The crisis caused by COVID-19 was not like any other in that it combined a healthcare crisis with a global economic crisis brought on by the measures taken to tackle the former. It also exhibited differential elements versus previous crises that determined the depth of its impact: the first was its multiple nature, as a health, economic and social crisis; the second, the intensity of the economic contraction, the largest since World War II; and the third, the fact that the recession was globally synchronized, extending to almost every national economy.

The goal of this monograph is to analyze consumer reactions to the COVID-19 crisis and its effects on certain sectors like tourism and retail, along with the changes it has wrought in patterns of consumption

The COVID-19 crisis changed the way we buy one-off products and services. Far more than others, it was a crisis of consumption, with some variants especially hard hit, not just because of declining activity and income but because the pandemic cut short all consumption – the starkest examples being leisure and tourism.

The boom in e-commerce is among the clearest consequences of the pandemic; an increase of 62.8% during the pandemic period analyzed. The pandemic underscored the need for retail to go digital, selling online, connecting with clients via social media, integrating the smartphone into the purchasing process and, in sum, satisfying a new kind of customer who wants to interact with retailers the same way they interact in other life spheres.

The book provides material for researchers, public-sector managers and society in general to understand the effects and changes triggered by COVID-19 in consumption patterns and such key sectors of the Spanish economy as tourism and retail.