It’s too early in the COVID-19 pandemic to assess long-term impacts on consumer behavior, but data on its immediate effects shows that by mid-March, 47% of U.S. consumers had cut back on spending in anticipation of the coronavirus’ spread, and 42% had begun stockpiling groceries.
The shift to e-Commerce already had begun by early March: comparing consumer surveys conducted on Feb. 28 and March 17 shows that 62% more consumers were shopping online and 63% fewer consumers were shopping in brick-and-mortar stores by the time of the more recent survey.