CUR - The Council on Undergraduate Research

Changes in the Marketing Landscape Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Julia Carabelli, Jackson Gadient and Dr. Nese Nasif, Department of Marketing, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 1725 State Street, La Crosse, WI, 54601

SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19. Coronavirus. Whatever one may call it, it is affecting everyone and everything in some capacity. New mandates and guidelines are released each week, causing mass uncertainty. Businesses have had a unique experience during the pandemic as they communicate with consumers and within their own company. The globalization of business practice has been a large obstacle in supply chain management as different countries have gone into lockdown. Businesses have also had to adapt quickly to changes in the external environment brought on by the pandemic. The shift in consumer behavior in times of economic crisis has resulted in the necessary reevaluation of business communication as well as marketing practices. Finding proactive and innovative solutions to manage the current situation and plan for the aftermath has been strenuous on both corporations and local businesses. The development of these solutions is pertinent to reducing cognitive dissonance experienced amongst consumers and employees. Changes in marketing and promotion were long overdue and the pandemic exponentially accelerated the process and can be attributed to the changes in consumer behavior. The use of qualitative document analysis offered unbiased and reliable examples of how companies, such as McDonalds and Menards, have dealt with these changes. The implementation of new business practices has not gone unnoticed by consumers and will likely affect the way business is conducted in the future. 

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