Survey: 85% of Americans to alter buying habits because of COVID-19

The coronavirus have significant short- and long-term effects on brand affinity and consumer purchases in the U.S.

That’s according to a survey conducted during the last two days by research from GfK, which revealed that 67% of Americans are concerned about their ability to make ends meet during the crisis, and that 85%  expect to change their purchase behavior because of the virus.

COVID-19 may also have long-term impacts for some brands. Roughly three quarters (73%) of those surveyed say that the way companies conduct themselves during the crisis will impact whether they do business with those brands or retailers in the future.

Over the next few weeks, consumers said they plan to spend more on “essentials” such as cleaning products, canned goods, and bottled water and less on apparel, toys, and other “optional” items.   

The shopping-related adjustments that consumers expect to make include:

•    Preparing food more often;
•    Shopping during non-peak hours;
•    Doing more online shopping; and 
•    Postponing or canceling personal service appointments

GfK found that virtually all (98%) Americans are now aware of the virus, and nearly half (47%) are “very concerned” about the virus’s impact – up from 24% in GfK’s study just two weeks ago.