Consumers Accept Higher Product Costs Due to Coronavirus Impact on Retail

Tuesday, April 21, 2020 - 12:38 by Graham Miller

A report from Toluna suggests that almost half of shoppers in the UK have had no choice but to pay over the odds for products in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Internet Retailing.

26 per cent said that this ongoing crisis has also encouraged them to try out different brands from the ones they would usually pick, although 54 per cent said that they still aimed to remain loyal to the brands that they typically chose, especially when shopping for groceries.

Over two-thirds of those questioned said that they were still venturing out to bricks and mortar retailers in order to buy essentials, in spite of the fact that safe shopping online has become far more popular with the closures and restrictions put in place on the high street.

65 per cent said that they had found it necessary to do without specific products that they would normally consider a staple of their shopping trips, whether due to a lack of availability, unexpected price rises or a combination of other factors.

Report spokesperson Lucia Juliano said that it was revealing to see that consumer spending habits were relatively flexible as well as find out that brand loyalty still plays a part in shaping which products people buy, even at a time of overarching uncertainty.

She explained that the survey had shown that people were more likely to simply buy a different product altogether if their preferred brand was not available rather than opting for the same product but made under a different brand.

It may be the case that spending habits and loyalties will shift further the longer the pandemic plays out, especially if product shortages are more prevalent and access to bricks and mortar stores less consistent.