Consumer Behavior in the Age of COVID-19 - Will Revenge Spenders Will Save Us?

Remember the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic when there was a run on toilet paper and hand sanitizers? 

With the COVID-19 crisis still upon us, consumer behavior has definitely changed and perhaps permanently. 

“Revenge spending” describes the behavior of consumers emerging from isolation to spend more than they routinely spent before the pandemic, perhaps driven from the resentment of being forced to eat their cooking or wearing clothing from last season. 

Individuals hold specific patterns of knowledge which they consider to be true concerning certain aspects of their life. Consumer attitudes are a composite of a consumer’s (1) beliefs about, (2) feelings about, (3) and behavioral intentions toward some object--within the context of their purchasing decisions toward a product or service. 

Over the years these beliefs are based on facts and sometimes hearsay relative to certain products. These beliefs are relevant to the consumer's attitudes towards purchasing specific products.  

Attitudes are considered the favorable-unfavorable, good-bad, like-dislikes of the consumer which are associated with a product. 

In a world of consumerism and rapid globalization, market researchers are scrambling to pinpoint specific patterns.

Positive attitudes enhance consumers' satisfaction with a product and thus their purchase decisions toward that product. In the alternative negative attitudes signify product dissatisfaction and thus reduced purchasing.

Since attitudes are learned and varied in their strength they can be affected through different situations. Negative attitudes toward a product can be changed when the product no longer provides the satisfaction that it once did or when the consumer’s aspirations change.

When you change someone’s feelings toward a product you can also change their attitude toward it. An example of changing people's belief about a product is Nutella, while consumers were being warned about too much sugar in their diets, it has been elevated from a tasty sweet spread to an “energy food”.

There have also been changes in the attitudes toward red meat through Campaigns changing its image to a nutritional product. 

You can influence feelings through conditioning or the building of positive feelings through rewards or emotive symbols.

Marketing experts utilized glitzy advertisements and well-liked celebrities to increase consumer feelings and thus attitude toward a product. Also, consistent exposure through advertising can lead to familiarity and thus a positive attitude. 

Negative attitudes such as anger, fear, distress have traditionally limited purchase decisions toward a product, yet the pendulum is swinging with the concept that negative emotions have a positive effect on attitudes and thus purchase decisions.

We now see the fear of cancer and heart attacks thrown in our face as a means to increase our negative attitudes of fear and anger to increase our purchasing decisions. Diet Pills are a good example of this.

While brands realize that revenge spending will end, the trend indicates that many consumers will return to their previous habits of consumption across categories and that the lockdown will not have a longer-term depressive impact on the economy or shopping trends.

In summary, taking all of the research into consideration, there still exist marketing people who will try to take advantage of the situation and who can and will try to sell “swampland in Florida”.

Caveat emptor, quia ignorare non-debuit quod jus alienum emit ("Let a purchaser beware, for he ought not to be ignorant of the nature of the property which he is buying from another party.") The assumption is that buyers will inspect and otherwise ensure that they are confident with the integrity of the product (or land, to which it often refers) before completing a transaction (Find Law).

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Restrepo is the CEO of Professional Global Outreach a non-profit organization: whose Mission Statement is fomenting global economic development through professional and cultural diversity. Our ethos is the cultivation of constant advancement and continual improvement in the latest technologies through a program of elite experts around the globe and owner of RDI Global Services a global government and military defense multidisciplinary research and strategic marketing development firm. Projects include Corporate Technology Commercialization through the U.S. National Laboratories. She is an award-winning multimedia and marketing strategist whose awards include best documentary and public service TV Commercials for the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, served as Consultant for ABC News Investigative Report and Project of the Year Award from the Steel Erectors Association of America.