When Pitney Bowes last asked US consumers—in May—about changes in shopping behaviors, health and safety guidance was relaxing and COVID-19 cases were on a steady decline. Four months later, mask mandates and public health restrictions are on the rise, as are new COVID-19 cases resulting from the Delta variant.
Interestingly, consumer sentiment towards the Delta variant is not consistent across generations. Millennials are the most cautious, with nearly one in three saying they would shop less in person (28 per cent) and nearly half saying they will shop more online (46 per cent) due to the Delta variant. That is a near 20 per cent increase since May for both pieces of data, the highest of any age group.
“For the first time last year, online was consumers’ favorite holiday shopping destination,” said Gregg Zegras, executive vice president and president, global e-commerce at Pitney Bowes, in a release.
“As we enter this year’s peak season amid the surge of the Delta variant, our data shows that consumers are defaulting back to their new comfort zone. All of us in this industry should expect a peak not unlike 2020. To avoid disappointing customers, retailers should schedule promotions earlier to pull forward demand and lower risk by diversifying their carrier mix,” he added.
In recent months, the Delta variant has not only significantly affected public health mandates and social gatherings, but also US workforce. As Delta continues to surge across the country, major US corporations have delayed return to office plans until 2022, causing employees to continue remote work practices, the survey found.
As store shopping trips must become more intentional with more people continuing to work from home, it is expected that retail brands will experience greater adoption of online shopping.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)
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