Page 12 - dissertation flip book

During the lockdown it was agreed that all respondents in the millennial focus group shopped more frequently online which was called by one respondent who works in waste as the “amazon effect.” Millennial focus group respondent 1. A PR Professional from a major high street brand stated that “ A lot of brands have suffered if they haven’t had an online presence.” It is more important than ever that brands have a reputation as an online brand as well as bricks and mortar as at the moment people have no other option.
“It is very important for our self-identity but generally is a pleasurable pass time.” Isabelle Szmigin, Deputy Dean of University of
Birmingham Business school, shows how bricks and mortar although declining is not yet dead as 54% of people surveyed Survey Monkey (2020) Appendix 2 claimed that they had missed going out shopping during the pandemic. Szmigin describes shopping after the pandemic as “hedonistic” this would explain queues outside shops when they reopened shortly after the end of the first lockdown in the UK. Although as only slightly over half of the participants of the survey stated that they missed shopping there is still a large amount of people who didn’t miss it.
Szmigin expressed how consumers now “may be more mindful in our purchases”. This is due to the
restrictions being “mainly economic” due to the amount of people who have lost their livelihoods. The effect of the pandemic means that it will no longer be important to consumers to flaunt new purchases and especially for the people who are struggling with a lack of job security, it will be more important to go back to basics, buying what they need. It is important for brands to be empathetic
to the new situation in order to engage with the consumer. The argument can be summarised as need versus want. In order for the high street sector to grow, want needs to outweigh need so that people continue to buy clothes regularly, however this could be effected by the pandemic as people reassess their needs.
THE EFFECT ON CONSUMERISM