How COVID Changed Shopping This Year

While I sound like a broken record recency is everything Lucky for us YouGov has been tracking how the pandemic is impacting consumer sentiment media usage eating patterns shopping habits and more Our COVID questions are integrated into our continuous interviewing for YouGov Profiles and the daily brand health data in YouGov BrandIndex helps you understand consumers39 evolving relationships with brandsHere are some key takeaways on changes in shopping behavior to inform and inspire as you navigate holiday and finalize your plans for 2021We39re Spending Less InStore Except GroceriesOne in five Americans is spending more online and one in three is spending less instore as a result of COVID19 As we spend more time at home we39re spending more money on groceries ampamp toiletries both online and instore On the flip side we39re spending less on entertainment and clothing online and especially instoreGen Z isamp160spending more online on clothing 19 and entertainment 23 whereas the increase in online spend for other generations is driven mostly by buying groceries online With bigger households and kids spending more time at home too parents of kids under 18 are more likely to have increased spend on groceries for online 31 and instore 46People who increased their online spend are less optimistic about the pandemic 51 think the COVID situation in the US is getting worse vs 43 overall and are less comfortable going into most types of public places ie stores restaurants mass transit etc These consumers will likely take longer to return to shopping instore and their online shopping behaviors may become ingrained in the meantimeWe39re Filling Our Time Instead of Our ClosetCOVID has brought a new twist on the purchasing quotexperiences over thingsquot trend Purchasing of books toys movies and games is holding as we look for ways to entertain ourselves and fill our time at home But we see drops in people buying clothes shoes and jewelry a trend that might not reverse until life outside the home fully reopens This will have huge implications for many retailers during the holidays and moving into Q1 As an example should boost strategies change Should you move to a different discounting strategy Should you offer different discounts for pick up vs online Is there varied messaging based on COVID needs vs holiday needsWe see declines in purchasing of all types of clothing and shoes except sweatshirts and yoga pantsleggings the new work from home uniform Work ampamp special occasion clothing such as suits dresses pumps are down the most dramatically All types of jewelry are down year over year although engagement rings see the smallest decline 7In terms of how this will play out over the holiday nearly onethird of Americans plan to spend less this holiday season than last year that39s about 78 million people These consumers are more likely to have suffered reduced hours or a furlough at work and they skew female age 5064 and suburban They have made deeper cuts to their spending especially on clothing instoreWe39re Starting To Become OnlineOnlyWhile the majority of people continue to shop a combination of online and instore we39re seeing notable growth in the number of people saying they shop exclusively or predominantly online for many categories Upwards of three in ten consumers say they buy online for allmost of their clothing computers financial products and music ampamp moviesAs spending online increases Amazon is reaping the lion39s share of those gains with 143 yearoveryear growth in people shopping the retailer We also see growth for Costco 60 vs last year as consumers look to stockup and reduce their frequency of shopping tripsDepartment Stores which were already struggling have been especially hard hit by the declines in spend on clothing and decrease in instore shopping Current customers are down yearoveryear for Macy39s 31 Kohl39s 25 and JCPenney 23 We39re seeing similar declines for browsingdriven discounts stores TJ Maxx 22 and Marshall39s 22 Talk about an opportunity to transform your holiday strategy These brands should be looking to lean into needs of the changing COVIDconsumermedia landscape and messaging that would make them a more attractive buy vs Amazon or big box Time to defend their market shareAs marketers questions to ask ourselves include What is my Amazon strategy Am I making it easy for shoppers to stock up on my productswherever they prefer to shop What opportunities am I creating for shoppers to discover my brand ampamp products if they shop exclusively online Do I have an Amazon storefront Do I make Instagram shoppable Can consumers pay via PayPal Apple Wallet After Pay Venmo etcSome of the realities of how we shop now will revert when we fully reopen but some are accelerations of trends that were already in play It39s my POV that we will not take steps back but lean into the ease of this change permanently Being easily purchasable online and discoverable online must be central in both your shortterm but longterm strategyIt39s a challenging time for many categories but uptodate data is available and helps a lot The right knowledge partner can help you go forth into the new year with confidence Contact me if you39re interested in seeing this data and more broken out for your specific target audiences brands etc I39m here to strategize and help Send your request herePhoto courtesy of Tamara AlesiClick 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 MediaVillagecomMyersBizNetamp160

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How COVID Changed Shopping This Year

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Tamara Alesi

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

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