The Consumer, Capitalism and Corona Crisis
By: Ajay Antony
Tags: Marketing, Capitalism, Consumer, Corona, Advertising

Weekends at the mall, midweek dine-outs, yearly mobile phone upgrades, blitzing on online fashion stores, unwanted digital subscriptions and many such typical consumerist trends have vanished or rather is vanishing quickly. Even the beginning of the month purchases spurred on by the salary day has also taken a hit. It is much like the regular consumer is becoming an anti-consumer. In fact, Corona crisis has given birth to a new type of consumer who is very spend-averse.

Till the Corona crisis lasts, this new Consumer will purchase and stock on essentials such as food, clothing and personal hygiene products like hand sanitizes, face masks etc. Such a shift in the consumption pattern of the new consumer will take its toll on the economy and capitalism at large which pushes iterations after iterations of unwanted products and services. Consumerism in full swing is what supports the economy. So its only natural that the economy will shrink leading to even more unemployment when consumerism slows.

When Corona passes which I hope and pray is very soon, consumers would have also evolved to a whole new level. They would have matured to those who are conscious about what they consume and how much they consume, the traits that are typical of an anti-consumerist.

I have a feeling that many of us will now start taking Health Insurance seriously and not as an unwanted deduction from our salaries. We will have more healthy food cooked at home like we are doing now. I am not saying that dine-outs will go extinct, but may be the very niche and the very run-of-the-mill outlets may get buried as consumers become very picky and choosy about what they eat. To be honest its a good reboot. Quality will improve and the food will be cleaner because it will be a matter of survival for the food joints themselves.

The feeling of being on the bench or being laid-off is one that will stick for a long time and thus when we eventually get back to jobs, spending and saving will have a totally different meaning altogether. Simpler investment plans like a recurring deposit or a short-term fixed deposit which assures liquidity will have more takers compared to a high risk mutual fund or SIP? The pension plans that demands a fair share of the consumers disposable income may lose its charm because the focus is on present times and about recuperating.

Brands and companies in all sectors will have to come clean on what they offer and how their offering will add value to the present times. The ones that offer value in terms of benefit and cost will survive and others will struggle, simple. The new consumer may not be interested in 10 different flagship killer mobile phones. Just one that packs the punch in the right price point will do. The consumer does not want to be burdened with the large number of choices at this moment and at least in the near future.

Consumers or rather people in general will take the environment more seriously. They will be more concerned about air and water pollution and about shortages of the earths resources. Well, they may not go and buy a Tesla Model Y but at least they will carry a reusable cloth shopping bag and say no to plastic the ones. A change in the right direction.

Many consumers will move from an addiction to once-in-a-while indulgences. External factors and prevalent situations would force them to actually. The consumption of liquor, an addiction for many is for now merely a rare indulgence. But new addictions will take its place though like Netflix?

Consumers will value their own lives and that of their families more. There will be more of family time, cooking at home, fun at home, entertainment at home, work at home etc. Its not amusing then to know that the brands that cater to at-home services have grown astronomically. Netflix and Zoom have their revenues soar past 200% during these times.

And for the brands, it will be all about survival. Many brands are brushing up on Marketing 101 to differentiate their products to the consumers who are no longer the same. The smarter brands would have done a deep dive into where their products stand and how it will be of value to the consumer now. They might tweak it or shut it down to come back stronger later.

Many Employees and Employers are realizing the benefits of work from home. Employees have more time to spend with their families but at the same time being more productive at work. On the other hand, employers can cut down on their overheads like utilities and so on. So a win win then? Well I hope at least the traditional cubical farm companies would have realized that productivity does not necessarily mean sitting behind a desk 9 to 5 pretending to do work. The flip side being that employers will also become aware of how they can make their organizations leaner and meaner thanks to technology leading to more unemployment.

The consumer who fuels capitalism is the best aid for economic growth. It also leads to equitable economic growth. While the rich get richer and the large corporations grow, it also gives more disposable income to the working class families (but not in an equitable way, I agree). As the Corona Virus crisis progresses, the new Consumers will change Capitalism for the good. I hope that it becomes more equitable which is based on the societal needs rather than on an unending need to consume more and more spurred on by marketing and advertising. I don’t want innovations to be affected, but I hope innovations are meaningful. By meaningful I mean, the ones that will improve our health and keep us safe from potential pandemics. Innovations that add to cleaner environment should be of focus rather than ones that add more megapixels to a mobile phone camera.

I am betting on this new class of evolved consumers to change consumerism and capitalism for the good. Sure, consumerism leading to capitalism should grow and boost our economy. But it should do so in a fair and equitable way that also gives more income to the working class rather than adding to the already fatter payouts for CEO’s and top Executives of large corporations.