DYNAMICS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Assignment Topic: Impact of Covid-19 on Family Grocery

Spending Behaviour

Submitted To- Kunal Sharma

Submitted By- Rajat Krishna(11609876)
What is Coronavirus?
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered
coronavirus.

Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory
illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people, and those with
underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease,
and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness.

At this time, there are no specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19. However, there are
many ongoing clinical trials evaluating potential treatments.

How Does It Spread

Coronavirus disease spreads primarily through contact with an infected person when they
cough or sneeze. It also spreads when a person touches a surface or object that has the virus on
it, then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth.

Symptoms

The COVID-19 virus affects different people in different ways. COVID-19 is a respiratory
disease and most infected people will develop mild to moderate symptoms and recover without
requiring special treatment. People who have underlying medical conditions and those over 60
years old have a higher risk of developing severe disease and death.

Common symptoms include:

• fever

• tiredness

• dry cough.

Other symptoms include:

• shortness of breath

• aches and pains

• sore throat

• and very few people will report diarrhoea, nausea or a runny nose.
Preventions

To prevent infection and to slow transmission of COVID-19, do the following:

• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, or clean them with alcohol-based hand
rub.

• Maintain at least 1 metre distance between you and people coughing or sneezing.

• Avoid touching your face.

• Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.

• Stay home if you feel unwell.

• Refrain from smoking and other activities that weaken the lungs.

• Practice physical distancing by avoiding unnecessary travel and staying away from
large groups of people.

Impact

Food delivery services were banned by several state governments despite central government's
approval. Thousands of people emigrated out of major Indian cities, as they became jobless
after the lockdown. Following the lockdown, India's electricity demand fell down to a five-
month low on 28 March.

Food supply chain

The order issued by the Home Ministry on 24 March allowed the functioning of shops dealing
with food items as well as the manufacturing units and transportation of "essential goods".
However, the lack of clarity on "essential goods" meant that the policemen on the streets
stopped workers going to factories and the trucks carrying food items. Food industries also
faced shortages of labour because the workers were unable to reach workplaces and the factory
managers faced the fear of legal action. All these factors combined to result in shortages and a
raise in the prices of food items.

CHANDIGARH

Panic-buying in Chandigarh has resulted in a shortage or erratic supply of essential items. Two
items -- branded wheat flour and milk powder - are not available in markets. People indulged
in hoarding and stocked groceries in huge quantities. People are going to flour mills directly.
Distributors of two leading flour brands have stopped taking orders as the supply chain has
been broken.

Though unbranded flour is available, it is being sold at higher prices. The 10 kg flour bag which
was available at Rs 250 is being sold between Rs 350 and Rs 400.

People complained that there was black marketing of wheat flour and shop owners were
charging outrageous prices.

The lockdown and curfew have also hit wheat and grain supplies. The special MP wheat is
missing from the market and people are compelled to visit flour mills. Some retailers said they
were getting reduced supplies of bread as there was a short supply of wheat flour.

SURVEY

Person Name- Inderjeet Singh Padda

Profession- Police Control Room Incharge

Family Members- Mother, Father, Wife, 2 Children (Total 6)

Grocery Shopping Before Covid19- Usual Almost a Month stock which they time to time
refill during the month. Keep buying small essentials throughout the month.

Grocery Shopping After Covid19- Stocked up the essentials for upto 2 Months with all needy
essentials along with the extras. Had to pay extra for even some essential. Faced a bit of
difficulty buying Essential during lockdown period.

Survey

Ramneek Lal, a wage-earner in Bamrauli Katara, a village near Agra, has a six-member family
to feed.

After the coronavirus lockdown, the nearest ration shop is his only source of sustenance
because he lost employment at a construction site in Agra city last month.

With a clutch of papers in his hands, Ramneek Lal says free ration is only for those whose
names are there on the ration card, provided under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

“I have six members in my family, including children and elders, but the names of only three
are there on the card.”
“I have got the identification details, including the Aadhaar card and the bank passbooks of the
members whose names are not there on the card, but the shop-owner isn’t willing to give even
1 kg extra grain,” Ramneek Lal said.

“How can I feed six people with the ration meant for three,” he asked, showing the documents
as proof.

With there being more than 77 million tonnes of foodgrains in warehouses, which is more than
a year’s quota of ration under the NFSA and substantially more than three times what needs to
be there as buffer stock, assuming that the annual offtake under the scheme is 55-60 million
tonnes, feeding the three extra members of Ramneek Lal’s family shouldn’t be a problem.

Analysis

According to a survey about the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on Indians in April
2020, a majority of respondents could not get all their essential groceries via food retail apps.
In contrast, about 25 percent were able to get everything easily at retail stores in the 48 hours
preceding the survey period.
India implemented a lockdown for 21 days, announced on March 24, 2020. This was after the
"Janata Curfew" on March 22, 2020 - a so-called practice lockdown. Panic-buying
commenced among consumers days before the lockdown was announced, much like in other
countries. This lockdown was the largest in the world, restricting 1.3 billion people, extended
until May 3, 2020.