
COVID-19: The impact on consumer goods
April 1, 2020
April 1, 2020
COVID-19 is a once-in-a-lifetime health and economic disaster, which will permanently change the way people work and live. The effects on the consumer goods industry will be profound and lasting; we will not be going back to the world we knew. This crisis is fundamentally changing how and what consumers buy and is accelerating immense structural changes in the consumer goods industry.
Now is the time to heed this unprecedented wake-up call to be agile and relevant to consumers and customers—not just during the crisis, but also in the future. Consumer buyer values are already shifting to products and experiences which are more healthy, trustworthy, environmentally sensitive, and more supportive of the communities in which they live and work.
Near-term, consumer goods companies will need to continually flex with rapidly changing conditions and begin building the structure and capabilities to face a volatile future.
To understand the key actions consumer goods companies, need to take immediately, answer these three questions:
The COVID-19 crisis has created a shift in priorities for consumer goods businesses. There are actions to take now to respond and sustain the core business, next to reset the relationship with stakeholders, and finally to renew and scale in a future marked by growth and resilience.
This is a challenging time for the consumer goods industry as COVID-19 accelerates the pace of change. While no one can predict how long the crisis will last, it is imperative that leaders act now while also preparing for the future.