The Covid-19 pandemic has had the most pervasive global impact in the last 100 years. It brought a transformation of human livelihood assisted by technology, connectivity, gadgets and human interactions contingent on them to the fore like never before. The onslaught of Covid-19 brought a paradigm shift in consumer behaviour in a very short span of time. If there was no pandemic, and consumers had to be educated to wear masks as a preventive measure to avoid regular airborne diseases, the rate of adoption would certainly have taken place ploddingly. But due to the ferocity and magnitude of the pandemic, the rate of adoption took place in a geometric progression. We can observe similar behavioural patterns with regard to hand washing and sanitising, too.

A plausible reason for the unusual behaviour of avoiding masks can be explained with the help of a typical psychological trait of humans known as perceptual defence. This behaviour is akin to smokers who would not stop smoking despite understanding the risk of continuing to smoke. Despite the gravity of the matter, most consumers are found to be ignoring the fundamentals of hand hygiene and wearing masks or barely following them without due attention to the right method of doing so.

Right framing

Generally, people are more likely to wear masks if the message is conveyed to them using the right framing, that is, telling them about the increased risk of not wearing them rather than telling them about the reduced risk if they put them on properly. Of course, the government and the authorities concerned can work to build the right kind of choice architecture in terms of suggesting what course of action can be taken as preventive measures. One simple initiative would be ensuring the availability of masks in every possible nook and corner in all local groceries, parlours, roadside eateries and such other establishments.

That human behaviour is not always rational even during the pandemic was shown by the spectacle of people flocking to the newly found selfie-point at Manhunkot, Tanahun. Similarly, we have witnessed a surge in the number of domestic tourists. Recreational activities will definitely help bolster the dwindling tourism industry and provide much-needed psychological relief, especially to those who were locked up in their homes for almost eight months. Contrary to the general expectation that people will avoid or postpone vacationing or other recreational events or even organising big gatherings such as marriages during the pandemic, reality has always been different. Nonchalant consumers have started behaving callously as there is a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases. These instances explain the fact that human beings will generally act carelessly not realising that some of their activities can turn hazardous.

There have been some favourable and positive impacts on consumer behaviour in the context of the adoption of digital technology after the pandemic limited physical movement and contact. During more normal times, the majority of customers were found to be averse to technology. Security has always been a concern for a large number of cautious consumers in trying out innovative products. But post-Covid-19, consumers were found to be much more open to experimentation, resulting in a growth in transactions through e-payment gateways and other financial services. Just as demonetisation produced desirable results in India in terms of accelerating a consumer switch to online transactions, Covid-19 generated a similar outcome in Nepal by speeding up the change.

Another sector that has witnessed a massive escalation in terms of the impact of technology on consumers is education. Against a backdrop of a continuous rise in digital technology long before Covid-19, online teaching-learning had started gaining prominence in other parts of the world. However, such a phenomenon couldn’t be seen in our context given the inadequacy of digital infrastructure and other bottlenecks. Teachers and students alike were not conversant with using digital platforms, and they were found to be hesitant to adopt online teaching-learning as their pedagogical tool and technology. However, Covid made it mandatory for both users (students) and providers (teachers) to quickly adapt to some of the new ways of teaching-learning. This highlights the fact that when faced with a Hobson’s choice, consumers are likely to learn and adapt to technology better and quicker.

The role of the government and private service providers remains critical for continuing with and sustaining these changed behavioural patterns even after the novel coronavirus is subdued. In our context, where the divide is massive, digitisation has always been a challenge. Despite the claim made by the finance minister at a recent Digital Economy Conclave that 70 percent of the government offices are working online, it doesn’t seem to be based on reality; we continue to see serpentine queues of service seekers at various government establishments.

Structural bottlenecks

Likewise, the government through its Information and Communication Technology Policy 2015 aims to impart digital literacy skills to at least 75 percent of the population by 2020. Contrary to this policy narrative, nothing substantial has materialised so far. This is because, most often, the internet has been found to be used more for unproductive purposes like accessing social media rather than for productive purposes. In addition to structural bottlenecks, consumer resistance has proven to be a daunting task and major challenge to service providers. But now, given the altered priorities and changed attitudes of consumers, both private and public service providers can become optimistic.

Conceptualising, designing and delivering creatively innovative solutions by service providers can undoubtedly provide a lot of impetus. It’s high time that service providers started mulling over creating such initiatives through e-commerce platforms, and regulatory authorities started thinking about how they can facilitate such initiatives, especially in the digital platform.