Name: Sadia Mehzabeen Sharna

ID: 1411350630

Part A

This pandemic due to COVID-19 has showed a new perspective to the lives of every run. Every
activity has been affected and as a result, people found out new ways of dealing with their day-
to-day activities. This had been the biggest phase of learning in recent years and there are people
adapted themselves in online activities who haven’t found online activities of transaction and
communication not even a little convenient earlier. Changes have been made to our daily
activities of transactions and communications. The way people have molded themselves into this
form of interactions, the concern now is whether it is going to have a longer impact on traditional
system or not.

Below, I am pointing out five products/services that I, as an individual, or my family has adapted
due to this pandemic:
1. Online Conference call systems: Zoom and Google Meet
For educational and work purposes, I must communicate on a regular basis. Before this
pandemic happened, the recipients of such calls were limited and Messenger or Whatsapp were
self-sufficient for such conversations. But now, the number of recipients is much more than it
used to be, and it needs a system with more convenient features to manage this increased number
of people. And as a result, clients like Zoom/Google Meet showed much prospect and has
become one of my daily drivers.
Earlier, the obstacle in conducting such online meeting used to be many of us being less
tech-savvy and not willing to go for such complex procedures. Now that every one of us is
accustomed with the features, I believe this operation I will continue having being used even
after we go back to our regular life.

2. E-Commerce for daily supplies: Chaldal & Pathao Tong

As it stands now, we need to go out of our homes as less times as possible. And, one of the
basic requirements is to manage daily food supplies. Before pandemic, the general norm used to
be going out to local bazar or to the super shops for managing these supplies. To avoid the crowd
associated with these places, the core way would be going for e-commerce(s) that supplies daily
necessities. And for that, my family has been collectively being very dependent on platforms like
Chaldal and Pathao Tong.
As of the experience had not been very easy-going with Chaldal because of theit delivery
timing issues and perishable goods, there will be moderate change in the prospect after the
pandemic.

3. Tele medicine: PlexusD

Consulting with doctors had been one other prime issue. Doctor places can contain corona virus
because of the frequency of different patients there. We as a family, tried to avoid such place and
for that went for telemedicine instead through a service named PlexusD. The service was
effective and had a very interactive communication over Whatsapp.
There is a fine line in between meeting doctor in person and meeting doctor online. After
the risk is not associated anymore, my family would consider meeting doctors offline.

4. Hygiene maintenance Products: Hexisol, Bleaching Powder

Though we had been using hygiene maintenance products before, but the frequency was
never at this velocity ever. In recent times we had been very dependent on Products like Hexisol
or Savlon and using them on a daily basis.
This, in fact, a very good practice and we will continue maintaining this norm for a long
time.
5. Protections against virus: Masks & Gloves
We had been buying masks and gloves on bulk numbers. Everyone of our family is wearing
masks and gloves whenever we need to go out because of any emergency. It is not a very good
experience, but we do consider that it is for the betterment of our health.
This is a very good practice for a very polluted place like Dhaka. I think we will continue
maintaining this practice at least for more 2-3 years.

As a consumer, this pandemic will have a very clear and strong permanent change. I
believe, from now and on, I will be more conscious about product and food hygiene. I will also
consider how the products are packed and how they are being delivered. I will consider having
fewer human involvement in producing and delivering my expected products. Thus, it will add a
new factor in choosing and buying products and services. My buying behavior will get a new
turn.

Part B

1. Learning
a. Behavioral Learning
This lockdown had been full of behavioral learning. It is because most of the
activities that we are doing are basically are reactions to this situation. But the
biggest behavioral learning is- ‘Purchasing necessary medicines for the month all
at once.’

The reason behind this learning is very obvious. We needed to go out for as less
times as possible. And to do that, we bought all medicines at once for the month.

b. Cognitive Learning
One of the goals during this lockdown is to build a stronger immune system. And
to do this, the cognitive learning we had is- ‘Drinking black tea with honey, garlic
and Nigella Seeds twice daily.’

The goal here is to build stronger immune system and learning is as we are doing
to make it possible.

2. Attitude
a. The Cognitive Component had a huge impact in attitude changing during this time
of COVID-19. Through internet and other platforms, we collected a subtle
amount of knowledge about the precautionary measures to avoid catching
COVID-19. I made a positive perception about it and how to tackle the situation.
Moreover, I found people who I know being affected by the virus.
 As a result of the discussion stated above, I made a change to my attitude. And
that refers to- ‘Avoiding close contacts with people.’

b. When the question comes to whether the changes will be permanent or not, I
assume some of the changes to be permanent. There are cultural impacts that I am
considering to be very meaningful to the situation. We are so much bound to the
cultural impacts that all the changes cannot take up on permanent basis. So, my
point of view is, these changes will remain permanent on moderate level. To be
precise, there will be norms we will follow in a little different way.

3. Reference groups & Family

a. Work allocation is one of the prime challenges being faced in households. Also,
the sleep cycle is another issue. According to a study, because of this lockdown,
74% of the populations is suffering from insomnia. So, the daily lives of family
members are hugely affected. And about the work allocation, house maids are not
allowed in household anymore. And for that, the family members need to divide
the works among themselves. Proper realization and dedication had been an issue
here. Eyesight illness is also another issue as most of the time is passed by
looking at different screens.
b. Two kinds of buying behavior are not observed at all during this lockdown. These
are:
- Complex Buying Behavior
- Variety seeking Behavior
On the contrary, there is an avid change in the habitual buying behavior. The purchases
that we used to have offline are now made online. And, the use of cash had been very
limited as most of the purchases are being made through mobile commerce like bKash,
Rocket or Nagad.
c. The change in cultural factors and rituals had been mostly observed during the
occasion of Eid-ul-fitre. People observed Eid at their homes, whereas it was a
must earlier to meet friends and families during this occasion. Moreover, daily
prayers including the Jummah had not been observed in Mosques. This is a huge
transform in the locality on the basis of culture and the rituals regularly followed
here.
 The economy has also seen a huge transformation as the markets could not
continue their normal operations. And, that had a huge effect on purchasing
behavior during the past few days of Eid.

4. New Product Adoption

a. The absolute new product that I adopted in this time period would be- A
wireless headphone. The adoption process is as follows:
i) Awareness: I got to know about this product that can increase my
convenience in answering online conferences.
ii) Interest: My interest grew when I figured out that I can avail this
product by purchasing online.
iii) Evaluation: I roamed through different websites and product reviews
and ended up comparing 3 different products of same price range.
iv) Trial: There were not too much of trial options, but I went through
Youtube product reviews to have a proper understanding about it.
v) Adoption: Finally, I bought the product and paid the price through
bKash.
b. In general, Trialability speed up my adoption the most. It is because, I prefer
going for every feature of a product by myself before buying that particular
product. It helps me grow trust and compatibility for that product. But at
present, the situation is different.

At present, there is limited scope of trialing products before purchasing. That

is why, I tend to go for observability more. I prefer observing experiences of
using the same product or service by early adopters. And the best way to reach
this medium of observation is Youtube videos. So, during this lockdown,
observability is speeding up my adoption.