Covid-19 Daily Bulletin 24/07: Shopping in Safety

What do people expect?

Welcome to our last bulletin of the week. Today we’re looking at what people think about shopping safety measures.

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Perceptions of store safety measures are changing

As lockdowns are eased around the world, things are starting to look a lot more like they used to (kind of).

But as more stores, coffee shops, cinemas, bars, and restaurants come back to life, what can businesses do to help consumers feel safe and confident when they’re out and about? To investigate, we looked to our Covid-19 Qriously survey data.

Consumers want clear Covid-19 guidance from businesses

65% of consumers across Australia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and the US have been wearing face masks, according to a Brandwatch Qriously survey conducted July 7 to July 20. That’s a 14% increase compared to the first time we asked about this back in May.

The same survey also found that large numbers of consumers are worried about:

Proximity to other people – 32%
Air contamination – 29%
Being indoors with other people – 29%
Contamination of surfaces – 24%

So consumers are taking precautions themselves, but they’re still worried about interacting with others (especially in enclosed spaces). In terms of visiting businesses, what could help them feel more at ease?

40% of respondents said that protective measures were ‘very important’ when considering whether to shop somewhere.

To explore this further, we asked them: “Which of the following do you consider when deciding whether to visit a shop?”

Stores requiring customers to wear masks was by far the most important measure we asked about. 53% of respondents reported that this was an important consideration for them last week, a 12% increase from the first time we asked back in mid-June.

Meanwhile, 34% of respondents said social distancing signage and enforcement was an important consideration. Respondents haven’t wavered on this matter since we first asked about it in June, indicating that this measure is and will likely continue to be very important for them.

We found that respondents haven’t changed their minds about contactless payments, either. 30% wanted this option both last week and back in June, again signalling that this is a trend that’ll be sticking around.

But some measures have seen less people listing them as considerations when entering a shop compared to earlier surveys. The percentage of respondents who want ‘capacity limits’ decreased by 3% from the first time we asked, now down to 31%. And the percentage of respondents that want a protective barrier at the checkout was 30% last week, a 3% decrease from when we first asked the question.

While both capacity limits and protective barriers have fallen in popularity in terms of what consumers want to see in shops, high numbers of people are still keen on them.

The store safety measures with the least people selecting them as considerations were one-way systems, delivery options, and drive through pick ups (consistently around 20%, 16%, and 14% of respondents pick these, respectively). These options could be considered as ‘nice to haves’ – they’re not by any means being demanded by everyone.

Meanwhile, the number of consumers who reported that none of the above measures were important to them have decreased by 17% since June. This indicates that, even as normality resumes, shoppers are increasingly demanding Covid-19 protective measures which make them feel confident and safe while shopping.

That really is the key finding from this Qriously survey. People want to get back to whatever their normal looks like, but nobody wants to compromise on safety. As times go on, businesses should continue to monitor consumer expectations. In the short time we’ve been asking people about them, many have changed.

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Stay safe,

Brandwatch Response Team

Digital Consumer Intelligence

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