VU Marketing Experts: Shoppers Behaviour Returning to Pre-pandemic Levels

Consumer behaviour is changing and evolving all the time, however, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a dramatic transformation in the business world, as the strict lockdown led to an almost complete shift to online shopping. But in 2022, we are finally getting "back to normal". According to Dr Elzė Rudienė, Associate Professor at Vilnius University (VU) Business School, after the pandemic, shoppers are still spending more money in e-shops on certain goods, yet for other goods the situation is radically different – people have returned to physical stores, forgetting about the alternative of e-shops.

"With delivery volumes returning to 2019 levels, according to the data from parcel services and couriers, people are not necessarily linking their shopping habits and delivery methods to e-commerce. The direct negative impact of the pandemic is not observed", says the VU researcher.

"The so-called "pauses" for retailers during the pandemic, when physical stores had to close due to restrictions, led to a massive growth of the e-commerce sector, because apart from food and essentials, it was mostly just online that you could order and buy the goods you needed. As we can see now, and as Elzė mentioned, balancing between e-commerce and physical shopping means that shoppers want to see, try and feel certain goods physically, whereas they are more comfortable ordering certain other goods online, especially when they consider the more favourable conditions offered by online shops. “I think that strengthening of e-commerce in certain areas contributes to the "flow" of shoppers in physical shops", adds Antanas Bunikis, a student of Dr Rudienė.

Dr Rudienė is an associate professor at VU, whose research areas, like her work as a marketing manager at the Ozas shopping and entertainment centre, are closely related to marketing: she studies consumer behaviour, its changes, various factors that are important to consumers, and other marketing factors that change with the changing environment. As her student A. Bunikis tells us, the relationship between them as teacher and student started first and foremost with a personal interest in the subjects studied – marketing effectiveness and its research, in particular.

The teacher describes the student as exceptional, courageous and unafraid to ask questions. This was particularly evident, she says, in the remote lectures when most students were less engaged in the discussions and less willing to express their opinions. According to Dr Rudienė, this was the first sign that made her pay more attention to the student's talents, and while working together during the coursework, it became clear that the student has extraordinary abilities that can be used in practice. That is why the associate professor invited the undergraduate student to collaborate not only at the university but also in business.

"The biggest challenges at the time were probably working in a new field and the restrictions due to the pandemic. I think that starting a new job with someone I already knew, as well as the two-way communication between the teacher and me, helped a lot. At the very beginning of the new job, there were a lot of challenges, a lot of new information, which I managed to systematise and take in," says A. Bunikis.

The Business School student notices what is expected of brand communication in today's context. In general, he says, brand communication and its trends, especially after the pandemic, are focused on simplicity, sincerity and naturality in various ways.

"It's not just about the green origins of the goods, the benefits for the environment and the consumer, but also about the emphasis on sincere feelings in general. Ideas are communicated such as everyone is beautiful and interesting in their own way. There is also an emphasis on multidimensional attention: to yourself, to your loved ones, your country, your situation, etc.", – says A. Bunikis.

Dr Rudienė agrees – consumers expect more and more truth and sincerity from communication messages. According to her, there is simply no future for a brand or company that benefits from deception.

"Everything that brands communicate and announce they must support and put into practice. Under no circumstances should you pretend or imitate existing trends. For example, if brands do not really support people's freedoms, their ability to express themselves, and if their communication is the exact opposite, the truth will eventually come out. Brands that do so are likely to be condemned by consumers, which means a loss of brand equity. The main things are, just like Antanas said, simplicity, sincerity and naturality. It is important to point out that many brands today try to adapt to current trends in an unnatural way in order to "get on the wave", but if the communication does not reflect the truth, the result will not be good either", – says the VU researcher.

To note the importance of developing strong teacher-student relationships and having the courage to ask questions, VU is presenting an art project and a virtual exhibition implemented in collaboration with the documentary and portrait photographer Tadas Kazakevičius. The exhibition features a series of portraits of Associate Professor Elzė Rudienė and Antanas Bunikis, revealing their sincere relationship.