There are many things that have changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the things that has been greatly affected by the pandemic is consumer spending habits. The way that people choose to spend their money has been influenced by lockdown restrictions, job losses, and financial difficulties. Some of these changes might be here to stay, while others could return to normal as things start to recover. Even if they’re not permanent changes, it’s interesting to understand how things are different compared to before the pandemic. Take a look at these big changes that you can observe in how people spend their money.
More shopping online
One of the most noticeable and perhaps most predictable changes was that more people started shopping online. This is no surprise when people around the world were limited in where they could go and what they could do. With many people remaining at home or only allowed to go out for specific purposes, casual shopping was out of the question. Online shopping has increased over the last year, with many people even shopping online for the first time. And it wasn’t just non-necessities that people were buying online. Many people were shopping for groceries online too.
Less physical cash transactions
Another consequence of the pandemic was that there were fewer cash transactions. Firstly, the effect of everyone shopping online and stores being closed meant people were shopping in physical stores less. In addition to this, many stores were encouraging or even requiring people to use alternative methods of payment, such as contactless cards or mobile payments. While this helped to reduce physical contact, it also led to a coin shortage due to fewer coins being in circulation. Perhaps we will start to see a more permanent move away from physical cash transactions, as with some countries such as Sweden.
Changes in products purchased
Of course, the pandemic also had an effect on what people bought. Products such as hygiene and PPE obviously saw a rise, as people sought to ensure they kept themselves safe from the virus. Other, slightly less obvious, products also experienced an increase in sales. For example, hair dye was a popular product due to people being unable to visit their hair salon for their usual color. Coffee was also a product that did well during the pandemic, as people sought to recreate the coffee shop experience at home when they couldn’t visit their favorite places.
Tighter spending
The pandemic generally made many people a lot more frugal. Many people found themselves earning less or even lost their jobs, forcing them to tighten their belts. Others were simply saving money without really trying, due to not going to work every day or having much of a social life. A lot of people have had more time to look for good deals too, allowing them to find the best discounts and the best value options.
The pandemic has changed some of the ways we spend, some of which might be temporary, but others could turn out to be more long-term.
(Disclaimer: This content is a partnered post. This material is provided as news and general information. It should not be construed as an endorsement of any investment service. The opinions expressed are the personal views and experience of the author, and no recommendation is made.)
