Value for the Consumer During the Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly an unprecedented event. Suddenly, peace and routine were replaced with fear for our own safety and health, and greater concern for our own home budget. In many countries the mandatory quarantine and the current situation where the disease is still present around the world, has undoubtedly contributed to a change in consumer behavior and the way people make purchases. Businesses, in turn, are facing many challenges, not only related to the decline in their revenues. Many organizations have to concentrate on their own digitization of their activities, as well as on digitally supporting their clients and gaining their trust. The changing, uncertain and complex reality is shaping new patterns, and modern technologies are changing the way we make purchasing decisions and make actual purchases. This shapes the need to create individual customer experiences, which are a specific value for them, and which allows them to strengthen the brand image, as well as help increase market share. We observe a dynamic development of e-commerce and ubiquitous digitization. In many places the increasing multi-channel sales are constantly changing customer preferences, which determines the process of intense changes taking place in trade. The aim of the article is to present the possibilities and methods of creating value for the customer in commerce, caused by the Covid-19 pandemics, with particular emphasis on e-commerce. The source of the article is the available literature on the subject, as well as the analysis of research reports carried out during and after the pandemic accumulation, both among customers and businesses. A qualitative analysis of the existing data was performed, citing selected innovative solutions used by businesses. Undoubted, these solutions affect the quality of customer service offered. What builds the future of trade is professional communication, relationship shaping, building trust, speed of actions taken, also in the field of innovation and digitization.