Changing Consumer Behavior Towards Globalization (Impact of COVID-19 on Indian Middle Class)

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the change in Global Acculturation of Consumer Culture in middle class Indian consumers, as a result of the recent pandemic and its Social and political implications.

Design/Methodology/Approach: the research was a quantitative research, where a total of 239 people belonging to the Indian middle class were surveyed. The survey consisted of 7 dimensions of the GACC framework explaining 27 variables affected by COVID-19.

Findings: The Indian middle class has high levels of predisposition towards acculturation of global consumer culture. COVID posed as an agent to an increased ethnocentric sentiment on the Indian masses, however the materialistic tendencies developed in the past few decades of global exposure overpower it to some extent.

Practical Implications: In the past few decades, India has opened up to the world economy at a very rapid pace, becoming one of the major contributors to global economy. However, unforeseen events such as COVID -19 pose a threat to this progress. In theory, the increased ethnocentric tendencies along with campaigns like Make in India force Indians to take a step back and resist acculturation and globalization. This makes it extremely vital to understand how the Indian consumption patterns are affected in times of such peril.

Originality: the research starts with the GACC framework, but takes it a step further by using it to measure the change is the 7 dimensions rather than their absolute values. Another point of originality is the context, being cantered around a pandemic of unparallel magnitude the paper records responses from respondents experiencing behavioural changes due to a massive change in their day-to-day life. Further this framework can be applied in context of any future geopolitical or economic anomalies and give a reference for understanding its effects on Globalization and acculturation tendencies.