The Psychology Applied To Marketing In Times Of Crisis

The social and economic context, produced by COVID-19 and by the activation of the alarm state in the whole world, is changing people’s consumption habits. How is psychology affecting marketing strategies in these times of crisis?

In marketing, psychology has always played a fundamental role, since it provides us with information about the consumer or user, taking into account all the factors in their environment and how these influence their purchasing decisions and consumption habits. All this together with their emotions, feelings, thoughts, etc. at the moment you are. And in times of crisis, the psychology applied to marketing becomes more relevant and modifies people’s consumption trends.

Since the suspension of education in the Community of Madrid was announced last Monday night, one of the most commented aspects and the product of viral jokes, memes and viral videos on social networks has been toilet paper and how it has disappeared from all supermarkets in the first days of the COVID-19 crisis.

FOMO syndrome – Fear Of Missing Out

In this sense, marketing experts indicate that the fact of seeing an empty shelf generates the need to have that product, producing an irrational purchase that the only thing it does is continue to promote this disproportionate consumption. If you are viewing and / or reading information about how a certain product is running out, unconsciously you will generate a need to have that product and go buy it. And, together with these facts, the FOMO syndrome appears – Fear Of Missing Out – or the fear of missing something or not being involved in a majority action.

Finally, another aspect that can influence crisis situations is fear. In situations that are not controlled and that are new to today’s society, we act on the basis of emotions and, in these contexts, fear, and uncertainty override any other feeling.