Consumers come to grips with 'new normal' as Covid-19 cases rise in country

From groceries to electronics, consumers are more willing to buy online as compared to three months back

Amid a persistent rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, more consumers in India are coming to grips with the "new normal" and a higher percentage of consumers are willing to shell out on discretionary items and travel in August as compared to April shows the findings of Deloitte State of the Consumer Tracker Survey. This is even as job insecurity has heightened and percentage of those who are concerned about the financials has seen a sharp jump.

The percentage of respondents who fear a job loss has gone up to 64 per cent from 10 per cent. Also, those concerned about making upcoming payments have increased to 52 per cent from 2 per cent. The percentage of respondents deferring large purchase has also increased to 69 per cent from 3 per cent.

But still there are host of categories for which consumers are willing to loosen the purse strings.  From groceries and electronics to automobiles and items of convenience --- a lot more consumers are willing to shop online now as compared to three months back.  Meanwhile, what spells bad news for ride hailing firms, the percentage of those looking to limit using them has seen a substantial increase—to 75% in August from 4% in April.

The survey findings indicate that a lot more people are willing to take to air travel now than three months ago. It rose to 53 per cent compared to 44 per cent on 19 April 2020. Also, more are willing to take international flights --- 46% over the next three months compared to 37 per cent at the start of the survey.