Changing Consumer Behavior
By Kelly Greenlee, President of RMX Global Logistics
Though no one can truly predict the exact consequences the pandemic, organizations might begin to see impacts across the supply chain, including materials, labor, and logistics.
READ MORE about how COVID-19 has affected supply chains.
With the extreme changes everyone is experiencing post COVID-19, consumer behavior is also expected to change. Industry experts are expecting overall spending to decrease as consumer purchasing power reduces on account of the economic downturn and unemployment.
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Hospitality Hurts
One major change that will have a direct effect on the hospitality business and their suppliers is that consumers are eating at home more often than they used to.
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Fear of Infection
Consumers are also becoming aware of the various ways in which they can contract any virus and have become sensitive towards how their products are sourced, produced, and delivered. Because of this, transparency in the supply chain will be a critical factor for consumers and supply chain visibility will take center stage in logistics planning. Additionally, Direct to Consumer (D2C) sales are likely to see a considerable increase as customers are now more than ever more comfortable paying a premium to purchase their products directly from the producers who they know and trust.
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E-Commerce
Online shopping for essentials, food, healthcare products, fashion, electronics, etc. has already seen a huge spike since before the start of the lockdowns, growing more than 150% from 2014 to 2019 according to eMarketer, and has become the “new norm” across the world with consumers continuing to remain cautious. This shift will add pressure on the supply chain logistics of retailers.
Despite the expected increase in D2C sales and online shopping, overall spending is expected to reduce as consumer purchasing power reduces on account of the economic downturn and unemployment.
The ramifications of a pandemic event are hard to predict. READ MORE about the challenges facing the logistics industry. But with careful planning you can mitigate your risk. READ MORE about the way forward for the industry as a whole. Also, aligning with strong companies like RMX Global can better prepare you for what may lie ahead.