CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS ON ROLE OF SUPERMARKETS IN THE NEW NORMAL WITH REFERENCE TO CHENNAI CITY

ABSTRACT

The study emphasise on the consumer perceptions on role of supermarkets in organised retailing sector in the new normal and factors which acts as driving force for consumers to prefer supermarkets, with reference to Chennai city. The sample size of the study is 128 respondents who were retail customers of Supermarkets in the new normal, under Non- Probability Judgment Sampling method. The impact of COVID-19 Pandemic has shown dramatic changes in the consumer buying behaviour at groceries and daily needs as safety protocols played a major deciding factor, which was the need for this research. There was a shift in consumer expectations and behaviour as a result of the lockdowns in India Now that our country has witnessed two strong waves of the COVID-19 crisis, the data collected by various researches suggest that pandemic has transformed people's behaviour. At the pandemic situations, people try to venture out most importantly for essential items with the available outlets, taking care of all safety protocols. With more developments as well as challenges in the field of organized retailing, consumer expectations, preferences and perceptions are changing from region to region. The new normal has aligned the supply chain systems, poised for innovation in all verticals to gain connect with consumers of organized retail sector.