COVID-19 Effect on Consumer Behaviors
The State of the Consumer report highlights opportunities, effects of COVID-19 on beef demand.
The number of consumers who say they intend to eat beef at least weekly increased from 67% to 72% compared to 2019, and consumer positive perceptions of beef reached 70% for the first time, according to a new report released by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), a contractor to the Beef Checkoff Program. The report examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer attitudes, behaviors and perceptions.
“The impact of the pandemic has been transformative in every corner of our economy,” says Buck Wehrbein, 2020 NCBA federation division chair. “The good news is that consumers are choosing beef more often as they adapt to cooking more at home.”
The report outlines what consumer behaviors have changed, what behaviors may be permanent, and how the beef industry has and continues to respond. With support from the 44 state beef councils and the Beef Checkoff Program, current market and consumer research provides insight into the past year and helps inform programming and response in order to keep beef as the top protein choice for consumers.
“NCBA’s checkoff-funded market research program allows us to evaluate and understand the consumer landscape, especially as its dynamics continue to shift,” NCBA Senior Director of Market Research Shawn Darcy says. “As a result, this helps all checkoff programs be more efficient, whether through promotion, education or information distribution.”
With unemployment rates climbing higher during the pandemic than they have in decades, 65% of consumers remain very concerned about the ramifications of COVID-19, especially with its effects on the economy. Despite not knowing how this pandemic will continue to shape the consumer landscape, the State of the Consumer report provides valuable information to help the beef industry better understand the quickly changing environment. Key takeaways include:
Beef demand has remained strong to date. Consumers increased weekly beef eatings and were willing to pay more for the product. With strong domestic consumer-demand-building programs, including Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. and other demand-building programs, NCBA will stay focused on keeping this strong demand going through innovative checkoff-funded programs.
The full State of the Consumer report can be found here.
Editor’s note: This article is provided by the Beef Checkoff Program.