COVID-19 and the consumer market – results of research

The survey showed that in the sixth week of the pandemic, sales of Polish companies fell to 46%. This translate into Poles’ propensity to save, which is declared by as much as 60% of respondents. In March, retail sales fell by 9% in annual terms. The pandemic affected the clothing and footwear trade the most. The coronavirus was resisted by the pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food markets – these markets recorded growth.

28 % reduce or put aside expenditure on education, 42 % on entertainment and culture, 43 % on the purchase of audio/video devices and 58 % on clothes. The food purchasing market is relatively stable – as many as 63% of those surveyed did not change their expenditure in this respect, while 16% increased it. The chemical and cosmetics market shows a similar trend.

In April, 60% of respondents mentioned their willingness to save on purchases, 45% of whom planned to reduce the largest expenditures, and 15% even basic ones.

What is worth noting, every 8th person started to buy on the Internet more frequently than so far, while every 12th person started to buy in this way products which so-far were purchased in stationary shops. 11 % of those surveyed did not change the way they did their shopping, 36 % limited going out for products other than essential. As many as 64% changed their preferences for the stationary shops visited. 21% choose smaller neighbourhood shops and 43% choose shops closer to home. 51 % choose large weekly purchases instead of more frequent smaller purchases.

We are waiting for precise data that will show how these results affect the financial products market. It seems that the increase in propensity to save and a significant decrease in turnover should translate into a significant decrease in payment payments, available options for proximity and the use of physical POS terminals. It can also be seen that the increase in Internet sales was not significant enough to replace stationary purchases. Instead, deposits should be more popular.

*Survey conducted by Quality Watch by CAWI on a sample of 1064 people aged 18 years and over. Deadline for completion: 3 – 6 April 2020.

The Omnibus4P study, carried out by 4P Research Mix sp. z o.o., www.grupa4p.pl, in a representative sample of 1010 Poles aged 18 – 75, from 25-27 March 2020.