Consumer behavior in digital era: impact of COVID 19

The main goal of this paper is to research differences that start to change consumer behavior in the digital era since the advent of COVID 19. The events associated with the pandemic that led to increased social distance and complete lockdown undoubtedly affect not only the economic situation territories and countries in general, but also on the behavior of each individual. The situation that has arisen has forced more and more consumers to meet their needs with the help of digital tools, and this process has some special characteristics. The article shows the results of analytical and comparative analysis of the changes in consumer behavior in the digital space since the onset of the pandemic. It was researched trends change consumer demand in the study categories via Google Trends. The practical study was conducted on the basis of the analysis of changes in consumer behavior and their preferences in the direction of recreation and tourism, where the data of a sociological survey of Azerbaijani citizens to study the potential impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry was used. The survey was conducted on April 13-21, 2020 by a team of researchers from the University of Northampton (UK), the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, University of National and World Economy (Bulgaria). According to the results of the study, conclusions were drawn that give new challenges to the development of marketing in the digital environment, namely: digital tools have had rapid unpredictable development since the COVID-19 pandemic, and remain as high level in demand after easing restrictive measures; entrepreneurship was not ready for such quick transformation; after the first interactions in digital space, the consumer has a stable experience of interaction with specific brands, but they disappoint the expectations of consumers in a personalized contact. Based on the conclusions, an algorithm for building relationships with consumers and increasing their level of loyalty in the digital environment is proposed. The results of this study could be used in the implementation of marketing goals of representatives of different levels of business structures, governments.