How is Consumer Behavior Changing? Kantar's Stephen DiMarco on COVID-19 Barometer Study

The first wave of research was conducted between March 1423 covering consumer attitudes media habits impact on onlineoffline purchase behavior and expectations from brands The second wave was conducted between March 2730Charlene Weisler Have you seen differences and changes wave to waveStephen DiMarco Here are some of the key differences we saw in Wave 2 compared to Wave 1Globally 52 say their daytoday lives have now been impacted by the current situation amp8211 up from 39 in wave 1Financial concerns outweigh personal health concerns 68 of people say the situation demands more proactive financial planning up from 62 in wave 1 and 60 vs 53 in wave 1 are worried about the economy39s ability to recoverMillennials are feeling the most severe impact financially 78 of 1834year olds say their household income has or will be impacted by coronavirus compared to 71 overallNational media channels such as nationwide TV channels and newspapers are still seen as the most trusted source of information with 54 of people identifying them as a trustworthy source up from 52 in wave 1Trust in government websites has increased to 54 vs 48 during wave 1 of the research suggesting that as the severity of the pandemic increases people are increasingly looking to their government for information and support47 41 in wave 1 of people expect companies to support hospitals during the crisis while 39 35 in wave 1 say that companies should be making themselves available to governmentsWeisler Were there any surprisesDiMarco I think we were initially surprised by how much people are not concerned with getting sick Their fears are around impact on their daily life including financially and the economy but not actually contracting the virus Trusted sources of information differ by country When thinking through this it makes sense but it does highlight some of the distrust of governmentmedia in the US specifically We don39t see a lot of 39new39 online purchasers so while online shopping is becoming more prevalent it is not necessarily because of new people trying online shopping People seem to think online purchasing will increase in the future but going to the store is one of few excuses to leave the house for manyWeisler What about concerns by age and genderDiMarco With Age generally concern is high but grows with age the 69 of the youngest 1824 are concerned and each age group progressively increases through to the 5564yearold group where 79 have high concern In China concern is higher than the world average with 90 or greater of each age group showing high concern In Italy concern is more aligned with the global average in the 7180 range and follows the trend that younger consumers are slightly less concerned than their older counterparts In the US concern is lower than the global average in almost all age groups except 3544 79 highly concerned Even fewer younger people show high concern only 64 of 1824 and only 57 of 2534 With Gender generally females show greater concern than men amp8211 77 to 70 respectivelyWeisler What 50 countries are includedDiMarco Algeria Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Bulgaria Canada Chile China Colombia Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Ecuador Egypt Finland France Germany Greece Guatemala Hungary India Indonesia Ireland Israel Italy Japan Kazakhstan Kenya Latvia Lithuania Malaysia Mauritius Mexico Morocco Netherlands Nigeria Norway Pakistan Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Russia Saudi Arabia Serbia Singapore Slovak Republic South Africa South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Thailand Turkey UAE UK Ukraine US and VietnamWeisler What are the differences in attitudes by countryDiMarco We looked at some of the key countries being covered around the pandemic amp8211 China Italy and the US Concern regarding the virus seems to follow the timeline of geographic spread greater in China then Italy then US Italy indicates the greatest impact on daily life while China has especially low expectations on the economic future Consumers in the US and China indicate higher preparedness in terms of increased shoppingWeisler And what about concerns by key marketsDiMarco In China concern is much higher as we saw with age but is even among females and males 93 ampamp 94 In Italy concern is much higher in females 83 than males 71 In the US concern is slightly higher among females 59 but not a huge gap to male counterparts 56Weisler What would you say are the topline takeawaysDiMarco We foundStaff welfare should be a company39s first priority amp8211 brands looking after their employees and offering flexible working are the top two concerns of consumersThere is still a place for advertising amp8211 consumers still find this useful and continuing to communicate will help brands recover faster As media behaviors change there are new opportunities to reach people amp8211 consider adapting online and social media strategies as the pandemic progresses in each marketConsider messaging and advertising strategy carefully amp8211 there39s a fine balance between being seen as helpful vs profiteering so ensure the right tone to build brandFinancial concerns are a 1 worry as more than half of people globally 52 say their daytoday lives have now been impacted by the situationNews consumption is up as people seek to stay informedWeisler What do you think this means for the futureDiMarco This will cause a forced trial of new brands because of price sensitivity availability where people are shopping could lead to long term changes in purchase behavior Focus on hygiene is likely here to stay and could cause changes in behaviors Sustainability Cashless purchases Hygiene related behaviorsClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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How is Consumer Behavior Changing? Kantar's Stephen DiMarco on COVID-19 Barometer Study

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Charlene Weisler

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How is Consumer Behavior Changing? Kantar's Stephen DiMarco on COVID-19 Barometer Study

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Charlene Weisler

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