How consumers changed shopping behaviour as COVID-19 swept the world

As COVID-19 spreads across the globe becoming the worst crisis after World War II, consumers have changed their buying patterns. The pandemic has had a strong impact on FMCG and retail sectors.

Indian FMCG Industry growth rate was on a downward trajectory for the last three quarters and then the pandemic struck. In the months of February and March 2020, we saw an escalation of growth. Consumers are buying Fast Moving Consumer Goods at a rapid rate due to the coronavirus scare.

This included heavy buying of staple food categories like Packaged Wheat flour (Aata) and packaged Pulses. Likewise, there was significant growth in indulgence foods  as well. Both Food and Non food categories have shown a significant growth rate in the month of March this year.

Hygiene categories showed significant growth in February and March indicating that India was already  into proactive health-related buying). A case in point is the 'Hand Sanitiser' category that witnessed a whopping 53% growth in February vs. year ago and 114 in the month of March.

Traditional trade is associated with a spread-out distribution network of small retailers, dealers, stockists, wholesalers, and distributors.

While COVID-19 is hurting in-store traffic for some retailers, others have seen surges in online shopping, as anxiety over the virus increases. It has been seen that percentage of online buying is very high during the month of March 2020. Hand Sanitisers had a fast growth run in February. This trend continued into March as well.

Hygiene products topped the list. Majority of the consumers would like to stock up almost all food, hygiene and cleaning products.