Your questions answered: following-up from our coronavirus webinar

At Attest, we’re in the unique position of getting a lot of data from consumers, really quickly. In a time of unprecedented uncertainty, that data can do a whole world of good.

We’ve been running surveys aplenty to thousands of consumers since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, and producing content to help inform on how consumer behaviour may be changing in the wake of a global pandemic.

Earlier this week, we ran a webinar, ‘The UK public’s reaction to the coronavirus’, where our product manager Stephanie Le Geyt talked through the results of our UK-based surveys. We had plenty of follow-up questions, so we’ve compiled this blog to answer them. And if you missed the webinar, don’t worry! You can still watch it here:

Q: “You made an interesting point on social distancing – I would love to understand if for those saying ‘no’ it is because their work prevents them from doing so as a reason.”

A: Of the people who said “no” to this question on social distancing, 43% of them are still going to work; the ones who are either not working or working from home are more likely to not be an at-risk group and are less worried about catching it themselves.

Q: “Is there any difference in gender & social distancing?”

A: Yes, of the 73.4% of people who said they intend to limit their social interactions, 43% were women, vs. 30% men.

Q: “Is it younger people who are choosing to NOT practise social distancing?”

A: Only 11.8% of respondents said they would not limit social interactions with others; of this 10% were 20 years old or younger. If we extend this to cover up to 25 is increases to 27%. However, the bulk in terms of age group falls between 26-50 year olds – so while age is a factor, it’s not restricted to ‘younger’ people.

Q: “It would be really good to understand how people plan on grocery shopping over the coming months – online or in-store?”

A: We have seen that 20% of people are now shopping online more than they were previously. However, as of now, the majority of respondents (54%) have said their shopping habits remain unchanged. This is definitely something Attest can help you track and monitor if it’s of interest to you. Feel free to get in touch.

Q: “Was it a nat-rep sample for the 5 surveys you ran, and what were the sample sizes?”

A: The targeting and the sample size changed throughout the surveys.

• Awareness and perception: 5th March, 1000 people, UK NatRep sample
• General perception of outbreak: 6th March, 1000 people, no targeting
• Perception and prevention: 6th March, 250 people, 18-75 year olds, employed full-time or part-time
• Working during outbreak: 13th March, 215 people. USA NatRep sample
• Shopping habits: 16th March, 1000 people, 50/50 split between 20-64 & 65+ year olds in UK
• General government response: 17th March to 911 people, UK NatRep sample

Q: “How are other businesses approaching PR in terms of wanting to support their community in any way possible (without looking like they are treating this as an ‘opportunity’)?”

A: We haven’t looked yet on how businesses are approaching PR – however this is something we can look into if it is of interest. Do reach out and we can look into it further!

Q: “Have you shared these insights with the UK government?”

A: Reaching out to the UK government is definitely on the list! We want to make sure we’re giving this information to whoever would find it helpful.

Q: “Do we have any other read on people’s emotions at this time? You spoke about anxiety, but what is the general sentiment at the moment? Only anxiety, or is there hope?”

A: For this study, we have focused on what are people worried about and how anxious they are feeling about COVID-19; there are definitely other emotions at play, and the fact that not everyone was very anxious or worried about all the areas we explored does indicate areas of optimism and hope. It’s something we absolutely plan to look into. Feel free to reach out if it’s of interest.

Q: “Is there any data on how people are managing their finances differently given the current issues? Are they expecting to start dipping into their savings?”

A: Not within this data-set, but it is definitely something we can look into. We have full reports on consumer behaviour in the finance industry, with samples from both the UK & the US – we’ll likely use this data as a baseline to compare how finance-oriented behaviour is changing in the wake of the virus.

You can find the UK future of finance report here, and the US future of finance report here.

Q: “Are you planning to publish these results?”

A: We’ve published the first set of results here. We’ll be writing follow-up content with new results as they come in, and sharing them on our social media platforms – primarily LinkedIn and Twitter. We’ll also be starting up a dedicated email newsletter for those who want these survey results, and related content from around the web, sent directly to their inbox weekly.

Q: “Do you know why people answered No (1 in 10) to actually implementing social distancing?”

A: Over 40% of those who said no, are still working so they have less choice in limiting social interactions. Of the ones that are either out of work or WFH the majority is have said they are not high risk (63.8%) and almost 1/3 believe COVID-19 is not affecting them now or will in future.

Q: “With less social interaction and events, will people be spending or changing their shopping habits around clothing?”

A: Almost certainly – we’ve already seen some of the changes in people’s shopping habits regarding food, and it’s very likely that these changes will effect other sectors as well. We haven’t looked specifically at clothing in these surveys, but it is certainly something we can do if it is of interest. Please do reach out and we can speak further.