After a relatively stable two weeks, last week saw all three metrics increase for the first time since the week of March 16 (just after the World Health Organisation declared a pandemic, and as major countries announced and implemented national lockdowns).

The biggest relative increase was in the number of engagements Covid-19 articles received, up 27% week-on-week. The number of articles increased by just 4%, meaning the average number of engagements an article received jumped from 329 to 401 per piece, the highest it’s been in a month.

The online Covid-19 discussion increased in size by 4%. While not as large a jump as the one engagements saw, it’s the biggest increase since early March.

What’s caused this renewed focus on Covid-19? Two topics seem to be playing a big role.

One is coverage of the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths. Last week saw two grim milestones reached: 10m cases and 500k deaths worldwide. Articles that discussed this topic saw their total engagements reach 33.4m last week.

The wearing of masks also saw renewed interest. While there were only 250 more articles on the subject last week, total engagements were up by 82% (reaching 9.5m). The most popular article about masks and Covid-19, a Forbes piece on how wearing a mask is about mutual respect, got 4.2m of those engagements alone.

We also found the online discussion around wearing masks has been increasing sharply over the last two weeks.

With scientific evidence suggesting masks can curtail the spread of the virus, more official bodies recommending their use, and some companies requiring face coverings in their stores, it’s hoped that mask wearing will be an effective tool in the fight against Covid-19.

Having said that, we’ve seen multiple stories about confrontations between staff attempting to enforce their business’ mask policy and members of the public refusing to comply. It’s an issue that’s unlikely to go away soon, and companies will need to ensure staff are trained and prepared to deal with these situations as they arise.

Electric dreams

Every day this week we’ll be blending social data with search data provided by Pi Datametrics to explore the electrical items that have seen unseasonal interest from consumers due to Covid-19.

Searches for electronic items, from fridges to headphones to games consoles, have all seen unexpected spikes in popularity in recent months.

Interest in buying electricals has also spiked on social media recently. While the patterns aren’t as neat as search data (owing to the unpredictable nature of social), there’s a clear increase in interest in March and April 2020.

While demand for items like toilet paper and pasta have been well documented, different kinds of consumer goods have also become lockdown must-haves.

Let’s zoom in on our first category of electricals that have seen a boost in lockdown: beauty and grooming items.

Similar to the above charts, there’s a massive incline in interest in these items (like clippers and hair scissors) both on social and in searches. Comparing March and April 2020 to January and February 2020, there were 69% more searches and 89% more social media mentions that indicated an intent to purchase such products.

As salons and barbers had to close under lockdown, many took to the internet to find the products they’d need for DIY haircuts. On social media, consumers asked for recommendations for good clippers and looked for tips, with many discussing using YouTube tutorials to work out how to cut their own or their partners’ hair.

Now many consumers are better equipped to tend to their own grooming needs, there are a few implications to consider for the future.

The obvious one is the potential for salons and barber shops to lose business. As the economic fallout of the pandemic becomes clearer, expensive haircuts probably won’t be first on the agenda for many consumers.

Another far less obvious one can be found in a trend we’ve found running through mentions around buying razors. There is an ongoing debate about price points and the pros and cons of razors targeted at men and those targeted at women. We found lots of people talking about women buying razors targeted at men and vice-versa, for a myriad of different reasons.

With interest in grooming products on a real high, now’s the time to analyze what consumers really think about products that have traditionally been marketed very differently to men and women. As a result, beauty and grooming brands might want to spend some time rethinking their target personas.

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Brandwatch Response Team