What are the new ways of living life in a pandemic?

As the country moves to the next and beyond phase of the pandemic, our survey reveals that a large part of the population will continue to remain cautious and transform the way we work, live and play. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly one of the biggest global crises of this generation witnessing massive shifts in the consumer behaviour with new norms, regulations and updates to counter the disease. The EY Consumer Survey titled “Life in a pandemic” aims at understanding the needs, challenges and preferences of people across the next three months of the pandemic. It also plans to study the difference between temporary and permanent behavioural changes. 

Lockdown has encouraged new adoption and increased usage of digital solutions to work, play, learn, socialize, and manage health, finances and households. The study which is based on the findings of a survey of 2,033 Indian consumers across the urban, adult population across India, highlights the shift in consumer behaviour and perception changes over several prominent aspects around their lives as the sentiment continued to evolve during the nation-wide lockdown.  Consumers indicate an intention to depict their newly adopted behaviors post COVID-19.

Anxiety and fear caused by the pandemic is need of the hour: 70% of the population continues to grapple with fear and anxiety. Therefore, brands must exercise caution and practice empathy while serving customers as some continue to be deeply affected by the uncertainties caused by the pandemic.

Steep rise in online education: While 80% of the student population is leveraging online platforms to continue with their education, 46% students expressed openness to pursue online courses, presenting an opportunity for educational institutes to enter the edu-tech space. Thereby, providing more scope for the introduction of short-term and long-term courses that come with university certification.

Higher willingness to work remotely: With 94.5% of the working respondents having settled into remote working set-ups, the survey findings clearly outlined higher productivity levels while working-from-home and perhaps even higher satisfaction levels among those preferring to spend time with family.

Interactions with local community: While consumers are leveraging digital tools and feel more connected than ever before, it was observed that 54% of the population encouraged each other to adhere to the lockdown. Local communities were back in spotlight with 1/5th wanting to be more connected to their neighbours.