The COVID-19 pandemic has affected consumerism and consumption to such an extreme degree that it can now be compared to the Great Depression that occurred in 1929, classified as the next worst economic downturn in history. In a cash strapped economy like this one, it is difficult for consumer product manufacturers to generate sales, because of reduced cash flow and more funds allocated to personal hygiene products and health related products rather than FMCG's (fast moving consumer goods) resulting in the reduced consumer budgets.
Multinational giants such as Amazon and Walmart have been enjoying a rise in profits and a larger slice of market share and household expenditure budgets over local brands due to their productive capability to reallocate resources and a higher capacity to bear losses, resulting i lower sales for local brands and forcing them to close.
These colossal firms have been reaped the ever increasing advantages of increased usage of e-commerce and online shopping that is well within their capacity to execute deliveries with convenience, giving them an edge over local brands that do not posses the wherewithal to do the same. The small pop shops are the engines of growth in the global economy which was largely fuelled because a major part of our population was not yet internet ready, but the pandemic has now forced them to not only shop online but also be comfortable with OTT (over the top) platforms, therefore this pandemic has evolved consumption patterns, hurting local retail markets which will eventually lead to many shutdowns.
Writer: Insha Hamid
11/06/2020
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