by Freedonia Industry Studies
December 9, 2021
Many of us started 2021 with a lot of hope…highly effective and safe vaccines were arriving and were being distributed in increasingly wide circles.
Then came the variants.
The Delta variant, which spread widely in the summer and through the fall, was determined to be more aggressive with more contagion and illness even in children. After investigations, the vaccines were found to be effective against Delta. However, children and many adults were still not vaccinated.
With the winter holidays upon us came news of the Omicron variant. First discovered in South Africa and rapidly spreading globally.
The thought among many was “here we go again…” as unvaccinated populations remain vectors for variants to develop and spread, including the potential for ones which could evade current vaccine protection.
But is it? There’s no denying that many if not most are suffering from some level of “pandemic fatigue” and are tired of COVID driving or effecting their decision making. Still, the rise of a new and yet unknown variant as we prepared to gather for the holidays introduces a level of uncertainty into the economy.
In the October-November edition of the Freedonia Group National Online Consumer Survey (conducted October 16-November 5, 2021), 33% of respondents reported being very concerned about the Delta variant of COVID-19 and potential future variants. Another 42% reported being somewhat concerned about them. Only 11% said they were not concerned at all.
The concern is highest among people:
This survey was conducted before the Omicron variant began to be reported in the news. The Freedonia Group has another edition of the survey being conducted now, which will reflect that news. Freedonia analysts will remain vigilant of changes in consumer sentiment as we wrap up 2021 and move into 2022.
For more information and discussion of opportunities, see The Freedonia Group’s extensive collection of off-the-shelf research, particularly our series studies in the Consumer Goods catalog. Freedonia Custom Research is also available for questions requiring tailored market intelligence.