According to the COVID-19 insights and based on an article published by Endcaps & Insights in late March, about the changing shopper behavior after the COVID-19 outbreak. This survey was based in the US and on 1,509 shoppers.

According to the article “People are working differently, playing differently, communicating differently, and, yes, shopping differently,” “So, now, companies across the retail industry are scurrying to understand how COVID-19 is changing shopper behavior.”

However, it was followed up with only 1,010 of the original 1,509 people who were surveyed, in order to understand if things have changed.

In light of that, let’s dig deep into the COVID-19 insights for further information.

COVID-19 Insights: Shopping Changes May 2020

According to the survey and the follow-up survey about the COVID-19 insights, there are 81% respondents in the survey which was in May, mentioned that their shopping behavior has changed in one or more ways since the COVID-19 outbreak.

On the other side, in March 83% of people said their shopping behaviors changed.

The following chart shows the changes to the shopping behavior of shoppers between March and May 2020

1. As shown in the chart, sanitizing carts\baskets before using was on top of the list in March with 42%, however, it declined to 34% in May.
2. It comes next with the same percentage in March and May is not touching anything unnecessary in stores.
3. In third place and which also has declined to 27% in May, it is only buying essentials, after it was 42% in March.

Will the COVID-19 Outbreak Permanently Change How People Shop?

In light of the survey and the follow-up survey about the COVID-19 insights, in March, 35% of people said that their shopping had changed in one or more permanent ways, however, toward the end of May, the percentage increased to 47%.  Looks like shoppers won’t be able to go back to normal.

The next question is how do shoppers actually expect their behaviors to change permanently? The answer lies in the following chart.

It shows the percentage of the respondents in March and May, who identified themselves with different permanent changes.

1. It is reported that 27% of people mentioned they plan to stay a safe distance from other shoppers indefinitely, this is up to 12% points from the March survey.
2. Moreover, 23% of May respondents now consider fewer store trips a permanent change to their shopping behavior, this is up from a percentage of 14% in March.
3. On the other side, 14% of shoppers in the May survey said that they plan to use, or use more ofter, grocery pickup even beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase of 100%, or 7% points from the March survey.

Online Shopping Amid COVID-19

This COVID-19 pandemic has made almost everyone to shop online. Shopping online is really popular amid COVID-19 and while everyone is staying home and on their phones 24/7, it is pretty simple to pick up all you want to buy with a few and simple clicks.

The chart below for March and May, it displays the number of people who say they are shopping online\in-app more frequently across three categories.