After a whole year of staying at home, learning new recipes at the kitchen counter out of boredom, hopping onto Zoom meetings wearing leggings and sweatpants suddenly took over as the unofficial work-from-home wardrobe. If this feels like you, then you presumably feel a sudden urge to completely revamp your wardrobe now that COVID-19 vaccines have lessened the fears surrounding COVID-19.
If all this seems like you, you’re not alone. Consumers are trying to find opportunities to make up for all the time lost by engaging in online shopping sprees.
Shopping is often called retail therapy, but post-pandemic it seems like customers are taking revenge against Covid. They have started spending on things which they didn’t get to spend on before. Luxury goods sales and travel has become hot commodities once more, thanks to pent up demand caused by the COVID_19 pandemic lockdowns. People were locked up for a protracted time and they want to go all out.
They want to travel, to induce situations where they can dress up. This urge to buy brand new clothing post-pandemic is being coined as “Revenge shopping,” and it’s affecting more people than you think. The term indicates ‘spending excessively after a period when one has had limited opportunities to spend’. It's either a celebration of being free or an activity to beat frustration. Social media has also seen an enormous rise in this trend, where hashtags like #revengeshopping and #revengespending are gaining popularity. “Revenge shopping” is the concept that people are able to refresh their wardrobes so as to avenge what they were denied in 2020. Now, many folks are able to spend big money to refresh their wardrobes for upcoming vacations and social gatherings. According to the newest mastercard spending data from Tally, in April, retail purchases made up over a fifth (21.6%) of all purchases. Revenge shopping brought relief to customer’s pain and anxiety and a chance for businesses to spice up their sales. There's a rise in the purchase of kids' toys, learning games, and entertainment subscriptions, while the apparel and garment industry has seen an increase in day dresses, jewellery and cosmetics.
But this U-turn taken by the virus manifesting itself as consecutive waves will not result in such behaviour again as there's a rising change in the profile of online customers. Customers are much more equipped with this new normal now; because it is not a shock for them anymore.
The idea of revenge shopping has already proven true in China, where stores and malls have been open for months. Luxury items particularly have seen a large uptick from eager customers. It’s also spreading within the U.S. After the last stimulus in January, emporium sales increased 21%. That number can be even higher with the foremost recent round of larger stimulus checks.
Revenge shopping could be a signal that consumer confidence is increasing. London’s major shops partnered with everyone from Soul Cycle to local small businesses – all designed to produce a more customer-focused, experiential environment by capitalizing on trends that had become important during lockdown. The biggest winners in revenge shopping might be shopping malls, which have largely been decimated by the pandemic.
Many malls are beginning to reopen at full or nearly full capacity, giving consumers an area to buy at multiple stores in one trip. Malls are seeing pent-up demand from customers, especially those wanting to see adjustments malls have made to feature more experiential shopping.
Although not every consumer is keen to leap back to spending—especially the immeasurable people still facing economic troubles—many people are cautiously optimistic about revenge shopping. and also the incontrovertible fact that consumers are able to return outside and spend might be an indication that things are going the correct direction towards a brand new version of normalcy.
An article within the Economic Times mentioned that Indian and China are “not an apples to apples comparison”. Agrees designer Ritu Kumar. The Hermes figures gave everyone hope but Kumar says, “The Chinese are very susceptible to luxury buying. And high luxury anyway isn't guided by budget constraints. Indians, traditionally, opt to save.” In step with her, you may see that people are definitely thronging at the shops as they get out of lockdown, but it may not translate to sales.
The Indian consumer is usually known for their smart bargaining approach, and today retailers are preparing themselves to face the long run of need-based and price-conscious shopping. COVID has affected the shopper's approach to retail, but as restrictions begin to loosen, shoppers are optimistic about 2021.
- Harshita Kaushal
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