Impact of Covid-19 on Household Consumption Behavior

Covid-19 created havoc in all parts of life all around the globe. With restrictions in place to ensure containment of the virus and safeguard people’s lives, household consumption has undergone massive changes all around the world. The purpose of this chapter is to assess the household consumption behavior and perception in the Sultanate of Oman using the MANOVA testing method and descriptive statistics. Analyzing the changes in the consumption pattern and perceptions will allow us to assess whether this shift and change in the consumption is permanent or transient. The chapter would also be looking into the ‘next normal’ of consumer behavior. Using primary data on household consumption and recent relevant literature on the area, the chapter aims to find out whether consumers reacted to the pandemic in terms of purchasing patterns of habit-forming goods, necessity, and luxury goods, shift towards a healthy diet, panic buying of toiletries and other necessary items. By doing so, government and other affiliated bodies can stay well informed as to how to provide goods and services that would take people’s welfare and the possibility of a future crisis into consideration.