As the world continues to deal with COVID-19, many people cannot help but wonder what will happen next. Would the post-pandemic era mean business as usual, or would it be a new normal?
For more than a year, the pandemic has never been a pleasant experience for everyone. It creates an inflexion point that forces us to reassess our life, from our priority to needs.
And the repercussion carries a risk that is substantial for businesses. You should know that not knowing the change in buyer behaviours or habits would stay around after the pandemic can impact how they market their products and services.
According to the University of Sheffield, there is a gap between our intentions and what we do. And that makes us inept at forecasting buyer behaviours, especially when the pandemic ends.
Fortunately, there are psychological factors in buyer behaviours that are predictable. Understanding those can help businesses connect, interact, and communicate with their consumers with their digital marketing campaign.
In the meantime, while the aftermath of COVID-19 is yet to come, here are the habits you should watch out for that might stay in after the pandemic.
7 Habits That Stays In After the Pandemic
1. Less Enthusiastic For In-Store Purchases.
Whether in person or online, people love to shop. However, when the pandemic came, it shifted more to the latter. More and more people find online shopping convenient, time-saving, and cost-effective, and 73% of consumers highly plan to continue doing so.
Moreover, after a long time, experiencing lockdown and social distancing, 50% of consumers stated that they would not visit and make in-store purchases for some time. And because of those statistics, it is safe to say that in-store purchases will considerably decline until the situation pan out.
In that case, you should further digitally transform your ecommerce shop. To make it more visible and accessible to customers, adapt and apply an ecommerce SEO strategy.
ALSO READ: Everything You Need to Know About Ecommerce Business (2021)
2. Workplace Setting Is Shifting To Home.
It all started in 2020 when “work from home” (WFH) went mainstream. Most employees have to work remotely to guarantee they are safe from virus transmission.
However, when that was happening, Twitter announced that they would allow their employees to WFH “forever”. That means they will not have to return to the office even after the pandemic ends. Also, Twitter’s initiative to shift would create an influence in the business world.
The truth is that most employees do not expect to return to the office full-time after the pandemic. According to a report from BBC, most employees prefer the WFH setting, at least some of the time.
This shift impacts buyers’ behaviours since they most likely use desktops to shop online rather than their smartphones. Thus, as an ecommerce owner, you should optimise your website and make it visible in different screen sizes. Doing so should help you reach out to more customers in your digital marketing campaigns.
3. Contactless Payment Becomes Common.
Another thing that affects buyers’ behaviours is the payment of their purchases. Since the beginning of the pandemic, consumers felt unsafe to pay cash due to possible virus transmission. To lower the risks, they find other ways to protect themselves. Besides wearing a face mask, they opt to pay through credit card, debit card, or digital wallet.
These are the contactless payments that became common during the pandemic and may stay for good even after the health crisis ends due to its convenience.
4. Many Focus On Self-Improvement.
Since most people work from home during the lockdown, they have more time to take good care of themselves. They use that period to strengthen their weakness and discover new things, which is why the growth search queries for How-To have increased since the pandemic started.
While the aftermath of COVID-19 is yet to come, you should take that opportunity to raise your brand awareness. Consider creating digital marketing campaigns about How-To and relate that to your products and services. Doing so should help you connect with your consumers at a personal level.
5. Social Interaction Go Virtual
Since 2020, many more people are learning how to interact and communicate with others virtually, not just for work but also for personal use.
According to a comparison made by Statista, the download growth of video conference apps increased several times. And due to the convenience that a video call brings to everyone, it is safe to say that people would continue interacting and communicating with their family and friends virtually.
Thus, this shift delivers an additional communication channel that ecommerce can use for their digital marketing campaign. Here, they can connect with customers and build stronger relationships with them.
6. Upsurge In Travels
Being stuck at home for several months makes more people want to go on trips and vacations. While observing safety is still the priority of many even after the pandemic, they will most likely push their plans. They would go somewhere else and spend more time resting and relieving their stress.
In that case, you should focus on creating a return to experience-based digital marketing initiatives. As such, those people who want to travel and go on vacation will discover that and give them a nudge to take action.
7. Support Local
As mentioned above, no one has a pleasant experience with COVID-19. When the pandemic begins, the global economy declines at a rapid pace. Half of Singapore consumers now prefer to shop at local businesses to help them recover from massive loss of profit.
That is why if you are one of the affected local businesses, you should create a digital marketing campaign that indicates your location in Singapore. Doing so should help consumers find where you are and purchase your products and services.
Turn New Buyer’s Behaviour Into Opportunities!
Every country is still taking tentative measures before they fully reopen to everyone with little to no restrictions. That is why while the aftermath of COVID-19 has yet to come, you should be aware of the new buyer’s behaviours. Use that to better interact, connect, and communicate with your consumers with your digital marketing campaign.
To learn more about the digital marketing campaigns after the pandemic, reach out to our award-winning digital marketing agency. Contact OOm at 6391-0930 and share with us what your plans are.
