Behavioral research firm, InsightsNow, is sharing research focusing on consumer motivations and shopping behavior during the current pandemic. This wave of the ongoing study, “COVID-19 Tracker on Clean Living Behavior,” delves into insights regarding consumer lifestyle disruption and the impact on interaction with brands. 

Study participants are from their trend-identifying Clean Label Enthusiasts® (CLE) consumer research community, with research techniques using proprietary behavioral research frameworks. 

“Just like the stages of grief, we are now finding consumer behavior to follow predictable stages in motivations,” says InsightsNow Chief Research Officer, Greg Stucky. “Our COVID-19 tracker has discovered a range of new opportunities for CPG companies to launch line extensions and to reposition existing products to align with what consumers are seeking.”

The current tracker data shows consumer purchase motivators are shifting to satisfy psychological mood lifters and sensorial cravings as the coronavirus pandemic continues. While functional health and safety were found to be important during early stages of the pandemic, those motivators have decreased in importance as consumers report seeking out experiences to change their mood. Key findings from the study:​

• At the end of June 2020, the study showed 61% of increased consumer product purchases were driven by a desire to lift mood or to satisfy craving for specific sensory experiences, up from 6% in March 2020. ​
• Functional health and safety motivators have dropped to 54% of increased purchases in late June, down from 84% in March 2020.​
• Social motivators associated with providing healthy alternatives for family members or to respond to recommendations from friends also increased to 44% at the end of June from 24% in March 2020.   ​

“This growing consumer desire for mood lifters and to satisfy cravings offers new opportunities for consumer product companies,” said InsightsNow Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Dave Lundahl. “Now is the time for brands to differentiate through product positioning and launching of line extensions to meet the quickly changing consumer landscape.”