The pandemic has accelerated the transition to online shopping and its long-term adoption in certain product categories and markets. More than one third (37%) of the 14,467 consumers surveyed say the pandemic will keep impacting their lives for at least another year
This rate rises to 43% in Europe and 66% in Japan, while consumers in India (19%) and China (18%) are noticeably more optimistic.
“With a lower forecast revenue for the holiday seasons, retailers must carefully walk the line of profitability, while continuing their investments in touchless operations, personalized content and automated marketing campaigns. The natural next step is to enhance their loyalty programs from general ‘earn & burn’ mechanisms to meaningful rewards for each individual / micro customer segments,” said Cristian Carstoiu, Partner, Consulting, EY Romania.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, 40% of respondents have seen their incomes decrease and a majority (60%) are now thinking more carefully about how they spend their money. Furthermore, 41% of consumers have cut spending on non-essentials and 46% are postponing the purchase or replacement of big-ticket items. These trends point to a potentially slower end-of-year shopping season.
Although more than half (54%) of consumers expect to participate in the next big shopping or sales event, EY Future Consumer Index data suggests that 42% of consumers globally plan to spend less during the shopping season than a year ago.
Of those who will participate, 91% will spend at least half of their shopping spend online, showing the importance of online retail this season.