E-commerce grows and going to physical stores fall, but Brazilians still expect brands to be practical and help in the daily life of the pandemic

What do Brazilians expect from brands? With nearly 60% of the population choosing social isolation, a second wave of Kantar interviews for the COVID-19 Barometer study shows that many consumers want brands to have a greater social impact and are already migrating their consumption to digital – which requires companies to prepare for a more robust e-commerce.
In times of crisis, Brazilians expect companies to be more than functional.
According to kantar's second wave of the COVID-19 Barometer, held between March 27 and 31, 28% of Brazilians want brands to be practical and realistic and help consumers on a daily basis (21% the previous week). Already 25% of them want them to serve as an example and be guides to change (constant in the two weeks).
"To achieve these goals, it is necessary to evolve the brand purpose to embrace human and social impact, in addition to adapting its communication to this new reality," says Valkiria Garré, CEO of Insights at Kantar Brasil.
In the digital presence, it is noted that some habits that were developing at slower paces, were accelerated with this process – by necessity – and should remain and be part of the new normal, such as the use of podcasts, shopvertising and e-commerce.
In the second wave of the COVID-19 Barometer, for example, it is already possible to confirm the growth of online shopping in the crisis period: the number of people who increased online shopping rose from 19% to 34%. Meanwhile, people who declined purchases in physical stores rose from 32% to 46%.
"This requires companies to be quick in availability and assortment at first and then be able to scale the operation and delivery to keep up with order growth," valkiria says.
The same study shows that 72% shop online to save time and 71% believe that e-commerce is more convenient than going to physical stores. Many Brazilians used the pandemic period to make their first online purchases:
? 17% food and beverage
? 15% remedies without a prescription
? 12% cosmetics and personal care products
? 12% services
? 8% clothing and accessories
? 7% electronic
The survey was conducted online with 500 Brazilians aged 18 years or older between March 13 and 16 (first wave) and March 27 and 31 (second wave) of 2020. The full version has 17 questions about the interviewees' habits related to the pandemic. It was made in 30 markets with more than 25,000 consumers. Among the topics addressed are: consumer attitudes; media habits; travel habits; impact on online and offline shopping behaviors; and expectations regarding brands.