What’s the Story?

This report presents the results of Coresight Research’s latest weekly survey of US consumers, including on the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak, undertaken on September 9, 2020. We explore the trends we are seeing from week to week, following prior surveys on September 2, August 26, August 19, August 12, August 5, July 29, July 22, July 15, July 8, July 1, June 24, June 17, June 10, June 3, May 27, May 20, May 13, May 6, April 29, April 22, April 15, April 8, April 1, March 25 and March 17–18.

What Shoppers Are Buying and What They Are Doing

What Consumers Are Currently Buying More Of and Less Of

Once again, we saw fluctuation in the proportion of respondents that are currently buying more of any category than before the crisis. This week, the proportion jumped back to the level we saw two weeks ago—some 72.4% are buying more, up from 62.7% last week. The proportion of respondents that are currently buying less than pre-crisis also increased slightly this week to 53.5%, versus around half last week.

• Buying more of certain categories and buying less of certain categories were not mutually exclusive options, so respondents could answer yes to both.

Buying more: Essentials, including household products, food and personal care remained the top categories of which consumers are buying more. However, the proportion buying more household and personal care products has been fluctuating in the past few weeks. This week, both categories spiked to the level we saw two weeks ago.

Noticeably, the proportions of consumers that are buying more of the discretionary categories listed in Figure 2 all went up slightly, with the largest increase being in beauty—around five percentage points. In the next section of this report, we also outline our finding that the proportions of respondents that had bought apparel online and in-store over the past two weeks have reached  new highs.

Buying less: Apparel, beauty and home remained the most impacted categories—with the highest proportions of consumers currently buying less of such products. Some 27.6% are currently buying less apparel—the most-cut category—which is fairly stable with the level from last week. The proportion of respondents buying less in the beauty and home categories both went up very slightly, after dropping to the lowest levels last week.

Ratio of less to more: The ratios of the proportions of respondents buying less to the proportions buying more in all four discretionary categories tracked in Figure 2 declined, with the ratios for apparel and home sliding to a new low this week.

• The ratio for apparel went down to 2.1, from 2.7 last week and 3.2 two weeks ago.
• The ratio for beauty stood at 1.8 this week, versus 2.8 last week. This is also the first time the ratio fell below two since the week of July 22.
• The ratio for home came at 1.3, compared to 1.9 last week and 1.8 two weeks ago.
• The ratio for electronics dropped to 1.3, from 1.7 last week.

[caption id="attachment_116185" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Respondents could select multiple options
Base: US Internet users aged 18+
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_116186" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Base: US Internet users aged 18+
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]  

Online and In-Store Apparel Shopping Increase to New Highs

Each week, we ask consumers what they have done in the past two weeks. This week, the proportion of respondents increased for 10 of the 16 options we provided for recent activity options—although most changes were within the margin of error.

• The proportions of respondents that had bought clothing or footwear, both online and in-store, reached new highs this week. Some 37.2% had bought apparel online in the past two weeks, versus one-third in last week’s survey, which was the average level we saw in July and August. It also remained the top spending activity this week. Some 23.9% had bought clothing or footwear in a store in the past two weeks. This proportion has increased by seven percentage points from what we saw three months ago.
• Online grocery shopping bounced back after tapering off last week. The proportion of respondents that bought groceries online jumped by five percentage points to 33.7%, from 28.4% last week. Its ranking also improved to the second-most-popular spending activity, from third position last week.
• The proportions of respondents that visited open-air and enclosed shopping centers also reached the highest levels since we started asking this question. We have seen a gradual uptick over the past few weeks in the proportion of consumers that visited open-air shopping centers—with one-fifth reporting in this survey to have done so in the past two weeks. The proportion of consumers that visited an enclosed shopping mall also returned to the level we saw two weeks ago: Some 16.0% had visited such locations. This is consistent with the declining trend of consumers’ avoidance of shopping centers/malls in our later findings.

[caption id="attachment_116187" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Respondents could select multiple options
Base: US Internet users aged 18+
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]  

Online Grocery Shopping Returned as the Top Spending-Related Activity in the Next Two Weeks

Each week, we ask consumers what they expect to do in the next two weeks, with a comparable set of options to those for the last two weeks. In the chart below, we compare these short-term expectations with recent actual behavior.

We saw slightly lower proportions of consumers expecting to do 11 of the 16 options we provided for activities in the next two weeks than actual behavior in the past two weeks.

• Online grocery shopping returned as the top expected spending-related activity for the next two weeks, with 28.8% of consumers planning to buy groceries online, versus one-third of actual behavior of such activity in the last two weeks.
• Some 21.9% expect to buy clothing or footwear online in the next two weeks, and 17.2% plan to do so in a store. Only 14.0% of consumers expect to purchase beauty products. We expect to see higher proportions in actual behaviors of these shopping activities, particularly for apparel, as previous survey results showed that actual behavior exceeds expected behavior for both online and in-store apparel shopping.
• The proportion that plan to dine in a restaurant within the next two weeks is very close to the proportion that expect to shop for groceries online. Some 27.8% respondents reported that they expect to eat in a restaurant—around five percentage points lower than actual behavior in the past two weeks. This difference is aligned with increasing consumer avoidance of food-service locations, which we discuss in the next section.

[caption id="attachment_116188" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Respondents could select multiple options
Base: US Internet users aged 18+
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]  

What Public Places Consumers Are Avoiding

Eight in 10 Are Currently Avoiding Public Places

This week, the proportion of respondents saying that they are avoiding any type of public area was broadly level with that from last week—79.3% are currently avoiding any public place.

We saw the avoidance rate for most of the 12 options provided remain relatively stable, and most of the changes were within the margin of error.

• The proportion of respondents that are currently avoiding shopping centers/malls fell for the fourth consecutive week, to the lowest level we have seen since July—although this change was within the margin of error. Some 55.9% are currently avoiding such places, versus 56.5% last week. Compared to the peak of two-thirds on July 22, the avoidance rate has dropped by 10 percentage points this week.
• Avoidance of shops in general also reached the lowest level we have seen since July. Around four in 10 respondents are currently avoiding such places. The avoidance rate has fallen 13 percentage points from the highest level of 53.5% on July 22. The gradual declines in avoidance of both shopping centers/malls and shops in general are an encouraging sign for retailers.
• Food-service locations overtook shopping centers/malls as the most-avoided public places this week. Some 56.2% are currently avoiding restaurants, bars and coffee shops.

  [caption id="attachment_116189" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Respondents could select multiple options
Base: US Internet users aged 18+
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]

Reviewing Trend Data in Current Online Shopping Behavior

Seven in 10 Are Switching Spending Online

This week, we saw the proportion of consumers buying more online than they used to broadly level off. Some 71.4% are currently buying more online, versus seven in 10 last week.

As mentioned above, more consumers are currently buying more of any category. However, this was not mirrored in the proportion buying more online than they used to pre-crisis. This likely reflects that consumers are returning to physical stores for additional purchases, shown by the decrease in avoidance of both shopping malls/centers and shops in general.

[caption id="attachment_116190" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Base: US Internet users aged 18+
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]  

What Consumers Are Currently Buying More Of Online

This week, we saw a slight increase in the proportion of consumers that are currently buying more household products online than they used to, although changes were within the margin of error. Online purchases of food also rebounded slightly after declining in the past two weeks—some 23.9% are buying more food online, versus 22.4% last week. This is consistent with our previous finding that the proportion of consumers that bought groceries online in the past two weeks bounced back this week.

Clothing and footwear remained the third-most-purchased category online this week. Some 28.3% are currently buying more apparel online, roughly in line with last week’s level. The proportion of respondents that are currently buying more beauty went up slightly: Some 19.2% are buying more of this category online—the highest level since July. Other discretionary categories, including home and electronics, remained fairly stable this week.

[caption id="attachment_116191" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Respondents could select multiple options
Base: US Internet users aged 18+
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]  

What We Think

This week, we saw the following:

• Apparel: Apparel remains the most impacted category, but slightly more consumers reported purchasing more clothing or footwear than pre-crisis, compared to previous weeks—13.1% are currently buying more, the highest level we have seen in months. The ratio of respondents buying less apparel to those buying more fell to the lowest level of 2.1. Our survey found that more consumers are buying clothing or footwear from both channels: The proportions of consumers that had bought apparel online and in-store in the past two weeks reached new highs—Some 37.2% had done so online and 23.9% had bought in-store. We have seen the in-store level gradually creep up over the past few weeks, as avoidance of shopping centers and shops in general have decreased slightly.
• Online Grocery: Online grocery shopping rates recovered after tapering off somewhat last week—the proportion of respondents that bought groceries online in the past two weeks increased by five percentage points to around one-third. We have also seen more consumers saying they are currently buying more food online than pre-crisis. For more data on the trajectory of grocery e-commerce, see our latest monthly US CPG Tracker report. Our weekly survey report on August 19 also focuses on consumers’ online grocery shopping habits.
• E-Commerce: This week, we continue to see the proportion of consumers that are currently buying more online than they used to remain high at 71.4%, despite almost all stores having been reopened. This could suggest that consumers are retaining online shopping behaviors. We expect e-commerce to remain at an elevated level as we move toward the holiday season.

Methodology

We surveyed respondents online on September 9 (406 respondents), September 2 (402 respondents), August 26 (414 respondents), August 19 (416 respondents), August 12 (400 respondents), August 5 (449 respondents), July 29 (403 respondents), July 22 (404 respondents), July 15 (454 respondents), July 8 (410 respondents), July 1 (444 respondents), June 24 (411 respondents), June 17 (432 respondents), June 10 (423 respondents), June 3 (464 respondents), May 27 (422 respondents), May 20 (439 respondents), May 13 (431 respondents), May 6 (446 respondents), April 29 (479 respondents), April 22 (418 respondents), April 15 (410 respondents), April 8 (450 respondents), April 1 (477 respondents), March 25 (495 respondents) and March 17–18 (1,152 respondents). The most recent results have a margin of error of +/- 5%, with a 95% confidence interval. Not all charted week-over-week differences may be statistically significant.