COVID-19 Pandemic Discussion Paper
As we look at the interplay between needs, wants, and demand and how those factors lead to specific market offerings, consider these concepts in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlight a specific offering (product or service) you’ve purchased at point during the pandemic. If helpful, highlight more than one offering. Put them in context of a need and want and whether those existed prior to the pandemic and/or were shaped/changed by the ongoing situation.
For example, I could share a potentially obvious scenario of needing multiple masks to function in an office, shopping, etc. I didn’t have a need to cover my mouth and nose due to concerns of personal health and safety prior to the pandemic. The want could tie into product design specifications (e.g. color, types of straps, etc.). I might share that I’m in a professional environment and can’t wear some of the outrageous designs that exist. In fact, our HR department specifically highlighted the need for professionalism early on. In my case, I can even share that I experimented with a brand that sells masks that wrap around the head as an alternative to using only those around ears. I was willing to spend a little extra on that as well as based on reviews of thicknesses and ability for particles to pass through, etc. Today, I have a small collection of masks and yet I am already wearing them less often and for shorter periods of time due to the evolution of the pandemic, corporate policies, prevalence of the vaccine, etc.
Having shared this obvious example, I’d like each of you to come up with different ones–no more posts on masks. Furthermore, your post should be unique and not just another example of the same offering provided by a classmate. That means you need to read through those posted before yours to ensure you aren’t duplicating even accidentally in order to receive full credit.
Remember it could be something that you’ve purchased in the past but that might have been impacted by this situation.
Be sure to clearly define the need being met and how your specific wants were met by specifications.