What did we learn about consumer behavior when the world was turned upside down due to COVID-19? Consumer Lessons From a Pandemic examines how a global crisis exposed and reshaped the values, priorities, and decision-making patterns of everyday people. From disrupted routines to supply-chain shocks, this volume explores the consumer behaviors that emerged in response to extreme uncertainty and how those behaviors continue to evolve. Topics include pandemic-induced grocery spending shifts, the importance of consumer trust, lessons from the infant-formula shortage, and the rise of remote work both as a preference and a negotiation point.

By pairing real-world behavior with research and reflection, this book highlights how crisis decision-making reveals deeper truths about consumer needs—and the fragility and resilience of the systems built to meet them. For those working in agriculture, food, retail, and policy, Consumer Lessons From a Pandemic is both a postcrisis case study and a lasting reminder that understanding the consumer means meeting them where they are, even in the most uncertain times.

Author Biography

Nicole J. Olynk Widmar is an agricultural economist specializing in farm businesses and consumer decision-making under uncertainty. She serves as a professor and the head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University.

Michael L. Smith is a research scientist specializing in the human dimensions of resource use, applying cross-disciplinary methods in agricultural economics and the social sciences. He works in Purdue University’s Department of Agricultural Economics.

Erin Robinson is a communications and marketing professional with experience in agricultural business and academic research environments. As marketing manager for Purdue University’s Center for Food and Agricultural Business, she develops marketing strategies, creates content and outreach initiatives, drives brand awareness, and evaluates marketing effectiveness.

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