COVID-19 has made a lot of industries shift their processes. It has also impacted consumer buying habits, making understanding these behaviors more important in the coming months as more businesses begin to re-open.

When considering advertising campaigns, businesses should continue to focus on consumer behaviors and their impact on individual industries. It’s crucial now more than ever to strategically think through the following trends so that businesses can make the right decisions when it comes to marketing to their consumers.

Working From Home Leads to Personal Time Online

With more consumers working from home during the pandemic, there is an increase in the time spent online for personal use. Since consumers are already on the computer for work, they are more likely to toggle back and forth between shopping and working.

For marketing, this could lead to an increase in ad inventory across platforms. In turn, we expect to see the cost per thousand impressions (CPM) decrease, especially as marketing spend for many businesses is reduced during the pandemic.

If ad inventory continues to increase and ad purchasing declines or remains the same, then the cost to buy inventory will fall as a direct result.

Delivery Service Demand Increases

With many people remaining home by choice, even though many states have re-opened, delivery services like Amazon, UberEats, and DoorDash have seen increases in demand.

Due to their ability to provide products and services directly to customers’ doors, delivery has become increasingly important during this period. It’s expected that even as people come out of their homes, these delivery services will continue to see steady growth.

Consumer Behavior Changes Drastically

With the economic downturn, consumer behavior is likely to change. Those without disposable income, those with a small business, or those in retirement will likely stop excessive spending.

Many consumers will continue to take a wait and see approach, which means that advertisers need to consider their target audience and how their buying habits may change during the economic struggle.

Throughout the next few months, marketers need to look at their performance data and adjust campaigns as we continue to see shifts in consumer behavior and buying habits.

Impact on Industries

With events canceled for the remainder of 2020, businesses in or located around the industry will be negatively impacted. This includes major conferences, sporting events, concerts, and other large gathering events. With travel restrictions put in place in many places, travel and local-based businesses are struggling to generate demand, and many are going out of business.

Even with malls opening back up again, consumers are less likely to go into them, movie theatres, and other public entertainment venues, which makes generating revenue even more difficult for brick and mortar businesses.

While delivery companies have seen an increase in demand, other services like Uber, public transit, and Airbnb, where close proximity to others is necessary, will face challenges since consumers are choosing to avoid close contact for now and the next few months at least.

Industries and companies reliant on Asia, Europe, or other highly affected locations will continue to encounter shipment slowdowns. They must understand their current inventory and future ramifications going forward.

All businesses will need to determine a clear course of action for how they’ll proceed during and after Coronavirus. As the overall concern for personal health continues, brands and businesses will have to rely on communications between their employees and consumers.

How Will Marketing Change?

Marketers will have to adapt to succeed after the pandemic. They must stay on top of the latest trends and watch their data for insight. Understanding these new consumer behaviors will be key to driving successful campaigns.

With in-store demand having declined, marketers will have to find new ways to reach their audience. Depending on the type of business, social media could turn into the most effective way some companies communicate with their tribe.

As we continue to see the impact of COVID-19, businesses will have to keep watch of changing consumer behaviors and use data to increase demand and sales.

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