Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Consumers Again Express COVID-19 Comfort Concerns

When Morning Consult first began tracking consumer comfort levels during the spring lockdowns, people became steadily more confident that they would be able to safely return to public spaces in the near future.

Following a brief downturn in comfort levels, the public’s attitudes did not budge significantly for 12 weeks during the summer. At the beginning of fall, comfort levels for some activities started to creep up, but by mid-October, they now seem to be falling or showing signs of stagnation again.

Republicans are roughly twice as likely as Democrats to say they feel safe doing the activities listed in the chart above, a gap that showed signs of closing in mid-August, then again early in the fall. But by mid-October, comfort levels among political parties started to diverge again.

In late September, Democrats for the first time reported comfort increases with regard to more categories than Republicans, followed by a week of no significant change in comfort levels for either group compared with the prior week. 

In the most recent survey, which was conducted Oct. 8-10, Democrats reported a decline in comfort with regard to going to the mall: Twenty-one percent of the group said they would feel safe doing so, compared to 28 percent who said the same earlier in the month. Thirty-two percent of all adults said they currently feel comfortable returning to shopping malls, down from 35 percent in early October. 

The persistent partisan gap could spell trouble for businesses located in Democratic-leaning areas, such as along the coasts or in major cities, with Democrats less comfortable with venturing out.

Source: NuVoodoo Research

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