Customer &
Commerce in the
Age of COVID-19
CX
was the key
differentiator in
the sea of brand
sameness.
Now,
the challenge is
not just to
stand-out, but
to swivel, innovate
and transform.

Customers are
nostalgic for a time
when they could
simply live their lives
normally,
without the
new strain
COVID has
caused on
daily life.
The Coronavirus Pandemic will have a lasting impact
on the state of the customer. Customers have lost
loved ones, jobs and businesses. Even when life has
somewhat returned to normal, people are hyper-
aware of getting sick from every day activities in the
past they took for granted.

“The Future Is Here COVID-19 has
accelerated the
infiltration of
technology!
COVID-19 has empowered the
touchless digital customer—
encouraged telehealth by insurance companies, efficient
supply chain for deliveries of all kind, generous corporate
donation programs and a glimpse of a planet without
pollution. COVID-19 has exposed how ill-prepared
governments are to deal with global disasters
source: Forbes
But It’s Not Evenly
Distributed”

A change in our
behavior.
When we return to
normal, it won’t be quite
normal.You will have to
know your customer’s
comfort
levels with all live
interactions.
For example, without a vaccine, shoppers will be less likely to
want to try on makeup from shared sample products, or to try
food samples at stores. "They might want clothes to be
disinfected between try-ons, or need to be reassured that
touch screens are cleaned frequently."

COVID-19 left millions without
jobs, sent billions into isolation
and forced nearly everyone on
earth to grapple with the feeling
that they or those they love are
suddenly physically vulnerable.
source: CNBC
Suffering
Societies
What now?
1

18% of people have a family
member or friend whose
health has been impacted
by COVID-19, including 5%
whose family member or
friend died of the disease
source: USA Today
distress
despair
disappointment
anxiety
18-24 year old are most anxious - 32.7%
source: Prosper Insights
18-24 year old are stressed about money - 32.4%
source: Prosper Insights

A third of Americans
now show signs of
clinical anxiety or
depression, Census
Bureau finds amid
coronavirus pandemic
source: Washington Post
“People are really afraid,” Talkspace co-founder and CEO Oren
Frank said. The increasing demand for services, he said,
follows almost exactly the geographic march of the virus
across the United States.
“What’s shocking to me is how little leaders are talking about
this. There are no White House briefings about it. There is no
plan.”
Google searches for
‘panic attack,’
‘anxiety attack’ hit
all-time high
Social isolation and
social media go
hand-in-hand
Generation Z (adults aged 18-22 for the purposes of
this study) say they are the loneliest generation and
claim to be in worse health than older generations.
source: American Journal of Preventive Medicine
source: Cigna

Why should I
buy from
you? Customer
Trust
71% say if they perceive
that a brand is putting
profit over people, they will
loose trust in that brand
forever.
source: Edelman Trust Barometer
2

Only 39% believe business is doing
well or very well at protecting their
employees' financial wellbeing and
safeguarding their jobs
source: Edelman Trust Barometer
Only 38% percent believe business is
doing well or very well at putting people
before profits
source: Edelman Trust Barometer
Only 38% believe
business is doing well at helping their
smaller suppliers and business
customers stay in business by
extending them credit or giving
them more time to pay
source: Edelman Trust Barometer

Online
shopping will
be ongoing.
Consumer plan to be cautious,
even when the spread of virus
subsides — with major
implications for social and
economic recovery
source: Forrester
Consumer
Spending Now
3

65% are currently postponing
puchases and travel, and 52%
intend changes to their buying
behaviours to continue.
source: Prosper Insights and Analytics
34% are postponing major life
decisions, and 26% will take
planning for major life
decisions more seriously.
source: Prosper Insights and Analytics
27% are currently saving
more than they normally do,
and 26% plan to save more in
the future.
source: Prosper Insights and Analytics

What brands can do?
Employee
Expectations
What they expect?
36% of those working from home
said they would like to do so after
the pandemic is over. Men 40.7%
and women 32.5%
source: Prosper Insights and Analytics
Investing in "work from anywhere,
anytime, on any device" model and
putting best practices like these in
place benefits brands in periods of
crisis.
source: Autodesk
4

According to the founder of Microsoft, companies will begin
to question much more the fact of taking a trip "just to
discuss things", so it is likely that traveling for business will
cease to be common."We will continue to go to the office
and we will continue to do business trips, but much less,"
said the billionaire. In October 2020, his tech company
announced to its employees that they could work from
home permanently for at least 50% of their working hours.
How We
Work
"30% of office life
will disappear."
source: Bill Gates
"Business trips will
be reduced by
more than 50%"
source: Bill Gates

Get ready
to patner
with your
robotic
co-workers.
Speeding
Adapting to
Digital
Transformation
Brands that excel at customer
experience (CX) are investing in
methods to centralize analytics and
decision making approaches and
scale them exponentially, across all
connected channels.
source: Pega
5

Robots are awakening.Tech is hiring.
13% increase in average
utilization of brain powered robots
increased since January 2020 in
retail locations. e.g floor scrubbing
robots in Walmart.
source: BBC
Facebook, Amazon, Google and
Apple are all hiring tech jobs
including engineers, data
scientists, software designers and
cybersecurity experts.
source: CareerBuilder

“This pandemic
source: Daniel Susskind
Author of A World Without Work: Technology, Automation and
How We Should Respond.
Machines don't
need to isolate to
protect peers.has created a
very strong
incentive to
automate the
work of human
beings.”

Business
Sectors
thriving
amid
COVID-19
6that are
source: Capital IQ, Financial Times

1
2
3
4
5
Grocery Stores, Liquor Stores
and Essential Retailers
31% of U.S. households have used
online grocery services during the first
month of the COVID-19 pandemic.
source: Grocerydive.com
Cleaning Services
Warehouse and Shipping
Businesses
IT Services and Online
Support Technology
Medical and Healthcare
Businesses

The way
we were.
Appreciation
for Normal Life
Today, a third of consumers
strongly agree with the suggestion
that they will reappraise the things
they value most and not take certain
things for granted.
source: Ernst and Young
7
New

Take care of your
“good guys” - the
billions of immune
cells and proteins
that are constantly
on the lookout.
If history is our guide the impact of
COVID-19 is here to stay with us.
Black Death in the 1300's ended feudalism and
unshed in the age of reason. The aftermath of
the Spanish Flu in 1918 encouraged countries to
co-ordinate public health at the international
level.
Stay Tuned!
www.sarmisthatarafder.com