Sajid Amit, Associate Professor & Director, CES
Lumbini Barua, Research Associate, CES
Oliur Rahman Tarek, Research Associate, CES
May 05, 2020
CES COVID-19 Consumer Pulse Survey

Biggest Concerns of Bangladeshi consumers amid COVID-19
% of respondents
Bangladeshi Consumers are most concerned about personal and
family safety
2
Q: What Concerns you most about the COVID-19 situation? Possible Responses: Extremely Concerned/Very Concerned/ Minimally Concerned/Somewhat
Concerned/Not a Concern
Very Concerned/
Extremely Concerned
CES COVID-19 Consumer Pulse Survey 2020
59%
62%
76%
77%
84%
85%
88%
90%
94%
96%
Impact on upcoming travel plans
Negative impact on my business
Contributing to the spread of the virus
Negative impact on job or income
The Bangladeshi economy
Health of my relatives who are vulnerable
Not knowing how long it will last
Overall public health
Taking care of my family
Safety of myself or my family

Confidence on economic condition of Bangladesh after COVID-19
% of respondents
Majority (85%) unsure or pessimistic about the country’s economic
condition after COVID-19
3
Q: How is your overall confidence level on economic condition after the COVID-19 situation? Possible Responses: Unsure/Optimistic/Pessimistic
Unsure Pessimistic Optimistic
CES COVID-19 Consumer Pulse Survey 2020
15%
30%
55%
Optimistic: The economy will rebound within 6
months and grow just as strong as or stronger
than before COVID-19
Pessimistic: COVID-19 will have lasting impact
on the economy and show lengthy recession
Unsure: The economy will be impacted for 6-12
months or longer and will show slow growth
thereafter

Overall sentiment of Bangladeshi consumers
% of respondents
Majority (at least 84%) cutting back on spending and (at least 67%)
experiencing drop in income
4
Q: Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. Possible Responses: Strongly Agree/Agree/Unsure/Disagree/Strongly
Disagree
Strongly Agree Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Disagree
CES COVID-19 Consumer Pulse Survey 2020
26%
36%
25%
29%
41%
42%
47%
33%
32%
35%
35%
26%
33%
37%
25%
15%
22%
15%
15%
16%
10%
12%
12%
14%
14%
11%
5%
4%
5%
5%
4%
7%
7%
4%
2%
My family/friends’ health has been negatively affected
by coronavirus
My job feels less secure because of coronavirus
My ability to make ends meet has been negatively
impacted by coronavirus
My ability to work has been reduced by coronavirus
My income has been negatively impacted by
coronavirus
Uncertainty about the economy is preventing me from
making investments
I am cutting back on my day-to-day spending

Expected spending per category for the upcoming Eid
% of respondents
Eid spending will nose-dive sharply, with restaurants and hotels
expected to be hardest hit
5
Q: How will the COVID-19 situation affect you or your family’s spending on Eid on the following items? Possible Responses: Increase a lot/Increase slightly/About the
same/Stay the same/Reduce a lot/Reduce slightly
Decrease Stay the same Increase
CES COVID-19 Consumer Pulse Survey 2020
95%
92%
91%
89%
79%
4%
7%
6%
9%
14%
2%
2%
2%
2%
7%
Eating out at restaurants and hotels during
Eid holidays
New clothes for Eid
Travel to other countries during Eid holidays
Buying consumer durables (e.g., TV, fridge,
A/C) and furniture for Eid
Grocery shopping for Eid (e.g., rice, fish,
chicken, beef, vegetables, desserts, etc.)

Expected spending per category over the
next 3 months compared to usual
% of respondents
6
Q: In the next 3 months, do you expect that you will spend more, about the same, or less money on these categories than usual?
* Net Intent calculated by subtracting % of respondents stating they expect to decrease spending from the % of respondents stating they expect to increase spending
Increase Stay the same Decrease Not relevant for me
19%
29%
12%
6%
9%
4%
3%
3%
2%
4%
6%
9%
42%
55%
22%
16%
12%
7%
11%
13%
6%
13%
22%
35%
37%
13%
63%
53%
71%
84%
80%
79%
79%
78%
55%
52%
2%
3%
3%
25%
8%
6%
6%
5%
13%
6%
16%
4%
Groceries
Pharmaceutical Products
Snacks
Tobacco products
Food takeout & delivery
Restaurant
Footwear
Apparel
Jewelry
Accessories
Non-food child products
Personal-care products
-47
Net Intent*
-18
+16
-51
-62
-80
-77
-76
-77
-74
-49
-43
Beyond Eid, customer spending expected to increase only for Pharmaceuticals and
Online Learning, decrease for all else; and decrease the least for groceries
CES COVID-19 Consumer Pulse Survey 2020

CES COVID-19 Consumer Pulse Survey 2020
7
Q: In the next 3 months, do you expect that you will spend more, about the same, or less money on these categories than usual?
* Net Intent calculated by subtracting % of respondents stating they expect to decrease spending from the % of respondents stating they expect to increase spending
Increase Stay the same Decrease Not relevant for me
5%
3%
17%
12%
6%
5%
9%
4%
5%
6%
33%
7%
3%
19%
11%
29%
28%
18%
14%
17%
9%
34%
15%
29%
15%
8%
64%
75%
48%
55%
69%
65%
57%
69%
48%
62%
28%
73%
77%
12%
11%
7%
5%
6%
16%
18%
19%
13%
17%
10%
5%
12%
Skin care & makeup
Furnishings & appliances
Entertainment at home
Books/magazines/newspapers
Consumer electronics
Gym
Fitness equipment at home
Vehicle purchases
Home rentals
Home purchases
Online learning
Local travel
International travel
-43
Net Intent*
-59
-72
-31
-63
-60
-48
-65
-43
-56
+5
-66
-74
Expected spending per category over the next 3 months
compared to usual (Cont’d)
% of respondents
Beyond Eid, consumer spending expected to increase only for Pharmaceuticals and
Online Learning, decrease for all else; and decrease the least for groceries

8
Q: And where do you expect to buy these products and services? Possible Responses: In-store (in a physical store)/Online (through a website or an app)/ Not
Sure/ Not relevant for me
In-store Online Not sure Not relevant for meConsumer preferences in terms of physical and online
stores across product categories
% of respondents
Online purchases expected to grow, especially for home entertainment, groceries,
personal-care products, and reading materials
55%
68%
45%
32%
17%
23%
33%
30%
24%
27%
25%
32%
34%
24%
29%
12%
43%
31%
20%
22%
17%
25%
22%
35%
9%
5%
17%
19%
22%
27%
30%
29%
29%
28%
24%
20%
2%
2%
10%
37%
19%
19%
18%
19%
30%
20%
29%
14%
Groceries
Pharmaceutical Products
Snacks
Tobacco products
Food takeout & delivery
Restaurant
Footwear
Apparel
Jewelry
Accessories
Non-food child products
Personal-care products
25%
27%
22%
24%
26%
23%
22%
24%
29%
25%
24%
19%
29%
18%
36%
35%
26%
12%
17%
10%
15%
13%
20%
20%
22%
28%
24%
25%
27%
30%
28%
29%
28%
29%
32%
30%
24%
27%
18%
17%
21%
35%
34%
37%
28%
33%
24%
30%
Skin care & makeup
Furnishings & appliances
Entertainment at home
Books/magazines/newspapers
Consumer electronics
Gym
Fitness equipment at home
Vehicle purchases
Home rentals
Home purchases
Local travel
International travel
CES COVID-19 Consumer Pulse Survey 2020

Expected change to time allocation during the lockdown
period
% of respondents
During lockdown, people will spend more time working, chatting/messaging,
reading, watching streaming content, and reading news
9
Q: Until the Lockdown is completely lifted, how much time do you expect to spend on these activities compared to how much time you normally spend on them? Possible
Responses: Increase/Stay the same/Decrease
* Net Intent calculated by subtracting % of respondents stating they expect to decrease time spent from the % of respondents stating they expect to increase time spent
Increase Stay the same Decrease
+42
Net Intent*
+50
+26
+50
+18
+8
+55
+53
-31
59%
45%
57%
60%
39%
34%
69%
63%
18%
31%
36%
28%
30%
40%
39%
18%
27%
33%
9%
19%
15%
10%
21%
26%
14%
10%
49%
News online
News on TV Channels
Streaming Services (e.g., Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc)
Texting, chatting, messaging
Entertainment on TV Channels
Video Games
Working from Home
Reading for personal interest and/or growth
Reading Print Newspapers
CES COVID-19 Consumer Pulse Survey 2020

Anticipated impact to personal/household finances
% of respondents
More than 50% think that their finances will be impacted for
at least 7 months to more than a year
10
Q: How long do you believe your personal/household finances will be impacted by the COVID-19 situation? Possible Responses: More than 12 months/ 7-12 months/
4-6 months/ 2-3 months/ 0-1 month
34%
29%
19%
11%
6%
More than 12 months
7-12 months
4-6 months
2-3 months
0-1 month
CES COVID-19 Consumer Pulse Survey 2020

11
CES COVID-19 Consumer Pulse Survey 2020
Source:
CES COVID-19 Consumer Pulse Survey Research;
n=651; 25 years and above (prime working age);
Urban; Working Professionals;
HH income:
At least BDT 40-120,000/month,
BDT 120-250,000/month; and
Above 250,000/month
Note:
This survey aims to complement a multi-country study conducted by McKinsey & Co, which did
not include Bangladesh. Survey questions have been adopted from the said research, with
customizations, as appropriate.