If you take a quick tour of Google, you will generally come across the following predictions: Consumers will think about their health more than ever Product preferences will shift towards more meaningful and essential consumption People don't want to come together in large groups anymore The problem with the above predictions? They follow from classic research methods that consciously ask consumers how they expect to act after the corona crisis. Problem: such an interpretation of one's own behavior is already a difficult exercise in normal times.
We can hardly explain where our preference for a particular soft drink brand comes from, let alone how an exceptional global health crisis will change our long-term preferences and habits. We don't do what we say and we don't say what we do. So asking consumers questions tells us very little. It is more interesting to look at actual behavior. From a behavioral perspective, we see a completely different picture. We indicate that we live healthier, but it turns job function email list out that over the entire year 2020 we have downed 14% more glasses of alcohol . We indicate that we are focusing more on meaningful products, but within the overall declining car sales we saw the relative demand for luxury cars increase last year. In short: we don't do what we say and we don't say what we do.
Also read: This is how HelloFresh subconsciously tempts you to a subscription Our behavior cannot be explained rationally. How then? Party with confetti. 1. Consumer behavior after corona: the rebound effect We find it hard to break free from our current mindset when we reflect on past and future situations. Psychologists call this the projection bias . This means that during the lockdown period we mainly view the future from those glasses, without thinking about the fact that our mindset is also fluid. If you look at actual behavior, you see almost an entirely reverse effect occurring: a social rebound effect.