On the 11th of March 2020, the WHO declared coronavirus outbreak a pandemic and our lives have

changed drastically since that day. The behaviour of the Turkish consumers were also inevitably
affected by these changes and it looks like some of these changes might become permanent.

During the pandemic, the income of many households were affected negatively in Turkey and
government aid was insufficient therefore most of the consumers became rather selective with their
purchases. The pandemic also created an atmosphere of economic instability which coupled with
Turkey’s already troubled economy meant consumers felt like it was not the time to spend but
rather to save.

Even though the pandemic was a disaster for most it was also an opportunity for some. This was
especially the case for meeting apps such as Skype, Teamlink and most importantly Zoom. Currently
a majority of people have Zoom installed on their phones or computers whereas just 9 months ago
nearly no one had heard of its name.

Many people who were reluctant at first to use online shopping for their daily needs were forced to
do so by the pandemic. Currently the monthly average increase in online shoppers in Turkey is
approximately %200 in contrast before the pandemic it only averaged approximately %50. It is likely
that these new consumers will stick to online shopping even after the end of the pandemic after
their discovery of the convenience of online shopping.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused a lot of distress for many, but I believe it also served a higher
purpose. In this day and age in which technological feats which were deemed to be impossible just a
couple of decades ago are being achieved there were those who were still stubbornly refusing to
adapt to the new era and maybe this pandemic was the final push required to speed up the process.