New Post-pandemic Shopper types mark significant shift in purchasing behaviour

30% of respondents to a NielsenIQ Economic Divide survey say they have totally different priorities from 2019.

Much has been said about changing priorities, mindsets and shopping habits of consumers as a consequence of the pandemic. Equally important now however, are the new economic pressures on households, which might in some instances reinforce changes in post Covid behaviour, or even work in the opposite direction.

NielsenIQ identify 5 new consumer groups. The biggest of these are the ‘cautious’ – 39% of the total, who are cautious with spending even if they did not suffer materially during the pandemic. A further 27% make up the ‘unchanged’ who continue to spend normally and 8% (the ‘thrivers’) who actually prospered during the pandemic.

But 15% of UK consumers identified as ‘strugglers’ (already experienced job loss or financial hardship), and 11% are ‘rebounders’, whose income suffered during the pandemic but has now recovered.

Shopping habits have already changed markedly in the last few months, with a shift to own label and over 20% of strugglers avoiding buying certain products at all if their basket cost is getting too high. Even one third of thrivers are buying smaller packs of favoured brands and indeed are the most likely of all groups to buy on promotion.

Brand owners will need to adapt their strategies faster than ever to adapt to new priorities and an uncertain future environment.