Value to put market competition on hold to combat Covid-19 virus

According to GlobalData’s 2019 Q3 consumer survey, 36% of consumers globally claim that they find living a less complicated lifestyle very important. GlobalData forecasts more consumers to find this aspect of lifestyle more important as grocery shopping experiences have become complicated and stressful since the Covid-19 outbreak.

In response to ease consumer choice and to ease the complication of brand loyalty, government bodies are starting to introduce policies for supermarkets to work as a collective in the duration of the virus outbreak. The UK Government has requested supermarkets to exchange information on pricing and temporarily hold off their market competition in order to keep on top of staff availability and inventory in consideration of serving the public.

This collective act of social responsibility plays a critical role at the time of crisis such as Covid-19, as putting people’s interests first instead of focusing on market competition is needed to align with consumer demands for a less complicated lifestyle. Looking forward, a social responsibility strategy would serve brands well in the long term as consumers would more likely engage and be loyal to the brands that go the extra mile to combat a global crisis.