States Are Loosening Business Restrictions, but That Doesn’t Mean Consumers Are Ready to Come Back

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it dine on-site or go bowling or see a movie or travel on an airplane or get a haircut…isn’t that how the saying goes?

Despite more and more states announcing plans to loosen stay-at-home restrictions, it is reasonable to expect that consumers will be slow to return to normal, pre-crisis spending patterns due to:

• the overwhelming share of the population that reports they approve of the physical distancing orders and shelter-in-place policies
• continuing consumer concerns about their personal health or the health risks to family members due to the coronavirus
• recessionary conditions leading consumers – even those who are still employed and seeing minimal financial impact due to the crisis – to curtail discretionary spending, regardless of their desire or need to purchase items or make household investments
• consumers still working from home not yet needing to get lunch away from home, buy work clothes, or get items dry cleaned

On the positive side, a number of key factor will likely boost consumer interest in getting out of the house and participating in activities that reopen, including:

• Bored, stir-crazy consumers will be looking for an excuse to leave their homes.
• Creature comforts such as haircuts, massages, and manicures may help some consumers handle
• Websites have allowed consumers to browse, if not shop, during the stay-at-home period, leading to wish lists and shopping carts urging consumers back into stores to make final purchases.

Marketing, operational processes, and product or service offerings that appeal to the positive factors and minimize concerns about the negative factors will help service and retail businesses slowly open to the best possible outcomes until consumers feel confident enough to return in full force.

For more information, see consumer analysis from The Freedonia Group and our sister publisher Packaged Facts. Freedonia Custom Research is also available for questions requiring tailored market intelligence.