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Business I Digital Psychology

Social psychologist Dr Liraz Margalit specializes in digital consumer behavior. She analyzes the impact of the pandemic on buying patterns and the rise of personalization, defining it as today’s “holy grail” of marketing, with every online purchase becoming a moment of celebration \ By Joel Tsafrir “Less Rolex watches and Mercedes sedans, more NFTs”

Though the initial shock of the pandemic is subsiding, especially in public consciousness, with masks, lockdowns and social distancing gradually become a thing of the past, we are still far from being able to evaluate its economic, technological, societal, and psychological consequences. At its peak, the coronavirus pandemic generated countless predictions on what life would look like in its aftermath. Many prophesized dramatic changes in online consumer patterns, and how right they were. If online purchases were once mostly the preserve of city-dwellers and the young, it has now become a universal trend, thus considerably increasing the volume of activity. comfortable buying online”, says Dr Liraz Margalit, a specialist in digital behavioral economics. “The jump in product return rates clearly indicates this trend. Before the pandemic it stood at 8% while now it’s at 40%. Buying online used to be driven by one goal only - that of making a purchase - while physical shopping was perceived as synonymous with the buying experience. The People are investing more in themselves “Consumers feel increasingly

pandemic has completely toppled this notion. People bought products online and turned the delivery of their packages into moments of

celebration”, she adds. What else has changed?

“People have started to invest more in themselves. They’re buying more beauty products, fitness equipment, etc. Priorities have shifted as people crave the here and now. Another trend we’ve observed is the increase in luxury purchases. In this case, there’s the added novelty of the type of buyer. Luxury goods aren’t only being purchased by wealthy tech professionals as they were in the past. Businesspeople of all kinds began compensating the inability to go on holiday abroad with buying luxury products online. Status symbols have changed too. Consumers are buying less Rolex watches and Mercedes sedans and more NFTs, Pilates equipment and organic products. This has to do with the formation of a new social elite that defines itself by a new kind of lifestyle and novel buying habits that are less about flaunting wealth than expressing a connection to nature”. Maximizing satisfaction out of the buying experience Dr Liraz Margalit, PhD, entered the

photo: Micha Loubaton