COVID-19 is a humanitarian crisis as such the world has not seen for generations. For the consumers, it is a shock of unprecedented proportions. Consumer behavior in many sectors is going to change in the post-COVID era. Evidence shows that consumers have become more home-bound, digitally adopted, health-conscious, and community-driven. While it is true that many industries suffered great losses and likely to struggle for years, opportunities are also emerging especially for emerging tech. The pandemic has accelerated the shift to eCommerce and delivery services. Not only existing categories and consumer segments experienced a boost - new products and consumer segments found their way to eCommerce and delivery. As people are likely to continue spending more time at home, these sectors likely to see long-term growth. The retail subscription business also got a boost from the pandemic. The growth is driven by daily essentials. Hyper-local commerce, Social Commerce and Group-Buying are getting a stronghold as consumers are becoming more and more community-oriented. Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) services saw accelerated growth in both the number of subscribers and viewing time-span. The idea of entertainment is evolving supporting the SVoD sector for the long term. The messaging apps saw significant growth due to the pandemic. Techcrunch reports that “WhatsApp has seen a 40% increase in usage that grew from an initial 27% bump in the earlier days of the pandemic to 41% in the mid-phase. For countries already in the later phase of the pandemic, WhatsApp usage has jumped by 51%”. As people were forced to stay at home - entertainment also shifted indoors. COVID worked as a boon to the Video Gaming and Esports industry. COVID-19 has accelerated digital adoption in healthcare. Indian health platform Practo saw a 600% increase in online consultation between March and August 2020. As COVID-19 forced the Gyms and similar facilities to remain closed, people quickly adopted to use fitness apps, streaming services, wearables, and connected devices. As making time for visits to the gym was inconvenient even before the pandemic, this change of behavior i.e. fitness at home likely to stay in the long term. Social distancing forced people to buy pharmaceuticals online boosting the growth of online pharma. At the same time, sales of supplements increased significantly as people focused on boosting their immunity. It is expected that small towns and rural areas are likely to lead the recovery creating opportunities for Agritech and Vernacular Tech.

1. SME Fintech Opportunity in the Developing Countries

2. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers
Executive Summary
● COVID-19 is a humanitarian crisis as such the world has not seen for generations. For the consumers, it is a shock of unprecedented proportions. Consumer behavior in many
sectors is going to change in the post-COVID era. Evidence shows that consumers have become more home-bound, digitally adopted, health-conscious, and community-driven.
● While it is true that many industries suffered great losses and likely to struggle for years, opportunities are also emerging especially for emerging tech.
● The pandemic has accelerated the shift to eCommerce and delivery services. Not only existing categories and consumer segments experienced a boost - new products and
consumer segments found their way to eCommerce and delivery. As people are likely to continue spending more time at home, these sectors likely to see long-term growth. The
retail subscription business also got a boost from the pandemic. The growth is driven by daily essentials. Hyper-local commerce, Social Commerce and Group-Buying are getting
a stronghold as consumers are becoming more and more community-oriented.
● Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) services saw accelerated growth in both the number of subscribers and viewing time-span. The idea of entertainment is evolving
supporting the SVoD sector for the long term.
● The messaging apps saw significant growth due to the pandemic. Techcrunch reports that “WhatsApp has seen a 40% increase in usage that grew from an initial 27% bump in the
earlier days of the pandemic to 41% in the mid-phase. For countries already in the later phase of the pandemic, WhatsApp usage has jumped by 51%”. As people were forced to
stay at home - entertainment also shifted indoors. COVID worked as a boon to the Video Gaming and Esports industry.
● COVID-19 has accelerated digital adoption in healthcare. Indian health platform Practo saw a 600% increase in online consultation between March and August 2020.
● As COVID-19 forced the Gyms and similar facilities to remain closed, people quickly adopted to use fitness apps, streaming services, wearables, and connected devices. As
making time for visits to the gym was inconvenient even before the pandemic, this change of behavior i.e. fitness at home likely to stay in the long term.
● Social distancing forced people to buy pharmaceuticals online boosting the growth of online pharma. At the same time, sales of supplements increased significantly as people
focused on boosting their immunity.
● It is expected that small towns and rural areas are likely to lead the recovery creating opportunities for Agritech and Vernacular Tech.
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech

3. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Forces Impacting the Consumers
Forces Impacting the Consumers

4. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Forces Impacting the Consumers
Consumers
Loss of Income
Social
Distancing
Travel
Restrictions
Economic
Forces

5. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Forces Impacting the Consumers: Social Distancing: Lockdowns
● The pandemic has put the whole world under lockdown. This has been a tremendous shock to habits formed in decades. People were
(still are in some places) forced to stay inside - work, study, shop, ….locked in.
● This is expected to bring a lasting change in consumer behavior.
Souce: Our World in Data

6. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Forces Impacting the Consumers: Social Distancing: Mobility
● Google Community
Mobility Report data
shows that people got
into the habit of staying
at home and this habit
is expected to stay even
after restrictions are
completely removed.

7. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Forces Impacting the Consumers: Loss of Income
● Personal Income was impacted due to COVID-19 related restrictions all over the world but the overall impact varied by government
support variations.
● While many countries provided income support such as the CARES Act in the USA which compensated for the loss of income,
unemployment, and fear of unemployment make consumers financially conservative increasing the saving rate and decreasing spending.
Low-income countries with low fiscal capacity likely to take a long time to recover from the income shock.
Data: National Bureau of Statistics of China Data: FRED

8. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Forces Impacting the Consumers: Economic Forces
● The global economy is going through some unprecedented shocks due to the pandemic. As per IMF, the global economy is expected to
contract by 4.4% in 2020. The central banks reacted to economic distress by lowering policy rates to record low levels.
● Unprecedented low-interest rates and liquidity push more than salvaged the capital markets. But, the loss of corporate earnings especially
in Q1 and Q2 of 2020 sooner or later expected to catch up with the market valuations.
● Low-interest rates and liquidity support supported the asset prices. Increased asset prices result in the ‘wealth effect’ supporting
consumer spending.
Data: IMF Data: US Department of Treasury Data: FRED

9. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Forces Impacting the Consumers: Travel Restrictions
● Governments around the world put restrictions on domestic and international travel to control the spread of COVID-19. Most of the world
is still in some kind of travel restriction.
● This is a huge shock for consumer habits.
Souce: Our World in Data

10. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Consumer Behavior during the
Pandemic

11. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic: Global Overview: Consumer Sentiment
● The consumer sentiment was severely affected due to the COVID-19. Apart from social distancing, income losses and uncertainty played
a role in creating a ‘scarcity mindset’ in the consumers.
● Data shows that consumer sentiment is yet to recover globally.
Global Overview USA China
Data: OECD Data: RBI

12. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Global Overview USA China
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic: Global Overview: Digital Adoption
● Social restriction forced the consumers to use digital channels. Digital adoption increased all around.
Data: US Census Bureau Data: National Bureau of Statistics of China

13. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Global Overview USA China
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic: Global Overview: Health Concerns
● The pandemic has reminded us of the importance of health in our lives. BCG survey shows that consumers have become more
health-conscious.
Source: BCG

14. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Global Overview USA China
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic: Global Overview: Urban-Rural Divide
● An interesting feature about COVID-19 is that it spread first in the large cities, then to smaller towns...This means the impact of COVID-19
related restrictions was much more in the large cities compared to smaller towns and rural areas. BCG survey shows that lifestyle and
financial impact is more severe in the urban areas compared to the rural areas.
Source: BCG

15. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic: USA: Personal Finance and Consumption
● US Personal Income increased in the quarter ending June 2020 due to COVID related benefit payments. But, households increased
savings and decreased consumption.
● This points to an increased financial conservativeness.
Data: US Bureau of Economic Analysis
Global Overview USA China

16. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic: USA: Personal Finance and Consumption
● Personal consumption expenditure improved significantly in the quarter ending September 2020.
Data: US Bureau of Economic Analysis
Global Overview USA China

17. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic: USA: Personal Finance and Consumption
● Services were more severely impacted due to the lockdowns.
Data: US Bureau of Economic Analysis
Global Overview USA China

18. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic: USA: Retail Sales
● April 2020 was the worst month.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau
Global Overview USA China

19. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic: USA: Retail Sales
● Recreation, Transportation, Food & Accommodation, etc. are the worst affected sectors.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau
Global Overview USA China

20. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic: USA: Retail Sales
● But, E-Commerce is a silver lining.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau
Global Overview USA China

21. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic: China: Income and Expenditure
● Chinese Per Capita Income increased by 4.7% in 2020 - Rural areas performed better.
Data: National Bureau of Statistics of China
Global Overview USA China

22. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic: China: Income and Expenditure
● But, Per Capita expenditure decreased by 1.6% dragged by the poor Urban consumption.
Data: National Bureau of Statistics of China
Global Overview USA China

23. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic: China: Income and Expenditure
● Recreation, Clothing, Transportation, etc. were the worst performers.
Data: National Bureau of Statistics of China
Global Overview USA China

24. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic: China: Retail Sales
● In the case of retail sales in China, January and February were the worst months.
Data: National Bureau of Statistics of China
Global Overview USA China

25. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic: China: Retail Sales
● Similar to the US, China also saw an increase in eCommerce sales.
Data: National Bureau of Statistics of China
Global Overview USA China

26. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Emerging Consumer Trends

27. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Emerging Consumer Trends: Home Bodies
● BCG survey shows that people have acquired habits that involves staying at home. The example of China shows that these home-based
behaviors may be long lasting.
Source: BCG
Net percentage of consumers who claim their behavior changed since the COVID-19 outbreak

28. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Emerging Consumer Trends: Focus on Health and Wellness
● The pandemic has made consumers much more concerned about their health. Google Trends show a significant increase in health
related searches.
● Not only immunity boosters, but consumers are also becoming much more concerned about what they eat .According to the International
Food Information Council (IFIC) 2020 Food & Health Survey, 85% of Americans have made at least some change in the food they eat or
how they prepare it because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kantar - “‘Veggies all-around’ is the rallying charge of positive change, as
gardening gains popularity in the UK and people in China are focusing on healthier eating habits.”
Google Search for Immunity Boosters.
Source: Google Trends

29. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Emerging Consumer Trends: Sense of Community
● The pandemic has ignited a sense of community in the consumers.
● Kantar: “The fostering of community and localism continues to gain momentum, with 69% globally saying that they are supporting local
shops and a high of 52% (up +5 percentage points from Wave 2) paying increased attention to product origins. Less a reflection of
nationalist sentiment, these protectionist inclinations seem to be more about economic support of neighbors and staying safe by shopping
close to home.”

30. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Emerging Consumer Trends: Rural and Small Towns may lead the recovery
● The impact of COVID was more severe on the urban economy than rural, especially in the emerging countries.
● While the world waits for recovery, rural India ramps up retail sales.
● Similar trends are observed in China.
Data: National Bureau of Statistics of China
Source: BCG

31. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Opportunities for Emerging Tech

32. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Source: BCG
Opportunities for Emerging Tech: Categories During the Pandemic

33. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Home Bodies
Focus on Health and
Wellness
Sense of Community
Rural and Small Towns
may lead the recovery
Ecommerce and Delivery The pandemic has accelerated the shift to eCommerce and delivery services. Not only existing categories and
consumer segments experienced a boost - new products and consumer segments found their way to eCommerce
and delivery. As people are likely to continue spending more time at home, these sectors likely to see long-term
growth.
Subscription video on demand
(SVoD)
SVoD services saw accelerated growth in both the number of subscribers and viewing time-span. The idea of
entertainment is evolving supporting the SVoD sector for the long term.
Subscription E-tailers Retail subscription also got a boost from the pandemic. The growth is driven by daily essentials.
Communication and
Collaboration Tech
The messaging apps saw significant growth due to the pandemic. Techcrunch reports that “WhatsApp has seen a
40% increase in usage that grew from an initial 27% bump in the earlier days of the pandemic to 41% in the
mid-phase. For countries already in the later phase of the pandemic, WhatsApp usage has jumped by 51%”
Video Gaming and ESports As people were forced to stay at home - entertainment also shifted indoors. COVID worked as a boon to the Video
Gaming and Esports industry.
Opportunities for Emerging Tech: Impact of Consumer Trends

34. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Home Bodies
Focus on Health and
Wellness
Sense of Community
Rural and Small Towns
may lead the recovery
Health Tech COVID has accelerated digital adoption in healthcare. Indian health platform Practo saw a 600% increase in online
consultation between March and August 2020.
Wellness Tech As COVID forced the Gyms and similar facilities to remain close, people quickly adopted to use fitness apps,
streaming services, wearables, and connected devices. As finding time visit to the gym was inconvenient even
before the pandemic, this change of behavior i.e. fitness at home likely to stay in the long term.
Online Pharma On one hand, social distancing forced people to buy pharmaceuticals online boosting the growth of online
pharma. At the same time, sales of supplements increased significantly as people focused on boosting their
immunity.
Opportunities for Emerging Tech: Impact of Consumer Trends...

35. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Home Bodies
Focus on Health and
Wellness
Sense of Community
Rural and Small Towns
may lead the recovery
Hyper-Local Commerce India saw a rapid growth in Hyper-local eCommerce as consumers want to shop more and more in their own
community. Similar trends are observed in the USA.
Social Commerce The pandemic has given a boost to social commerce. Many social channels like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook
have seen more commerce activity as the digital shift continues to gain momentum
Group-Buying Another important sector that is emerging during the pandemic is Community Group-Buying. For many people,
shopping is a group activity and entertainment. Traditional ecommerce lacks that part which Group-Buying sites
are mitigating.
Crowdfunding Platforms In some ways, COVID forced us to come together as communities. As people struggled with covering COVID
related expenses, Crowdfunding platforms were flooded with campaigns.
Opportunities for Emerging Tech: Impact of Consumer Trends...

36. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
Forces Impacting the Consumers Consumer Behavior during the Pandemic Emerging Consumer Trends Opportunities for Emerging Tech
Home Bodies
Focus on Health and
Wellness
Sense of Community
Rural and Small Towns
may lead the recovery
Agritech Agritech saw considerable growth during the pandemic. This also impacted the funding environment positively.
Vernacular Tech Startups offering vernacular services saw a boost from the COVID as digital adoption increased in the hinterlands.
Opportunities for Emerging Tech: Impact of Consumer Trends...

37. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging Opportunities by Sam Ghosh 24th January 2021
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