Exterion Media has published the latest wave of its Work.Shop.Play research which shines a light on some of the habits and thoughts of Irish consumers during lockdown.
According to the research, there have been significant shifts in mood and sentiment since the first days of restriction. The WorkShopPlay community are feeling more resilient – up to 28% from 13% – and positive – up to 32% from 18% – since the early days of the lockdown. However, feelings of frustration – up to 36% from 25% – and loneliness – up to 19% from 10% – are on the rise.
Not surprisingly, fatigue has set in in relation to news relating to the pandemic. At the start of restrictions 65% of the WorkShopPlay community claimed they were hungry for news about Coronavirus. This figure has dropped to 8% with 47% only looking at headlines, 30% bored with Coronavirus news and 16% avoiding such news altogether.
While everyone is cooking more meals from scratch, over the course of the lockdown, Irish Urbanites still held on to their dining treats with 41% ordering food from an online app service, 32% ordering click and collect from a local restaurant and a third ordering from a local take-away.
In addition 42% have been testing their ‘grey matter’ with online quizzes, 16% have enjoyed an online “pub” experience while almost 8 out of 10 Urbanites have used online video platforms to catch up with family and friends.
The Exterion research also shows that lockdown has not stopped people from keeping up appearances as their online purchases show; 30% have bought personal grooming products such as shavers and hair dyes, 15% have bought make-up while 15% have bought new pyjamas and loungewear.
Journeys during lockdown centred around food with grocery shopping and takeaway collection the most popular trips outside the home. According to the Exterion research, 54% of respondents showed kindness by also shopping for those who were cocooning.
Post lockdown, and apart from meeting up with family and friends, respondents are looking forward to getting back to their normal social activities. Some 63% are looking forward to a holiday, 59% to going out for a meal with just 39% looking forward to going to a pub and 33% going to the cinema.
Over half are looking forward to a professional haircut or beauty treatment with this figure rising to 58% for female respondents.
45% of Irish Urbanites believe there will be a birth rate spike post lockdown but living in close quarters has 13% wanting to move out as soon as possible and 5% not sure they actually like their partner.
“This survey looked at the lighter side of Life in Lockdown. We wanted to check in with our WorkShopPlay community and see how they were coping without their usual work, shop and leisure activities and missions. It’s interesting to see pandemic fatigue set in, how our community have dealt with restriction and the value placed on social activities,” says Antoinette O’Callaghan, marketing manager of Exterion Media Ireland.
“Whilst the social ethos of our urban community has been altered somewhat, the current restrictions the pandemic has placed on our lives means that community, in any sense, is more important than ever before. The fact that we’ve seen in almost 1,200 members across the Island join forces to share their opinions in this survey is testament to this,” adds Ryan Hoy, marketing manager, Exterion Media, Northern Ireland.
