Consumer anxiety halves in June

The number of consumers comfortable about returning to shops almost doubled from May to June, with “anxious consumers becoming optimistic consumers”, according to EY.

The firm’s third Future Consumer Index found that comfort about shopping in grocery stores rose from 25% in May to 48% in June. 

The amount of consumers who feel comfortable trying on clothes in-store has also doubled from 8% to 17%, while comfort levels around visiting shopping malls have increased from 15% to 26%.  

According to EY, 17% of consumers intend to spend more on beauty and cosmetics, while 22% intend to spend more on clothing and footwear as lockdown continues to ease. 

In April, only 13% of consumers said they were planning on spending more on “big ticket” items post-lockdown, but this rose to 18% in June.

In addition, the proportion of those feeling pessimistic about how they will shop in future fell from 31% in April to 22% in June.

Silvia Rindone, EY UK&I retail partner, said: “Our research shows consumers see light at the end of the tunnel as they emerge from lockdown and try to resume everyday life.

“We have seen a cautious optimism begin to appear, with consumers feeling more comfortable with spending and venturing out to shop. While optimism about the future is up, we’re still not past the pandemic and getting back to ‘normal’ will still take time.”

She added: “Our latest index is published a week before shoppers will be required to wear face coverings in store. Our next report will give us an idea of the impact of the policy on consumer behaviour.

“To serve the new ‘normal’ consumer, physical retail must continue to adapt operations and offers to capture the share of comfortable physical consumers. It’s more important than ever for businesses to put customers’ health and wellbeing at the centre of their strategy.”