With lockdown restrictions being eased and life slowly returning to normal, WPP agency Kinetic [1] has been running regular research asking consumers what they will be doing and prioritising as the lockdown lifts. It has also been tracking travel data in the UK and overseas to understand likely patterns of behaviour, for example, where we may see a return to normal, where we won’t and what will be different.
Its Alfresco Life Study covers sectors such as travel, fashion and beauty, automotive, grocery shopping and theatre/live events and here are some of the key consumer insights across those sectors:
- Automotive
- Most adults feel that as lockdown restrictions are lifted, their driving habits will return to the same level.
- 1 in 5 adults with children in the household believe they will drive more than previously, indicating the possibility of a market growth in the family car market.
- 29% of respondents said they are actively in the market for a new car however of these consumers, 13% said they were delaying their purchase due to Coronavirus while 11% said the crisis had had no impact on the timing of their purchase and 5% said they had actually brought forward their planned purchase
- 2 in 3 consumers remain optimistic about their financial health
- Fashion & Beauty
- 90% are planning to spend money on treats following lockdown
- A third plan to buy new clothes
- 26% of 18-34 year olds are looking forward to buying beauty products
- More than a third of consumers feel they are more likely to physically shop post lockdown
- Grocery shopping
- 64% “miss browsing in the shops”
- 88% will do in person grocery shopping at least once a week post Covid-19
- A third of adults believe they will do more shopping on grocery stores in the future
- Two thirds of adults believe there will be no change to how they shop for groceries in the future compared to before the lockdown
- Travel
- 1 in 4 adults believe that in the long term they will travel more as a result of Coronavirus rising to a third of 18-34 year-olds
- Almost 60% of consumers plan to book at holiday within 3 months of lockdown restrictions ending
- Almost half say they plan a foreign holiday post crisis while 42% are planning a UK break
- Theatre and Live events
- 46% are planning on visiting cinemas within a month of them reopening
- 1 in 6 are planning on treating themselves to tickets to a live event once restrictions are lifted
- 17% plan to go to the theatre as soon as possible, 45% will wait a while and only 3% of adults don’t plan to go back to the theatre as a result of Covid-19