Research Shows COVID Impacts on Buying

Numerator has been providing continued analysis on consumer behavior and sentiment during the pandemic by conducting ongoing surveys of shoppers.

As COVID-19 cases are rising across the country, shopping behaviors are changing.

More than half of consumers are eating and drinking at home more frequently (56%)
People are going out to restaurants and bars less frequently (60%)
51% of consumers have increased their use of online shopping
52% have decreased how much they shop in person at stores

What Changes Will Stick?

Consumers say they expect these behaviors to stick. What will really happen will only be known over time.

Asked what they will do when COVID restrictions end, Numerator found:

26% say they will continue to eat and drink at home more frequently
23% expect to shop online more frequently
18% will continue using click-and-collect / buy online pick-up in-store services more

Marketers need to stop waiting for it to be over so things can get back to what “normal” was pre-pandemic. People have changed.

Plan for Things to Stay the Same

When asked how long they expect it to take before they can return to normal activities, about a third of people said they anticipated 6-12 months and another third thought it would take a year or more.

People have largely moved on from thinking that COVID is a blip on the radar. They see it as something that will last a while, so they see changes in their behaviors as being long term rather than temporary.

Marketers need to help consumers to navigate these changes. Those that do will likely generate connections that will last long past COVID restrictions.