The Value of Covidience
White paper on the impact of Covid on user behaviour, and the patterns of using digital platforms to access essential services.
Achievements
- Traced how grocers of every size, from local shops to Amazon, adapted as customers shifted from convenience to covidience
- Ran 10 one-hour consumer interviews and 2 industry-expert interviews across the Greater Montreal area
- Published a 32-page white paper distilling the findings into a forward-looking framework for retailers
The Problem
The ecosystem of essential services, local stores, take-out, grocers, meal kits, and retailers, was upended by COVID-19. What emerged was a new way of life, redefining consumer behaviour and expectations.
The Research
We interviewed 10 Montrealers and 2 industry experts to understand the new shopping experience, and followed companies of different sizes to see how they adapted, moving from convenience to covidience.
The Way Forward
Large grocers will lean on automation and robotics for scale, while small and independent shops grapple with digital transformation. Sustainability, local economy, and authenticity will decide who wins a covidient future.
Study Extracts
From convenience to covidience
Reaction to being in quarantine
Take-out taken out
Unpacking meal kits
Read the Full Study
32 pages covering the full research design, Canada in quarantine, the shifting shopping landscape, and a covidient framework for retailers.
Download the White Paper (PDF)About the Authors
Antonios Bougiouris
An independent strategy and communications consultant based in Montreal. A Juilliard-trained dancer turned McGill MBA, he helps clients uncover the insights that let them realize their objectives. LinkedIn
Raoul Flaminzeanu
A Canadian product strategist and design thinking consultant. His work explores where business, design, and technology converge to deliver meaningful, memorable user experiences. LinkedIn
Convenience Wasn’t Enough Anymore
Covidience was never just a pandemic story. It was a reminder that a product’s value proposition isn’t fixed: the moment the world's constraints shift, what people need from you shifts with it. The retailers who read that shift early, and rebuilt around trust and safety rather than defending the old idea of convenience, are the ones who kept their customers.