The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic changed U.S. consumer behavior dramatically. During the coronavirus lockdowns in April 2020, many Americans found themselves looking for new ways to spend their time as stores and restaurants closed, events of all types were indefinitely postponed, and consumers simply couldn’t go out as they normally would. At that time, social distancing became the norm along with value shopping and spending time outdoors. 

Gravy’s Personas data uniquely captures the affinities, interests, and habits of U.S. consumers. Collectively analyzing the categories of places or events where consumer devices are observed over time lets us determine who are sports fans, who is in-market for a new vehicle, who are weekend travelers, and hundreds of other behavioral attributes. To understand how COVID-19 has impacted consumer behavior, we compared the personas of consumers observed in Q2 2019 with those in Q2 2021.

More consumers looked for ways to spend time with friends outside, and golf became more popular as a sport. As a result, the percentage of consumers having the Golf Enthusiasts persona increased dramatically from 10.8% in 2019 to 26.7% in 2021. As more consumers spent time at home, many invested in upgrading their living spaces, while others decided to look for a new place to live. Consumers fitting the Home Buyers persona jumped to 21.2% in 2021 and Home Improvers to 33.1%, up from 9.2% and 15.5%, respectively, in 2019. Since business travel was paused at many companies, consumers also saw an opportunity to fit in more leisure travel. The number of consumers with the persona of Weekend Travelers increased to 25.7% in 2021, up from about 9% in 2019. Additional consumer personas including Pet Lovers, Wholesale Club Shoppers, Work from Home, Job Seekers, and Camping Enthusiasts also saw significant positive shifts from 2019 to 2021.