This interview originally aired July 10, 2020.
First, it was cleaning products. Then, toilet paper. Now, sales of alcohol and video games are skyrocketing. All of these are no coincidence to Niusha Jones, a marketing professor at Boise State University.
Jones says our emotions - panic, fear & anxiety - play a key role in what we are buying right now, and those trends show up in consumer spending data.
What we're buying is not the only way the pandemic has effected consumer trends. As mask wearing has become politicized, and mask policies and enforcement vary from place to play, that is changing where some people chose to shop.
We asked you, the listeners, to send us your comments about how mask-wearing has impacted the way you shop during the pandemic. Caile writes that the word "mask" elicits a different response than "face covering." So, we ask Jones how word choice makes its way into marketing.
Michael writes that he is now boycotting businesses whose owners support politicians who he believes are making the pandemic worse. To Jones, we ask: How often does the marketing world see consumers care about the opinions or financial contributions of the company’s executives?
Niusha Jones joins Idaho Matters to get more into the psychology of consumption.
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