Consumer Movement and COVID-19: Visitation Patterns by Persona

October 1, 2020

shopping online, and exercising and dining at home, many commercial places of interest are seeing less foot traffic than they are used to. To understand changes in consumer behavior, we analyzed visits to commercial places of interest by generation, gender, political affiliation, employment status, and travel habits.  Let’s take a look at these different personas to see how COVID-19 has shaped consumer movement to commercial places of intere

Consumer Movement and COVID-19: Visitation Patterns by Persona

Consumer Movement by Generation

Based on our data, it seems that the older you are, the less likely your behavior has changed due to COVID-19. Baby Boomers and Gen X went out more than Millennials and Gen Z during the summer. Although, Gen Z did surpass Millennials in visits to commercial places of interest around the week of August 2, which might be due to colleges going back in session.

Consumer Movement by Gender

When the coronavirus pandemic first hit, men were going out more than women, especially in late March. However, after mid-April, women started going out more than men. Why could this be the case? More women are in service sector jobs where they have less flexibility to work from home.

Consumer Movement by Travel Interest

In mid-March and mid-April, budget travelers were traveling more than other travelers. However, that shifted in late April as mid-market travelers began to take more trips. Mid-market travelers, followed by budget travelers, continued to travel more throughout the summer. Business and first-class travelers aren’t traveling as much by comparison: many business events have gone from in-person to digital due to COVID-19, and more affluent travelers may have opted for vacation homes.

Consumer Movement by Political Affiliation

Voters showed similar behavior at the beginning of the pandemic. Mid-April became a turning point as likely Republican voters started to venture out more. Likely Republican voters continued to go out more than likely Democrat voters during the summer. 

Consumer Movement by Employment

Before the pandemic, job seekers were visiting commercial places of interest more than employed workers, but this changed significantly in the wake of COVID-19. Starting in April, job seekers didn’t go out as much as employed and essential workers. As employers slowed on hiring, job seekers may have been less inclined to go out in order to save money.

The Future of Consumer Movement

How will consumer movement continue to change due to COVID-19? It’ll take time to fully understand its impact on how we live our lives. Based on this data, we predict that the most significant change in consumer behavior will be travel. As the holidays approach, we expect an increase in visits to hotels, motels, and other travel-related commercial places of interest from mid-market and budget travelers.

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