SPONSORED CONTENT
Editor's note: This is the second collection of sponsored reports regarding the new consumer. To view Part 1, click here.
Re-start reactions, commerce & controversy
ACUPOLL’s tracked the everyday lives, hearts and minds of consumers since March 18 across more than 15,000 consumers. Report VII topics include:
- The return for 15-25% of the population to restaurants, salons, stores and visiting with friends. For most activities listed, more than half of consumers who haven’t yet resumed say reopening isn’t enough – they’ll wait until they feel safe.
- Patience with government restrictions and willingness to make sacrifices for others is high, especially for women 45+, but continues to decline, especially among those under age 45.
- Half of consumers think the current racial protests are a tipping point in changing the conversation, and the same amount support the protests (versus 31% who support protests against government restrictions).
- At least in this current news cycle, people express more worry about police brutality and racial injustice than catching the virus or passing it on to others, or even loss of income.
- Three-quarters want advertisers to change their message due to current events … but how to do so is tricky. Half want advertisers to address the health crisis. Half want compassion and reassurance of how companies are helping the community. And 25% want racism addressed. But data makes clear the benefits and risks of taking a stand.
- And on the lighter side, or in some cases heavier, we’ve found that nearly a third of consumers have gained weight during the crisis, particularly due to eating more/larger snacks.
Download the reports and sign up for ACUPOLL’s twice-monthly updates!
The research began on March 18, 2020 and is collected weekly.
Qualitative insights on COVID-19 as businesses reopen
Understanding the future of consumer behavior requires a deeper understanding of the context and whys behind consumer behavior. In this study, Digsite shines our qualitative research spotlight on consumers’ changing expectations as social distancing measures begin to loosen. In this third online qual research study in our COVID-19 series, we brought 25 consumers into a two-day online Digsite community to talk about their changing habits and attitudes and what they are feeling as social distancing measures are relaxed.
You’ll learn why consumers' spending and purchasing habits have changed and which changes/habits consumers plan to maintain even after social distancing control measures end. This research report also features participant videos so you can hear from consumers themselves on how they feel about the reopening of businesses and public spaces and what measures they think are necessary to feel safe.
Visit our website for key insights and to download the full report.
The research was conducted in June, 2020.
The COVID-19 chronicles: Understanding consumers’ shifting worlds
To provide brands with an opportunity to connect with consumers, C+R hosted an online pop-up community as a part of our COVID-19 Chronicles Consumer Connections Series. For the community, participants from across the United States shared their stories in real-time over a two-week period. A portion of these consumers also participated in a digital ethnography, chronicling their lives, behaviors and attitudes during the current environment with videos, pictures and text. And, all of the consumer community participants completed daily diaries to track their emotional journeys. Brands were given front-row access to it all – allowing them to dig deep into the whats and whys and the emotions that are driving consumers right now. They were also allowed to submit their specific questions.
We found that over the two weeks, consumers' daily emotions and experiences varied greatly, from extreme highs to extreme lows. Specifically, the areas that caused them extreme stress varied from day to day. And while there was an upward trend with these emotions, their journey was not linear. People are changing just as fast as new developments with COVID-19 are rapidly evolving. Click here to learn from the report how you can help consumers continue to cope during this transition of our evolving “new normal.”
The research was conducted from May 13-27, 2020.
Navigating to a new normal: Our scary, risky need to connect
Do I or don’t I? Everyday decisions take on new meaning when the risk is catching COVID-19. If you say yes, how do you feel afterward? Regrets or rejuvenated?
Pandemic, recession, protests supporting Black Lives Matter – the new normal is going to be influenced by all of the events of 2020. Through it all, Ignite 360’s series, Navigating to a New Normal, is exploring life today with 14 diverse consumers in weekly 1:1 conversations. Topics pivot and evolve week by week, driven by current events and behaviors that are changing.
Our qualitative insights are married with our always-on quant data from 1,250 U.S. adults 18+ (including Spanish-speaking) running since April 12.
We then apply our storytelling skills to find and bring the story to life in compelling, visually forward manner along with relevant thought-starters for businesses and brands.
It’s the what, the why and the now-what for the most complete story and recommendations for your business. Follow along by downloading Chapter 4 and check out others on our website.
- Chapter 1: Welcome to the Base of Maslow’s Hierarchy
- Chapter 2: Walking Through the Uncanny Valley
- Chapter 3: Now. Next. Future. Navigating Your Business to a New Normal
- Chapter 4: The Scary, Risky Evolutionary Need to Connect
- Chapter 5: Black Lives Matter available by July 1
- Chapter 6: Will be shared at the Quirk’s Virtual Event July 14-16
Research began April 12, 2020 and is ongoing with new chapters continuing.
Changing purchasing habits: Are they permanent?
COVID-19 has impacted consumer purchasing habits and routines over the last three months. Are these behaviors permanent? Provoke Insights, a full-service market research firm specializing in branding, advertising and content marketing research, conducted an online survey among a representative sample of 600 U.S. consumers between the ages of 21 and 65. The research was fielded from June 8-15, 2020. The study analyzed in-person and online buying habits, pandemic concerns and sentiment as restrictions are lifted. The research also looks at various industries' shopping behaviors and trends.
As retail stores reopen in the coming months, 43% of Americans are not ready to shop in-store the same amount as they did prior to COVID-19. However, this does not mean they are not buying. Online purchases have increased in areas that before COVID-19 were not as popular. Also, trends and behaviors have changed, causing excitement in new industries.
Provoke Insights developed 17 topical quick-to-read reports on the following topics:
- Supermarket & Groceries
- Retail
- Finance
- Technology
- The Economy
- Outdoors
- Beverage
- Sports
- Hospitality
- Luxury & Beauty
- Realtor
- Business-to-Business
- Children
- Fitness
- Home Improvement
- Utility & Streaming
- Restaurants & Event Planning
For further information on this data click here, e-mail info@provokeinsights.com or reach out to Rachael Ryan (rachael.ryan@provokeinsights.com).
The research was fielded from June 8 -15, 2020.
Decision Analyst: Consumer reactions to COVID-19
Nearly 9 in 10 Americans now tell us their area is beginning to relax shelter-in-place orders. People are venturing out more now compared to just a few weeks ago. The most common “re-entry” activity, by far, has been to utilize delivery/curbside pickup from a restaurant. Various forms of shopping, self-care behaviors and eating out are also coming back into the mix of activities. As more establishments begin to reopen across the country, we will likely see usage continue to increase. As policies are relaxing, concern about COVID-19 seems to be waning somewhat, though differences are noted across age groups. The Decision Analyst Consumer Reactions to COVID-19 Report contains our observations from surveying over 5,000 U.S. consumers over eight waves.
In mid-March, when COVID-19 began to have a bigger impact in the United States, we decided to field a research study to understand a number of issues Americans are facing:
- Who is being impacted by the onslaught of changes?
- What behaviors are changing and why?
- How are people feeling about what is happening around them?
- What are their biggest concerns?
- How do they expect their behaviors to change going forward?
Across the waves, some parts of our survey have remained constant, while other topics have been added or removed. Each page in our report presents the results from each wave in which that data was captured.
For more information about our free report, please visit: https://www.decisionanalyst.com/press/2020/covid19panelpulse/.
The research was fielded in waves from March 17 - June 17, 2020.
