During the first three months of the government-imposed quarantine due to the COVID-19 emergency, 85% of consumers invested more monthly in their purchases of food and supplies, while online purchases increased five times the percentage that they reflected in 2018.
This is indicated by the study called “Behind the mask”, a special edition of the Consumer Radiography 2020 that is published annually by the Chamber of Food Marketing, Industry and Distribution (MIDA).
“The pandemic significantly altered consumer purchasing spending. Proof of this is that 85% of the participants declare that their average monthly expenditure increased. The average reflected a 50% higher expense than that concluded by the 2019 Consumer Radiography, “said Keissa Acevedo, a member of the committee that promotes the survey that seeks to know the buying and spending habits of Puerto Rican consumers, in a virtual presentation. after the quarantine and curfew were decreed on the island on March 15, 2020, particularly between the months of March, April and May. 1,272 people from all over the island participated in the study and 89% were women. 45% of the respondents were between 45 to 64 years old, it was specified.
In the first three months of the emergency, consumers preferred to go to the supermarket to shop, followed by department stores and pharmacies. Ironically, discount clubs were down 6% penetration at 48%.
The frequency of visits to the points of sale also had its impact as six out of 10 people said that he or a member of his family nucleus attended biweekly or monthly to make food purchases, while the 2019 study showed that These visits were several times a week.
Regarding the products with the highest demand, compared to the same months (March, April and May) of the previous year, were hand sanitizers (1,113%), multivitamins (236%), wet towels (229%), flour of mixes for biscuits (143%), repellents (90%), bathroom cleaning products (87%), whiteners (70%), frozen pizza (70%), frozen potatoes (66%) and canned meat (58%) ).
Meanwhile, the products that lowered their sales were suntan creams (-54%), cosmetics (-48%), chewing gums (-36%), deodorants (-25%) and shaving creams (-18%).
A curious fact is that 7% of consumers reported a growth in people in the home since quarantine. Of these, 48% reported having an additional person. But 4% reported that the increase was up to more than five individuals in their family nucleus.
As for income, 48% of the respondents said that their income fell by 48% during the emergency; 47% had no changes; and 5% reflected an increase in their finances.
32% of consumers said they lost their job as a result of COVID-19; and of these, 63% had not received the unemployment benefit. Meanwhile, 10% said they had received Family Card benefits for the first time since the emergency began. This group used these funds to buy mostly meats, fruits, and vegetables (72%).
Nine out of 10 participants gave a rating of A to the establishment where they made their food purchases, while 94% consider it extremely important to implement effective hygiene processes in their businesses.
On the other hand, online or Internet purchases have shown a history of significant increase since, while in 2018 only 6% reported using these services, this time 30% claimed to have accessed one of these platforms. While online food purchases also increased from 33% in 2019 to 43% in 2020. In fact, this led to new companies joining this service as in one year they increased from six to 17.
Among the establishments where food and online stores were purchased the most were EconoToGo (38%, SuperMax Online (36%), Amazon (31%), SelectosEasyShop (14%) and Produce (8%).
86% of consumers said they spent the same or more than when they make their purchases in person.
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