Page 13 - Retail World Tob - May 2020

SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR CHANGES SET TO BE PERMANENT The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to alter consumer behaviour permanently and cause lasting structural changes to the consumer goods and retail industries, according to findings of an Accenture survey of more than 3,000 consumers in 15 countries across five continents. The survey, conducted over four days in early April after many countries had implemented stay-at-home orders, found that consumers have already begun shifting their buying priorities. For instance, consumers overall said they were currently buying more personal hygiene and cleaning products, as well as canned and fresh foods than they had been two weeks earlier, while buying fewer fashion, beauty and consumer electronics items. More importantly, says Accenture, the findings indicate that many of the changes in consumer behaviour are likely to continue long after the pandemic. The survey also shows the pandemic is causing consumers to consider more seriously the health and environmental impacts of their shopping choices, with findings including that: • 60 per cent of respondents are spending more time on self care and mental wellbeing, and 57 per cent have begun exercising more at home. • 64 per cent are focusing more on limiting food waste and will likely continue to do so. • 50 per cent are shopping more health-consciously and will likely continue to do so. • 45 per cent are making more sustainable choices when shopping and will likely continue to do so. Beyond this, Accenture found that the pandemic is causing more people to shop for groceries online. One in five respondents who said their most recent grocery purchase was online were first- time online grocery shoppers. For older consumers, this was one in three. And while 32 per cent of consumers’ current purchases of all products and services have been online, that figure is expected to rise to 37 per cent. COVID-19 is also accelerating digital adoption more broadly. For instance, the number of respondents interested in buying, or increasing their use of, technology has increased dramatically. More than half of respondents are “likely” to increase their use of voice- enabled digital assistants, online recommendation apps, self-service apps, intelligent home devices and wearables. NEWS COVID-19 CREATES ADDED STRESS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES New research from MYOB reveals that 66 per cent of surveyed small businesses feel COVID-19 has impacted their mental wellbeing, with 58 per cent of respondents saying the pandemic has “negatively impacted” their business. The research, conducted with more than 1,200 small business owners and operators, has been released by the tax and accounting software company to coincide with the launch of a new partnership with Australian not-for-profit web and app-based meditation program Smiling Mind. The new partnership involves four dedicated modules being launched in the Smiling Mind app to help small business owners take proactive steps to manage their mental health. The modules include ‘mindfulness foundations’, ‘stress management’, ‘relationships’ and ‘resilience’, and are said to be designed to help small business owners manage the range of stressors and challenges they face regularly. MYOB Chief Employee Experience Officer Helen Lea says the partnership has been launched at a time when small business owners certainly need it. “This new research shows that 67 per cent of respondents have experienced feelings of stress or anxiety trying to work around the new restrictions put in place in relation to COVID-19,” she said. “We’ve been talking to small businesses about their mental health and wellbeing for the past couple of years and working with Smiling Mind on this partnership for the past six months. We couldn’t have known how important these conversations would become as small businesses face a pandemic and business operating restrictions. “As rewarding as it can be, running a small business brings with it a range of stressors and challenges. The research found that over the journey of running a small business, respondents have felt increased feelings of stress (64 per cent) and anxiety (62 per cent). Partnering with Smiling Mind to enable them to create dedicated content for the 2.4 million small businesses in Australia is one way we can help this community.” The top five factors that have impacted respondents’ wellbeing in the past 12 months are COVID-19 (selected by 55 per cent of respondents), finances (51 per cent), work related stress (45 per cent), lack of sleep (41 per cent) and relationships (22 per cent). One third of respondents also said the requirement to work from home has negatively impacted their mental wellbeing. MAY, 2020 RETAIL WORLD 11