New Delhi: As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to alter the way people live, work and socialise, a new survey by Accenture, a global professional services company, has found that 95 per cent of respondents have made at least one permanent change to their lifestyle since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Accenture’s Covid-19 Consumer Research, which tracks the changing attitudes, behaviours, and habits of consumers worldwide as they adapt to a new reality, noted that working from home, changing travel patterns, and a growing desire to shop locally are some of the major lifestyle changes that are “challenging industries to fundamentally rethink how they cater to the pandemic-adapted consumer”.
The survey collected responses from more than 9,650 people in 19 countries, including over 500 from India, and supports previous findings that indicate that many changes in behaviour will likely be long-term.
Of these respondents, 79 per cent said they would like to work from a “third space”, a location other than their home or workplace. “This highlights a potential opportunity to grow revenue for the hospitality and retail industries,” the report said.
“The past year has been a tough one for consumers and consumer-facing industries. Evolving consumer preferences and behaviours have led to huge demand fluctuation, making it imperative for consumer goods and retail companies to stay agile and resilient,” said Anurag Gupta, managing director and lead, Strategy & Consulting, Accenture in India, in a statement.
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Travel for leisure likely to see more growth
The desire to work from a “third space” is accompanied by a shift in attitudes towards business travel. “Nearly 46 per cent of the respondents said they will either not travel at all for work or reduce their business travel by half following the pandemic,” the survey showed.
While it remains to be seen how long this outlook will remain, presently, the report noted, this indicates that travel will principally resume within the leisure market, pushing the industry to adapt and become even more efficient to make up for lost income.
Other than the long-term shift in work culture and travel plans, 41 per cent people said they struggled to access convenient options to purchase food and drink products.
As found in the previously released findings, the latest research also makes a point that the dramatic rise in e-commerce is likely to remain or accelerate further.
“The proportion of online purchases for products such as food, home décor, fashion, and luxury goods by previously infrequent e-commerce users has increased 667 per cent since the outbreak in India,” the survey said. Those who used online channels for such purchases was less than 25 per cent of the current total before the Covid-19 outbreak.
The first phase of the survey was conducted from 28 November to 10 December 2020 while the second phase was conducted from 25 February to 5 March 2021. It covered 19 countries across five continents including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, the UK, and the US.
On how the pandemic has fuelled many consumer-facing companies to re-platform their businesses to enable innovation and position them for future success, Manish Gupta, managing director, Accenture India said, “To succeed in a post-pandemic economy, companies need to digitally reinvent themselves and strategically invest in technology, people and supply chains”.
(Edited by Manasa Mohan)
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