Exploring Consumer Responses to COVID-19: Meaning Making, Cohort Effects, and Consumer Rebound

The COVID-19 pandemic affected a variety of consumer needs, preferences, and behaviors but with considerable heterogeneity. This article develops a conceptual framework that focuses on (1) how consumers responded to the pandemic, (2) drivers of heterogeneity, and (3) effects that may persist in a post-pandemic world. Grounded in meaning-making theory, the framework derives four categories of consumer meaning making in light of COVID-19. Then, the framework draws on life course research to theorize that the pandemic driven by the perceived severity of its impact on certain consumer segments can elicit turning point and cohort effects (e.g., decreased control and increased risk perceived by consumers). In parallel, the framework predicts that certain other consumers will rebound and return to normality relatively quickly. Our process model offers meaningful implications for future consumer and marketing research.