about the author
As the Founder and CEO of CouponFollow, Marc has a passion for helping consumers save time and money while shopping online. He’s been a bargain and deal hunter since the early 2000s.
We've seen a massive shift in a very short period of time in how US consumers are behaving due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak. Increases in online shopping in some sectors, and massive decrease in others, a significant shift to mobile and online grocery shopping, and notable amounts of additional time spent viewing streaming services- all within less than two weeks. The world has adapted, and rapidly.
This survey was conducted with the objective of understanding US consumer behaviors in adults with respect to the COVID-19 (a.k.a., Coronavirus) pandemic.
For the purposes of this study, we defined March 11, 2020 as the pivotal date after which major lifestyle changes occurred for many Americans. This is the same date the World Health Organization declared the Coronavirus outbreak to be a pandemic. For this study, 1,859 US adults (18+) were surveyed on March 21, 2020.
The most commonly-reported concern related to the pandemic was actually being infected with Coronavirus or having a family member come down with it (40%). The next most common concern was the impact on the US economy (25%).
Of note, 31% of men were most concerned with the US economy compared to 20% of women, while women edged out men with 21% concerned with access to essential food, supplies and/or medical care compared to 14% of men.
There is urgency in resolving the pandemic, for a variety of reasons, two major ones are job loss and ability to pay basic bills. This was evident in our survey.
Thirty percent of respondents claimed that they would not be able to cover basic bills (rent, utilities, loan payments, etc.) they normally cover if the pandemic extends through April, 2020.
Among those with an annual household income less than $50,000, that number jumps to 40%.
Close to half of respondents (47%) have either lost their job, had a reduction in their work hours, or lost substantial revenue as a result of the pandemic.
Finally, about 75%, or 3 out of 4 respondents have had their job (employees) or business revenue (freelancers/business owners) affected by COVID-19 in some manner.
About 80% of respondents have changed their grocery shopping behaviors since the pandemic was declared. Among those who did, the most common changes were buying more non-perishable goods and making fewer trips to the grocery store.
Other key grocery shopping behavior shifts:
There have been swift and dynamic changes to the shopping behaviors of US consumers.
About half (49%) of respondents believe the pandemic will impact their shopping behavior for up to three months, while 40% thought it would be between four and twelve months. Six percent thought it would last over a year, while another six percent thought it wouldn’t impact their shopping behavior at all.
When asked which incentives would be motivating to increase shopping behavior during the Coronavirus pandemic, over half of respondents (54%) said that a stimulus package from the US government would motivate increased shopping behavior during the pandemic.
More availability of desired products was the next most cited incentive (53%), while 41% would respond to additional discounts on products.
If a stimulus package were approved, giving each American adult $1000, respondents would be most likely to put that money toward food and household supplies, savings, and health and wellness products. Less than 5% of respondents would prioritize spending the money on travel or beauty products.
Among those who ever use streaming services to watch TV and movies, over half (55%) have changed their habits. Two-thirds reported an increase in time spent watching by more than an hour per day, while 18% signed up for at least one new streaming service.
As mentioned above, we defined March 11, 2020 as the major outbreak marker, and 1,859 US adults (18+) were surveyed on March 21, 2020. Missing and not applicable responses were excluded from analyses. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Data were not weighted to be nationally representative, and results were not tested for statistical significance. The survey was conducted online and therefore excluded those without internet access. Data are for exploratory purposes. All results are self-reported.