In his work as a consumer behaviouralist, Ken Hughes studies the innate behaviors of humans and how they’re influenced by internal and external forces. The emergence and vast spread of COVID-19 has sparked the “”Captive Economy,”” according to Hughes, in which consumers are striving to maintain control in a time of anxiety and uncertainty.

Using these new behaviors and mindsets as the foundation of the conversation, Hughes and senior content strategist Alicia Esposito dig into whether consumers will revert back to old habits, and how retailers are going to need to pivot their playbooks to respond.