Ready to Come Back
I’ve talked before about citizens and their desire to get back out there in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Obviously, some are getting back out there in a less than safe manner, and that’s a problem.
A multi-phase series of surveys of Americans aged 18-64 on how the pandemic has impacted them gives us an idea of what we plan to do.
This survey asked people what they would do within the first month of being “open”…and more than half, 52 percent, said they’d shop at a local merchant. That’s the only category that got a majority of respondents.
Close behind, though, was visiting relatives at 48 percent, with 45 percent of us saying we wanted to get our hair styled or cut. Other items that scored at least 40 percent…getting back to our places of work, inviting friends and family over to our homes, and meeting friends for coffee.
At the very bottom of the survey, with only 19 percent of respondents…taking a cruise on a ship…and taking an international flight. Sort of makes sense.
But in results that may telegraph how slowly certain industries will be able to recover…only a quarter of those surveyed said they’d rush right out to attend a sporting event or a concert, go to an amusement park close by, stay at a hotel, or get on an airplane. That’s a lot of caution out there.
We Americans do intend to finish purchases or projects we started before all this hit…especially when we look six months out. More than half of us say before the end of the end, we’ll buy furniture, make home repairs, buy insurance, and enroll in some sort of school. No doubt comes from all that extra time at home.
Obviously all this depends on who you are, where you’re at, and how much spike is in your area. Bottom line is that we’re cautious about wants…more certain about needs.
