After 107M Vaccinations, Americans Optimistic, But Cautious: Resonate

Americans are feeling “good” but cautious, said a Tuesday Resonate report, citing a survey fielded Feb. 22-March 10, after 107 million COVID-19 vaccines had been administered. The number of people worrying about pandemic health consequences to an "extremely large extent” dropped by 2.7 percentage points from early February to 16.4%. Those “completely likely” to get a vaccine rose 19.2% from November and 3.1 points from February to 45.7%, it said. About 38.2% were slightly to very likely to get a vaccine; 16.1% were not at all likely to get one vs. 17.3% last month and slightly over 20% in December.

Vaccines factored into in-store shopping attitudes: 49.8% of respondents said wide availability of vaccines was necessary before they would return to in-store shopping vs. 40.2% in July. Forced social distancing dropped as a requirement for shopping in store from 46.5% in May to 37.2% in March. About 23% said curbside pickup was a requirement; 23.7% said contactless payment capability; and 35.2% said reduced occupancy.

The coronavirus heightened use of contactless payments such as tap-and-go credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Wallet. The number of people “very” or “completely likely” to use contactless payments rose from 28.1% last month to 30.9%; the number not at all likely to use contactless payments declined to 25.9% from 28.2% in February and 33.5% in July, said the report.

The number of consumers who will do their primary grocery shopping in store vs. online inched up to 71.5% from 71.2% a month ago, rising from 68.6% in December and 61.9% in June. Just over 24% of respondents said they would buy electronics in store vs. online, up from 18.8% in August.

Masks scored highest in a list of what respondents would require before returning to stores for shopping. Fifty-six percent said masks for employees and customers would be required, roughly flat with February, about 3 percentage points lower than in October, 10 points higher than in May.

Rating shopping preferences -- curbside pickup, same-day delivery, and browsing and buying in store -- physical store shopping was the most popular, with half of respondents saying it's important, up from 41% in August, said the report. Curbside pickup gained 2 percentage points in popularity from August to March (41.8%), while same-day delivery importance slipped from 38.7% in August to 32.8% mid-December and 34.1% in March. Shipping costs moderately influence buying decisions, said 27.4% of respondents, down from 29.9% last month and 28% from Nov. 23-Dec. 14. About 23% said shipping costs were very influential; 12.6% said not at all influential.

Some 60.2% of respondents expect their leisure travel to return to pre-pandemic levels in September-October or later, up from 42.9% in late December. About 64% of business travelers expect to return to business travel activities during the same period, up from 47%. Some 55% of respondents said they’re not going to crowded activities such as movie theaters, concerts or sports events until the coronavirus is under control. Just under 15% said they didn’t engage in those activities pre-pandemic. Four percent said they were going to activities weekly, 2.3% more than once a week. About 22% of shoppers are eating in restaurants once a month, up from 18.7% in February.