Almost 90% of shoppers now say they have reduced or stopped shopping in-store as a result of the Covid-19 coronavirus, according to the latest instalment of the RetailX Coronavirus Consumer Confidence Tracker. And 44% say they’ll continue to buy as they do now.
Almost two-thirds of those questioned (62%) on May 20 said they had reduced the extent to which they visit physical stores, while 26% said they had stopped altogether. This is the highest number of people who say they have reduced their store visits yet, although it has remained at around 60% since the poll of March 25. Non-essential retail stores were ordered to close on March 23. On March 11, in the early days of the pandemic, only 21.2% said they had reduced the extent to which they went to shops.
Meanwhile, those who say they have completely stopped going to shops because of coronavirus has reduced slightly to 26% from 30% on May 6 – although this figure also stood at 26% on April 22. On March 11, only 3% had stopped going to shops. Smaller numbers say they have not changed the extent to which they visit shops (8.5% on May 20). Thirty two per cent say they have increased their visits to shops (2.6% on May 20).
Meanwhile, most shoppers (57%) continue to say they have changed the way they buy groceries online as a result of the pandemic – with only 43% saying they have not changed. Just under a third (32%) say they have bought groceries online more than before, while 12% say they have bought less.
Once the coronavirus issue is over, 44% say, as of May 20, they’ll continue to shop in the way that they do at the moment, while 49% say they’ll go back to shopping as they did previously. Only 7.5% say they haven’t changed the way they buy. Only 1% now say they don’t shop only, while the biggest groups of respondents say they buy between six and 15 times a year (29%) and between 16 and 30 times a year (27%). Fourteen per cent say they buy online more than 60 times a year – or more than once a week.
One thousand UK adults were questioned via Pollfish for the study. Figures have been rounded to the nearest full number.
Click here for all the charts.
Graphics: RetailX on Everviz
