Study of The Coronavirus Lockdown: What’s Trending?

On March 24th, PM Narendra Modi ordered a nationwide lockdown of 21 days in India. Effectively restricting the open movements of what amounts to 17.7% of the entire world’s population. (1) This was done to “Flatten the curve”, and prevent the nation’s already deficient medical system from being overburdened. Amid the various regulations enforced, the one banning people from stepping out of their homes is probably the most emblematic of the government’s efforts to mitigate the spread. This policy, as we can reflect upon, has also brought a drastic change in consumer behavior by closing down places of gathering, encompassing everything from schools and institutions to restaurants and clubs. This shut down systems of public commute as well. Here, Our main objective is to understand the current zeitgeist of a nation of 1.3 billion, by delving into data from Google search, the world’s most preferred search engine. 

1)  Liquor

The availability of liquor might seem like a trivial concern in the face of a global pandemic. However, in a country where the estimated per capita consumption of liquor is around 5 liters—approximately, 10 pints per person annually—it is a very real concern for a lot of people. The prevalence of alcohol dependence in this country has been largely absent from the national discourse, and we believe it should be a bigger part of it. We can observe a sudden meteoric spike in searches—around 97% Since March’20, for home delivery services of this demerit good, from the day of the announcement.

Barring states like Punjab, and Kerela which have listed Alcohol as an “essential commodity”, there is also the larger issue of backdoor sales for goods like alcohol and cigarettes being sold at a premium.

2) Movie Theatre vs Netflix

Netflix and other media-services providers are perhaps one of the very few industries to benefit due to the current situation. Interest in Over-The-Top (OTT) media services is at an all-time high. As social isolation intensifies due to social distancing and work-from-home measures necessitated by the lockdown, data from companies show that OTT and television viewership has jumped. This is mainly attributed to the closure of multiplexes and other avenues of entertainment across the country.

Companies like Facebook have logged an increase of up to 50% of users in its messaging services, online portals from YouTube to even the digital offerings of newspapers has shown an increase (2). No, doubt this is reflected in what the Indian populace has been looking up online.

 The interest in OTT has seen an increase worldwide, not just across the nation. However, perhaps as a quirk unique to the southern region of India—where “Tollywood” film culture is at its zenith—interest in Traditional means of consuming cinema has not dwindled, and subsequently, the interest in new media is yet to catch on.

3)  Haircuts

This is perhaps one of the most unassuming activities to be concerned about. But due to the lockdown, personal hygiene and grooming, often conducted through professionals in salons and barbershops have all but become a rare luxury. People have been looking into Do-it-yourself (DIY) solutions to their hair grooming woes. This is perhaps one of our more whimsical observations in contrast to the global pandemic at hand, and we can see the frivolousness of the issue on account of a mere 24% increase in google searches for these terms. Nevertheless, an insight that provides a bit of levity in these trying times is never a bad idea.  

4)   Groceries and Pharmacy over Petrol pump

This lockdown was expected to bring big losses for petrol pump dealers and oil marketing companies. Not only have revenues gone down, but overheads have remained the same. To compound the issue the tankers sitting idle will cause petrol to evaporate, causing an estimated loss of a 100 liters of petrol in the current period. (3)

 We can see the searches for petrol pumps have gone down since the announcement of the lockdown. However, interest for necessities like groceries and pharmaceuticals have jumped up as people cannot find stocks at the places they frequent, due to panic-induced bulk buying behavior. Grocery store owners in some localities of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh claimed that essential items like flour and cooking oil are out of stock, despite state government’s claim that the supply chain is being strengthened across the state.

 The availability of these everyday essential items is probably the most pressing issue raised due to the nationwide lockdown.

5)  Workout

There is a sudden spike in interest for home workouts. This was caused due to the aforementioned closing down of places of public gatherings including private gyms. Restaurants, malls, and offices are all shut down as well, with companies adopting work-from-home policies, and restaurants and malls all but deserted. Many Indians, during the lockdown, have looked for alternatives to their preferred places of physical activity, as observed from the jump in searches by almost 91% from its lowest in February’20.

The ongoing all-India lockdown is supposed to end on April 14, but as cases continue to rise at an exponential rate, this date may get extended. If the latter happens, the economy will get worse. And many firms will have to bear the brunt of the consequences.

We hope you have gleaned some interesting insights from our little peek into the questions the people of India have been asking. Would you like to see more of such content? Please suggest any recommendations and suggestions down below in the comments.

Article by Pratik Satpathy, and Akshay Arora, students of PGDM (Big Data Analytics), Goa Institute of Management, Goa.

References:

1. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/india-population/
2. https://econsultancy.com/stats-roundup-coronavirus-impact-on-marketing-ecommerce-advertising/
3. https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/oil-and-gas/coronavirus-lockdown-an-unprecedented-crisis-for-petrol-pump-dealers-and-oil-companies/74809412