Some shoppers are shunning foreign goods due to virus risk, research claims

The coronavirus crisis has altered consumer behavior, with panic buying, stockpiling and e-commerce becoming the norm this year as people around the world learned to live under lockdown.

While lockdown measures are being eased in many countries, uncertainty around the spread of the virus remains — and it could continue to shape our attitudes toward the goods we buy, analysts have found.

A third of global consumers now worry that products shipped from abroad could pose a safety risk, according to market research firm Kantar.

The company surveyed 45,000 people across 17 countries online and over the phone in late April. The “Covid-19 barometer” study had a margin of error of 2%. 

Goods from China and the U.S. were perceived as particularly risky by consumers in other countries, according to Kantar’s findings, with 47% saying they were far less in favor of buying American and Chinese products.

People in South Africa, South Korea, Nigeria and France were most fearful of buying goods imported from China and the U.S., according to Kantar.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/23/coronavirus-is-it-safe-to-buy-imported-goods-amid-the-pandemic.html