Buying local, shopping online: Consumer behaviour significantly shifts due to coronavirus fears

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – From buying more online to searching out local businesses and products, the COVID-19 crisis seems to have forced a significant change in consumer behaviour in Canada.

But will it last?

Online shopping is where we’ve seen the biggest changes, according to a survey from Leger, which actually calls the pandemic a “springboard for the digital universe.”

Nearly one-in-five Canadians (18%) say they have adopted at least one new online behaviour for the first time since the coronavirus crisis started, with younger people more likely to have done so.

“Among these new consumers, more than seven-in-10 (71%) intend to continue at least one of these behaviours in the future,” the survey reads, adding these most recent findings confirm companies that offer products and services online are the ones benefiting.

It also says the findings show there are “major opportunities” for them to hold on to successes into the future.

Older consumers, Leger says, have stuck to what they know, generally, remaining “more faithful to their old habits” when it comes to shopping.

With their consumer world turned upside down since the beginning of the crisis, Leger finds more and more consumers are buying locally, with people searching out local businesses or products for the first time.

Meanwhile, cooking with basic ingredients is the fastest-growing habit across the country, with food and health “at the heart” of people’s concerns in Canada.

As for where people plan go post-pandemic, Leger finds the prime destinations for Canadians — after visiting family and friends — are restaurants (40%), the hairdresser (38%), and the dentist (22%).

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