Consumer behavior that is impacted by COVID-19

Final Report (30%)
This report is an evaluation of your learning, and thus, should be completed individually. Your
report must be submitted through MLS (in “final report” dropbox) by 11:59pm EST on April 7,
2020 (Tuesday) as a MS Word document.
Late submissions will be penalized, so do not wait until the last minute to upload your report.
1) File Name: LASTnameFIRSTname.docx (or .doc)
**DO NOT submit a pdf file
2) Format: 12-point font, 1-inch margins, maximum length of 4 single-spaced pages
**NO cover page – simply type full name and ID number at the top of page one
3) Topic:
The business landscape has rapidly changed with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus
(COVID-19).
While some of these changes have been influenced by policymakers (e.g., travel restrictions,
non-essential business closures), many of them have been responses to sudden shifts in
consumer behaviour.
Choose one specific consumer behaviour that has been triggered by the recent pandemic. The
behaviour can be your own or someone else’s. There are plenty of examples from stockpiling
toilet paper, taking an online class, to cancelling an overseas trip.
Part 1. Describe the decision-making process of the consumer, leading to the behaviour.
Discuss each stage in depth. Certain stages may be discussed more than others but include
every stage.
Although the outbreak of COVID-19 may have contributed to the behaviour, it is still likely
influenced by a number of internal and external factors to the consumer. Explain how these
factors may have played a role in each stage of the decision-making process. (Suggested
length: ~3 pages)
Part 2. In light of the decision-making process, suggest how a company should respond to the
consumer through their marketing actions (in the short or long term). You can discuss more than
one company if you like – e.g., those that benefit from the behaviour and those that don’t.
(Suggested length: ~1 page)
4) Evaluation:
The main goal of this report is to demonstrate your understanding of course material. It is your
responsibility to effectively communicate this within the page limit. At the same time, try to be
creative whenever possible (e.g., show insight into factors that most people would overlook,
suggest creative yet feasible actions based on your analysis). The following are some points the
report will be evaluated on:
a) Level of analysis – e.g., Did you do a thorough and deep analysis? Are there any stages
or critical factors missing?
b) Accurate application of course content – e.g., Does your analysis make sense? Are you
applying relevant course concepts? Do the decision making stages flow logically?
c) Marketing recommendations – e.g., Are they sound, creative, executable?
d) Other factors: creativity, clarity, formatting, etc.
5) Guidelines
a) Write in full sentences (no bullet points).
b) You may write in first-person (e.g., I, my) or third-person (e.g., they, she, he) narrative.
c) There is no need to cite external sources including the textbook.
d) You may include appendices if desired (they will not count towards the page limit).
e) This is NOT simply a test on decision-making.
– Describe how other concepts discussed throughout the term affect the process.
– Don’t list concepts, but integrate them.
a) Do: Factors X + Y  Factor Z  behaviour
b) Don’t: Factor X, Factor Y, Factor Z  behaviour
– The deeper and richer the analysis, the better.
f) Creativity can come from choosing an interesting behaviour, but also from an interesting
analysis. Select a behaviour that is easy for you to conduct an in-depth analysis.