Akshay Konnur's Blog Post

Who would have thought a microscopic particle from Wuhan could cause catastrophic havoc globally. The unstoppable virus destroyed lives & livelihoods across the countries. Industries stood still & decimated economies to the ground. With very few income opportunities at hand & daily expenses bleeding personal savings, consumer behavior is ready to shift to the “New Normal”. In this unique situation of COVID-19, no one has a concrete idea of what the future holds for us. The absence of historical data makes it even more difficult to predict consumer behavior in times to come. In the recent lockdown, we have seen a number of immediate impacts on our behavior as a consumer & based on that we can predict consumer behavior in the “New Normal”. Decrease in luxury spending Gone are the days when consumers enjoyed financial freedom. Consumers of the “New Normal” will significantly curtail spends on luxury items like cars, cameras, phones, watches, gold & costly home ap

One of the ancient & beat-up proverbs, "prevention is better than cure" is abundantly preached & rarely practiced. A lot of lives & relations could have been saved in COVID-19 pandemic if each of one us had undertaken effective preventive measures in terms of personal hygiene & social distancing. The above situation could have been possible in an ideal world but the world is not ideal & hence we have to deal with reality. Unlock 1.0 is expected to see an exponential rise in COVID-19 cases as the businesses will gradually return to normalcy & social boundaries will shrink drastically. This is the most critical time for our immunity to be strong & respiratory health to be at best to safeguard ourselves from catching Coronavirus infections. Clinical studies & panic-selling media have already confirmed the importance of strong immunity in preventing COVID-19 but very few words are shed in media for spreading awareness of respiratory health.

Most of us have grown up watching a family TV at home. Programs to be watched were either pre-decided by elders or decided by the one who held the remote. Biological breaks were often synchronized with the commercial breaks. Kids would often bunk extra classes on Saturdays & sacrifice morning slumber on Sundays to watch their favorite superhero Shaktiman. In this never-ending lockdown period, many of us may have realized that TVs are past their prime & the next big thing in the entertainment industry is OTT (Over The Top) platform. OTTs once looked at as an alien concept are rapidly growing their roots in the entertainment industry today. In the lockdown period, OTT majors like Netflix, Prime Video, ZEE5 & MX Player have already posted more than 200% growth in their subscribers base. What is really driving us to OTT platforms? Boredom stemming from traditional TV providers:  Repeat telecasts, fear-selling media & high decibel news debates on tra

The most celebrated silver lining of COVID-19 lockdown is work from home. The luxury once limited to the very few & selected sectors became obligatory across industries in lockdown. The most increasingly sought opportunity of striking work-life balance came as a blessing in disguise. Many seemingly impossible ideas will become “New Normal” & work from home is definitely one of them. Work from home once seen as an obligatory & temporary thing can be a permanent possibility in the near future. “Workspace”, one of the most expensive commodities in the business parks will be managed through work from home scheme. Pointless commuting hours, over-burdened public transport, flying fuel expenses & late toiling hours at work can be all sorted through the work from home scheme. The scheme doesn’t seem to have a flip side at all. But the story is different for those who have spent most of their careers in cubicles & cabins. I strongly believe, brainstorming meetings have