic, more than 820 million people went to bed daily and they are hungry, including 110 million people who lived in a state of severe food security..Today, these people face a dual hunger crisis and Corona virus.(4)
Mrs. Olga, who is just over sixty years old, was not expecting to be able to buy her home needs through a few touches on her smartphone screen.After the start of the precautionary procedures, you are no longer able to get from home to the market, and no one helps her after everyone isolated from everyone.
In a long video call, her stuck son explained in another country how to buy from the grocery online, this was only the beginning, and today, despite the reduction of the closure procedures, the lady "Olga" became totally dependent on buying via the Internet, not only for grocery products, but also medicinesAnd clothes and even home appliances.
It seems that Mrs. Olga was not the only one. The changes that occurred in the size of e -commerce revenues around the world showed the impact of the new Corona virus on shopping habits around individuals around the world.In exchange for the rise in the volume of e -commerce, the traditional stores witnessed a remarkable stagnation, in light of the closure decisions taken by many countries, which threatens a fundamental change in the form of the world of stores that we know..
In this context, a report issued by the Swiss Investment and Financial Services Bank "UBS Group" confirmed that more than 100,000 traditional stores can be disappeared by the end of 2025, which the bank attributed to the high expenditures imposed by the opening of stores in exchange for low sales.(Kh)
On the other hand, the percentage of the increase in the volume of e -commerce varied from one sector to another.For example, the sales of "Nestle" for food materials increased globally by 30% in the first three months of last year, as "Procter and Gambel" specialized in cleaning materials and cosmetics achieved growth in electronic sales by 35% in the same period.No wonder that people in their homes have commented for many months, they do nothing but eating, washing their hands and disinfecting the surfaces in endless attempts to pursue the invisible enemy.Meanwhile, Amazon, the most famous electronic store, added 100,000 new and part -time jobs in the United States.
With the closure of sports clubs and entertainment places, it seemed as if many had rehabilitated homes to be suitable for exercise, work and various activities, and according to the data gathered by "Stackline" for retail technology, online sales have increased to products such as sports exercise tools by 307%, and handicraft tools117%.(I)
On the other hand, a survey conducted by "Euromonitor International" showed that 40 % of companies in the fashion sector will be much worse in the epidemic crisis compared to the impact of the economic crisis in 2008.The IDICEX company did not survive signs such as "Zara" and Birchka and "Stradvius", as sales decreased by 44% and up to 3.7 billion dollars, for the company to record net losses estimated at about 457 million dollars during the first quarter of the fiscal year, while the "Guess" brand announced that it will close 100 stores in the United States and China, while "Victoria's Secret" announced that it will close 250 stores.(H)
Darren (a pseudonym) says to a field: “With the beginning of the crisis, I became looking for what I want to buy online, and every time I entered to buy the purpose of what I find myself add more purposes that I do not really need to the purchase basket, and I do not dare resist its temptation..On Facebook pages, the death news surrounds me between my acquaintances, and I think that death may be soon, closer than I imagine, why save money and do not enjoy it now?I also bought a lot of games for my child, I feel like millions of children around the world, and I was suddenly deprived of friends, school and exercise, and these games are just an attempt to make up for them..
In one of the American opinion polls, 72% of the participants said that they had bought impulsivity during the epidemic to help them improve their mood.The temporary happiness resulting from shopping helps to stimulate the increase in dopamine, which is called the bonus hormone, as it helps in raising the mood and numbing negative feelings, but the high levels of dopamine quickly fade, and the place may be emptied of the feelings of guilt due to excessive spending, which is the feeling that drives its roleTo increase the desire for shopping, in an endless circle, and during the rotation in this circle, we are infected with real shopping addiction.
This phenomenon was strengthened as a result of various factors, perhaps the most prominent of which is the simplicity in which the process is carried out, just magic clicks from our fingers pushing the goods to the thresholds of our homes without making a little effort (8) (9), and apparently without paying money as well.According to the "Effendik", a professor of behavioral economics at the University of Louvan, our use of credit cards delays the pain payment.In other words, credit cards have a magical ability to separate the pleasure of purchase from payment pain.(10)
As if all of this is not enough, as companies extract data from computers and smartphones in order to submit to each of us custom shopping suggestions according to their interests and moods..Companies picked up the thread and quickly changed marketing strategies. Instead of traditional ads, they focused on creating advertising videos and broadcast them through various social media platforms, creating online shopping applications, investing in social media campaigns, search engines ads, influencers who have increasedTheir role in marketing campaigns during the past year significantly.(11)
Although these changes all appear logical reactions in the face of the crisis, they constitute extended and long -term economic challenges, we all need, whether we are consumers or business owners, finding new images to adapt to them.In other words, we have to ultimately change the patterns of our spending, not by eliminating luxury and luxuries completely, but by contemplating the matter in the context of that we may - only - are attracted to do so because there are giants who pay billions to persuade us to buy once without once we want to do so really..
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Sources:
- Coronavirus: The psychology of panic buying:
- الخوف يكبح الإنفاق الألماني
- New threat to the economy: Americans are saving like it’s the 1980s
- تعمل الأمم المتحدة على تجنب الأزمات المزدوجة مع وصول فيروس كورونا إلى أوجها
- 100,000 retail stores could close by 2025, accelerated by COVID-19, analysts say
- Our pandemic shopping habits are here to stay. Brands are racing to adapt
- More than 8,300 stores are closing in 2020 as the retail apocalypse drags on
- Covid has made online shopping addicts of us all
- COVID-19’s Effect on Apparel E-Commerce and Consumer Purchasing Behavior
- Does e-money make you spend more?
- التغيير الدائم في سلوك المستهلك وكيف تأثر التسويق الرقمي بسبب الوباء