Coronavirus is hammering Iran & will this change buying behavior forever?

Iran says 21 more people have died from the coronavirus, bringing the country's death toll to 145. More than 1,000 infections were also confirmed overnight totaling some 5,823 cases nationwide. https://t.co/9T26C6AhcS

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 7, 2020

Iran is getting hammered and we can pretty much assume that its just the tip of the iceberg.

Question.

Will this virus change buying behavior forever?  We're seeing (as predicted) the acceleration of "avoiding crowds" which means that malls and major sporting events are taking a hit (have you seen reports of empty soccer fields in Europe and in the US basketball games without spectators happening) but will it extend to big boxes like WalMart?

My guess is that the thrill has already faded with regard to those places anyway.  You can get a better viewing experience at home when it comes to sporting events and as far as the malls are concerned they should have died long ago.

As far as big boxes I kinda expect a return to neighborhood stores to rule the day.

Not really sure because I don't study consumer spending behavior but I can't imagine that something like this will hit (and I think it will comeback fiercer than ever this fall) and not affect society.  Sept 11th did in a major way and I believe this will be just as important in our nation's history (maybe even more because more Americans will be affected...this ain't gonna be a spectator event).