The pandemic changed a lot of things for everyone. 
Consumers are not only living differently with COVID-19 health concerns, they are also working differently and shopping differently. That is if they can find what they are shopping for. This is affecting CPGs in a major way.
Consumers have been faced with panic when looking for toilet paper, paper towels, disinfectant cleaner, and wipes among other things. Consumers are working from home and doing more cooking than ever. With the hysteria of news reports urging people to have a 30-day supply of food in their homes at the beginning of the pandemic, consumers started shopping for items such as yeast, flour, and other baking items in addition to meat due to an impending shortage. Shopping for these items quickly became like trying to purchase that Cabbage Patch Kid back in the 80s!
All of this had consumers literally buying whatever they could get their hands on, including a lot of private labels and some other off brands that they had never heard of. They were even shopping at different retailers for these items, such as office supply stores like Staples for their paper goods and the corner convenience store for some disinfectant wipes if they could find them there. More than ever consumers are having to be creative in their shopping. All of this in addition to those consumers who would only shop online increasing the need for better e-commerce technology for retailers and manufacturers to handle the increased demand. Without a doubt, brand loyalty was impacted. See this article from Supermarket News which details the increase in store-brand sales due to the pandemic.
Again, 2020 really changed a lot of things for everyone. With consumers having to shop in erratic ways and forced to try other brands and private labels, it is increasingly important to communicate the unique features and benefits of brands and provide incentives to get them back. Advertising and promotion are more important than ever as things are slowly getting back to a “new normal”.
