Half of those immediately returning to public spaces and the high street say regular cleaning is the key safety factor.
Despite a clear public sentiment to resume shopping and socialising, the speed at which consumers return comes with a few caveats. Brands and retailers need to take note of what measures are the most important and what features can ease consumer worries about their safety in public spaces.
Returning consumer attitudes vary from across demographics and geographic areas polarising the immediate to slow returns, with high-risk individuals on both sides. Businesses need to be able to service both without fear of marginalising the other.
But…what do you need to do to take advantage of these changing attitudes and behaviours?
Heat mapping the density of population by risk attitude can help brands build the correct level of messaging, ensuring consumers can shop confidently is crucial to post-outbreak public behaviours. By reassuring customers they can be safe in public spaces, brands and retailers can expect to be rewarded with custom much quicker.
Levels of Optimism
45% of internet users globally are optimistic that their country will overcome the coronavirus outbreak and this figure is reflected in the UK market.
Knowing what matters most to returning consumers is important, but knowing who the returning customer is and how they will behave means businesses can prepare accordingly.
The ability to categorise and geographically map internet users based on the speed at which they intend to return to public spaces – immediately, quickly or slowly.
While it’s common knowledge that older audiences are more at risk from COVID-19, research conducted by global web index highlighted recently that over 40% aged over 56 actually intend on returning to shops quickly – just nine percentage points behind under 25s.
Intent to return to large outdoor/indoor venues is generally lower than for shops, and the gap between generations is more pronounced in this case – 1 in 3 consumers aged 56+ would quickly return to a large outdoor or indoor venue against 2 in 3 26-40 year olds.
Of immediate returners, 72% say they feel optimistic that their country will overcome the outbreak, falling to 59% for those expecting a slow return and climbing to 75% for quick returners.
Quickly returning shoppers are just as concerned as cautious ones
% of shoppers (by speed of return) who are optimistic about the country overcoming the outbreak and the % who have a high level of concern about the risk.
Optimistic Shoppers
72%
Immediate
returners
75%
Quick
returners
59%
Slow
returners
Extremely/Very Concerned Shoppers
72%
Immediate
returners
75%
Quick
returners
54%
Slow
returners
Question: How optimistic are you that your country will overcome the coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak? (Charts illustrate combined responses for scale points 4 and 5 on the scale of “1 – not optimistic at all” to “5 – very optimistic” | How concerned are you about the coronavirus/COVID-19 situation in your country? (Very/Extremely Concerned). Source: GlobalWebIndex Coronavirus Study. May 19-26 2020. Base: 578 immediate returners, 1,360 quick returners and 5,633 slow returners across 20 countries aged 16-64.
How to cultivate confidence for your consumer.
Businesses need to build confidence in consumers by mitigating risk and assure safety measures can work.
Brands and retailers who understand and communicate effectively the steps they’re taking to ensure even the most high-risk individuals that normal life can continue, will have the highest success on the high street.
This means that hygiene needs to be an absolute priority here: 64% of high-risk individuals say they consider regular cleaning important, rising to 72% for those aged 45-64.
Hygiene is the most important factor in returning
% of shoppers (by speed of return) who are optimistic about the country overcoming the outbreak and the % who have a high level of concern about the risk.
Question: Thinking about public spaces (e.g shops, leisure venues, public transport, etc), which of these factors are most important to you?. Source: GlobalWebIndex Coronavirus Study. May 19-26 2020. Base: 578 immediate returners, 1,360 quick returners and 5,633 slow returners across 20 countries aged 16-64
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