Consumer intelligence

DoorDash
Food delivery services like DoorDash and UberEats have become game-changers in a world where going out to eat is prohibited, providing meals to families every day, while promoting health, safety and social distancing. Both DoorDash and UberEats are providing free protective equipment to their employees. DoorDash has also rolled out a commission relief and marketing support programme for independently owned restaurants that could be hurt by lack of customers. They have added more than 100,000 small businesses to their app, offering no commission fees, $0 delivery fees, and over $20 million in marketing efforts to generate revenue for independent restaurants already on the app.

Google 
Google is supporting people in more ways than one. They are making it easier to stay connected with loved ones, co-workers, and students when virtual communication is the only option, by making premium features of their Google Hangout technology free to everyone. In addition, Google has led the way with unique relief efforts, such as giving $25 million worth of advertising credit to the World Health Organization (WHO) and donating over $1 million to purchase medical supplies and provisions for frontline workers. Google technology is also being used in the research of the virus’s structure.

Verizon
With our work, education, and social lives now being entirely online, having access to wireless data is essential. Verizon, along with many other phone service providers like AT&T, Vodafone and Telstra are making sure their customers can still afford to stay connected on their devices. Verizon is waiving all late, international, activation, and upgrade fees, and offering free extra data plans up to 15GB. And, they have a variety of free calling packages and learning tools available for healthcare workers and teachers.

Alcohol Distilleries
Hundreds of gin, vodka, whiskey, and beer distilleries and breweries all over the globe are halting their alcohol production and switching to making hand sanitiser in an effort to keep up with demand while keeping it at affordable prices – AND keeping their employees on the payroll. Popular brand names in the UK like BrewDog have donated sanitiser to local charities and care facilities. 58 Gin has even created personalised bottles of hand sanitiser, where you can pick your own scent, colour, and label. Our online focus groups reacted well to examples of brand compassion such as this.

The Body Shop
While cosmetics brands may not come to mind right away in the fight against Covid-19, The Body Shop is setting an excellent example of tackling issues that are a direct result of the virus. In addition to keeping all of its employees on their payroll and donating over 30,000 soap products to vulnerable communities and hospitals, they have teamed up with NO MORE to support and provide resources to those trapped in domestic abuse situations due to stay at home mandates.

The real heroes – the front-line health workers
And of course, our global research community is thankful for all the health care providers facing the coronavirus head on every day – the real heroes risking their lives to protect and care for those affected.

Our Covid-19 Tracker charts the changing daily attitudes and behaviours of 1000s of global consumers – capturing real customer voice and forecasting future consumer trends. Click below to download our full week four report, tracking the thoughts, feedback and opinions of our global community from the onset of the crisis.

Mental Health 
•  As the lockdown continues, the levels of anxiety remain high – with 74% of respondents feeling anxious. Of all our communities, the most significant spikes in anxiety levels during week four can be observed in Italy. 
•  Despite a slight improvement vs week three, negative sentiment towards the current reality continues to dominate the minds of our community members.
•  Concern about family members catching the virus remains high week-on-week . However, fears around financial worries/job security continues to increase – being most prevalent in the US.

Shopping 
•  Moving to online shopping remains high across most of our global communities – as lockdown and social distancing persists. However, for some communities this has actually fallen during week four, notably Italy and the US.
•  Stockpiling continues to increase in the UK, France and Brazil, but has declined in Italy and the US.
•  Long-life products and essentials remain the most common items in the basket. Users are continuing to shop for different brands and have started buying more non-food items.

Physical Health 
•  We are seeing an increase from 39% to 41% of community members reporting that they are exercising less during lockdown.
•  The number of people exercising less has increased across all our communities – with the biggest decrease in exercise coming in Italy.
•  While many are exercising less, there are also those exercising more during lockdown, with many moving to online fitness classes. 

Social Distancing and Isolation 
•  Social distancing is becoming harder as people miss their families and friends. In week four, the pressure and fatigue of lockdown is increasing significantly. 
•  Despite this, we continue to observe a number of positives – spending more time with family being the top of the list.
•  Feelings of being trapped, isolated and bored are most common across all of our global communities. 

‘New Normal’ 
•  We are seeing more people trying a new diet or simply exploring new meals or recipes at home.
• Leveraging technology (video calls, PC, online streaming) remains high across all our communities – especially for
connecting with family and friends.
• We have seen an increase in users engaging in new pastimes – reading and audiobooks have been particularly prevalent, especially in the US, UK, Italy and France.
•  Online fitness classes have been gaining more traction too , in particular in the UK, US, Brazil and France.

Work 
•  Concerns about unemployment and financial instability are rising. The level of people not working is still increasing in most of our global communities (only Brazil and France have experienced a decline).
• We have observed a very high incline in users ‘working less than before’ in Italy – from 22% up to 50%.
•  Working from home remains a constant theme, though we have now seen some variation: 
– In Italy, people are now working less from home (this could be linked to a rise in those not working) – moving from 39% to 13%.
– In Brazil, France and US the numbers of those working from home continues to rise 

Our Covid-19 Tracker charts the changing daily attitudes and behaviours of 1000s of global consumers – capturing real customer voice and forecasting future consumer trends.

Mental Health 
•  Anxiety remains high – at an average of 73% across our communities. This can be worst felt in Brazil where infection and death rates continue to rise. 
•  We have observed a marginal drop in negative sentiment on anecdotal responses for the first time, as people begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel and the easing of lockdown is beginning to be discussed across some communities. 
•  Concerns about family members catching the virus remains the most significant fear. However, financial worries and job insecurity is also on the rise. 

Shopping 
•  Online shopping continues across the majority of our communities. 
•  Stockpiling continues to decline.
•  Long-life products, canned good and everyday essentials remain the most common items in the basket – with people continuing to shop for alternative brands where their staple purchases are not available.  

Physical Health 
•  People continue to exercise less – with an average 41% of users reporting a reduction in their exercise routine. 
•  Despite this, anecdotal responses have reported many users finding new ways to adapt exercise to the lockdown measures – with online workouts being widely used. 

Work 
•  Those not working remains high – with a significant increase observed this week in Brazil. 
•  Users working from home also continues to be significant, with many reporting the benefits of remote working solutions and not having to visit the office. 

‘New Normal’ 
•  Behaviour changes remain largely inline with previous weeks:
• Leveraging technology (video calls, PC, online streaming) remains significant across all our communities.
• Engaging in other, more traditional pastimes such as cooking, reading and crafting is also on the rise. 
• We have observed an increase in users subscribing to online education platforms – particularly in the UK and Italy.
• The use of online food delivery companies has also experienced spikes across our UK, Brazilian and French communities. 

Social Distancing and Isolation 
•  We are beginning to observe increased feelings of pressure around lockdown, with isolation fatigue setting in and much negative sentiment being reported around not seeing an end to the crisis. 
•  Despite this, we continue to observe a number of positives – with spending more time with family continuing to be at the top of the list of good things to come out of lockdown.

Our Covid-19 Tracker charts the changing daily attitudes and behaviours of 1000s of global consumers – capturing real customer voice and forecasting future consumer trends.

Mental Health 
•  Another week of fear and sadness – anxiety levels average at over 70%. The UK, US and France experience the worst levels of anxiety as infection rates soar. 
•  Negativity continues to dominate feelings. Sentiment towards the new Covid-19 world is negative in anecdotal responses – ranging from 50% to 83% across communities. 
•  Worries about family members catching the virus continues to be the number one concern.
•  Financial worries are becoming more prevalent in Brazil and Italy.

Shopping 
•  Online Shopping continues to increase across the majority of our communities. 
•  Stockpiling begins to stagnate or decline across all our European communities. This is not the case in the US, however, where over 70% of our community members have stockpiled this week (an increase of 28% week-on-week).
•  Long-life products and essentials remain most common items in the basket.

Physical Health 
•  People continue to exercise less – but situation week-on-week has improved.
•  UK, France, Italy and Brazil have seen an increase in community members exercising more – possibly adapting to the new ‘reality’.

Work 
•  Unemployment and financial stability is becoming increasingly prevalent. The number of people not working is growing – ranging from 14% in Brazil to 42% in Italy.
•  We have also observed an increase in people moving to permanent home working – particularly in the UK, US, Italy and France.

‘New Normal’ 
•  Facing this ‘new normal’ continues to drive significant changes in day-to-day behaviour.
•  Leveraging technology (video calls, PC, online streaming) his on the rise across all our communities. 
•  Users across all communities report spending more time with family, exploring more new brands, and appreciating the little things in life more as their goals for a post Covid-19 world. 

Social Distancing and Isolation 
•  Social distancing and staying at home continue to bring positives – with over 80% of our users finding it easy.
•  Spending time with family continues to be top of the list when it comes to positives. 
•  Despite this, people continue to feel trapped and miss contact with other friends and family members.

Our Covid-19 Tracker charts the changing daily attitudes and behaviours of 1000s of global consumers – capturing real customer voice and forecasting future consumer trends.

Mental Health 
•  Fear and sadness occupy the minds of our community – with average anxiety levels at 70%.
•  Negativity dominates feelings – with an average 72% of anecdotal responses reporting negative sentiment towards the virus.
•  Concerns about catching the virus or a family member being infected are top of the mind – followed by financial worries.

Shopping 
•  The growth of online shopping continues. For UK shoppers, this is comparatively low due to large wait times across online services. For markets such as Brazil and Canada these numbers are much higher.
•  Our communities are also stockpiling more and exploring new brands due to the lack of availability of their staple items. 
•  Buying essentials, canned goods and long-life food is also on the rise.

Physical Health 
•  Physical activity has deteriorated. Those taking less exercise is at 22% in the US, 51% in the UK, and 58% in Brazil.
•  Some people adapt to the new reality by longer walks, regular runs, online fitness classes, exercising at home or gardening.

Work 
•  The number of people not working is growing – ranging from 17% in Brazil to 43% in Italy.
•  Working from home is more prevalent, but is often balanced with childcare and home schooling.

‘New Normal’ 
•  Leveraging technology (video calls, PC, online streaming) has been on the rise across the majority of our communities.
•  Other, more traditional activities, such as reading, crafting and cooking are also on the rise. 
•  Covid-19 brings significant learnings, with many members of our community planning to change their focus when the coronavirus pandemic is over (e.g. more time with family, exploring more new brands, appreciating the little things in life more).

Social Distancing and Isolation 
•  Social distancing and staying at home also bring positives to day-to-day lives. Over 80% of people in the across our communities find it relatively easy.
•  We have also observed a number of positives – with spending more time with family being the top of the list.
•  Nevertheless, some people feel trapped and miss contact with other friends and family members.

With each passing day, headlines surrounding the coronavirus seem to be getting more and more alarming. In the UK, we’re seeing public health advice about self-isolation, businesses making plans for remote working and the threat of schools and colleges being closed. News channels tell us that global stock markets are reporting record lows, international trade deals are being compromised and certain countries are planning bans on public gatherings. While the outbreak is yet to be confirmed as a pandemic, there’s no doubt that it is affecting the lives of millions across the globe.

One of the most widely publicised phenomena surrounding coronavirus is the panic buying of certain foods and household goods. This weekend, the Guardian reported seeing a 12-pack of handwash bottles (each bottle usually being priced at £1.29) on sale on Amazon for £150, and told us that delivery firm Ocado has asked shoppers to place orders early due to ‘exceptionally high demand’. Elsewhere, we are hearing that hand sanitiser prices on eBay have shot up by twenty times, and Tesco is restricting sales of essential food and household products – with shoppers limited to buying no more than five at a time of things like sanitiser, long-life milk and tinned veg.

With all this in mind, we asked our global community about the kind of impact the coronavirus is having on their day-to-day lives… And how they’re feeling, behaving and reacting to the atmosphere of alarm and nervousness both in the news and in public life.

Pandemic of fear
Seventy-five percent of our community is either worried, or very worried about coronavirus. Contagious and with no vaccine, COVID-19 has created a fear of contact with other people – and it’s left elements of our community with feelings of fear and isolation. When asked directly how coronavirus has made them feel, we saw a prevalence of words like ‘anxiety’, ‘negative’, and ‘worried’ – and a community living in fear of contact with their fellow humans.

“Unfortunately, coronavirus has greatly influenced my way of life and that of others. I have adopted several ways of precaution, the same that have been recommended by the media. Stay at a certain distance from people, avoid physical contact such as kisses, hugs and handshakes, (and) avoid very crowded places. This, however, negatively influences the daily lives of each of us, because in this way we are not free to socialize… It isolates us.” Bulbshare user 🇮🇹

“You have to be patient and have an open and very positive mind because sometimes you get sick from the negativity and everything that they say in the news… You will get sick just thinking about it.” Bulbshare user 🇲🇽

“I have small children and therefore I am very worried while they still do not know the treatment for this disease. There are already so many deaths around the world and this disease continues to progress.” Bulbshare user 🇷🇺

Hygiene focus 
These collective feelings of anxiety and fear are having a very real impact on how our community is behaving. 39% of our respondents plan to avoid large groups of people over the coming weeks, while 34% will avoid public transport, and 25% will postpone or change travel plans.

Unsurprisingly, hygiene is top of our community’s minds. Washing their hands more than ever, avoiding contact with others, wearing plastic gloves when in public and self-isolating at the first sign of illness are all top of the agenda – and hand sanitizer is the product of choice when it comes to shopping.

“Absolutely, this virus has greatly impacted my routine of doing things, starting with reducing the number of business trips I make – plus having to live under tight measures with fear.” Bulbshare user 🇺🇸

“Avoid (busy) places, do not say hello or kiss, bring a mask, wash my hands frequently, if necessary, stay in house.” Bulbshare user 🇲🇽

“I use hand sanitizer every day. I wear (a) face mask each time I go outside. I make sure to not touch surfaces that people often touch.” Bulbshare user 🇲🇾

“I carry out my life regularly, but I try to observe the sanitation rules more closely and I am avoiding going to closed and crowded places if not strictly necessary.” Bulbshare user 🇮🇹

Impact on shopping
Nearly 40% of our respondents say the coronavirus has affected the way they shop – with 36% saying they will be avoiding supermarkets and shopping online and 37% avoiding produce from overseas (the words ‘China’ and imports’ loomed large in our word cloud). 34% of our community will be stocking up on non-perishable products, while 27% will be avoiding meat.

The main things mentioned by our community are cleaning products and non-perishable foods such as canned goods, pasta and rice and frozen vegetables. While motivations behind stockpiling are a mix of fear of supermarket shelves running low on essential items (some report already seeing this), plus concerns around having to stay in isolation for extended periods with no access to shops.

“Stockpiling on non-perishables and household items like toilet paper, cleaning supplies like bleach, as well as soap and hand sanitizer.” Bulbshare user 🇨🇦

“I am stocking up on food and on other consumables, such as cleaning materials and toiletries, that I wouldn’t want to be without. My aim is to be able to get by for a month without having to go shopping – if it becomes necessary for me to stay at home.” Bulbshare user 🇬🇧

“When it comes to coronavirus, I try not to panic. However, due to the fact that I noticed that there are significant shortages on store shelves, I also decided to stock up on buying a few kilograms of flour, a few packets of pasta and sauces in a jar, ham and sausages in cans and jars, rice, and a few kilograms of frozen vegetables and fruit. The plans for weekend shopping also include the purchase of several five-litre bottles of water just in case.” Bulbshare user 🇵🇱

‘Don’t panic’ sceptics
While the majority of our community are concerned about the coronavirus and changing their behaviour accordingly, there is a notable contingent who are going about business as usual and feel that many are panicking unnecessarily. These people may be washing their hands more, but are not changing the way they shop, and are certainly not stockpiling. And there are some who feel that over-reporting of the virus has led to feelings of unneeded nervousness and overly drastic behaviour.

“I have not done anything different. I think we are at a very low risk as we usually stay in our local area, have not been in contact with overseas travellers, and (I) definitely will not indulge in panic buying.” Bulbshare user 🇵🇱

“Nope, carry on living. The only difference is that I have to work around people who are panicking.” Bulbshare user 🇬🇧

“I haven’t done anything differently since finding out about coronavirus. I think a lot of people are over panicking… The media need to stop scaremongering.” Bulbshare user 🇬🇧

Stay in touch with Bulbshare for continued reports around global reactions to the coronavirus over the coming weeks.

To find out how Bulbshare could benefit your organisation, please contact Michael Wylie-Harris on michael@bulbshare.com

Edelmen published its 2020 Trust Barometer earlier this year and to put it bluntly, the results weren’t good. The news is that consumer trust is still super low; and that continued economic uncertainty has meant a growing mistrust of institutions such as governments, media, global companies and brands.

The research consultancy reported that both job insecurity and wealth inequality continue to grow – meaning widespread and ‘deep-seated fears about the future’ among global consumers. Factors such as the continued threat of another global recession, the onset of climate change and the rise of far-right politicians have meant heightened scepticism around everything from party politics to brand marketing campaigns. In short, gaining trust has never been more difficult.

Edelmen’s advice is to embrace a whole new strategy for building trust: ‘balancing competence with ethical behaviour’. With this in mind, we asked our global community what they believe brands can do to buck the trend, and become a trusted friend to their legions of potential customers…

As ever, our global community answered emphatically and from their list of responses, we’ve compiled a ten-step toolkit to building consumer trust…

1. Show your workings
Our community trust brands that are open, honest and transparent about everything they do. In the light of some major global brands being exposed for ‘greenwashing’ (making misleading claims about their own sustainable credentials), it’s more important than ever that marketing messages are rooted in genuine actions.

“Be real about the supply chain and products used. Lying about bring ‘sustainable’ is more damaging to their reputation than using the (wrong) products in the first place…” Bulbshare user 🇦🇺

“For sure they could give tangible proof of what they do… It is not enough for me to hear their statements, I would appreciate having the instruments to see proof of what they say they are doing. If a company says that they will plant a tree for every 100 t-shirts sold, I would love a kind of Google Earth of the zone where they are doing it in order to see if the green area grows or not…” Bulbshare user 🇬🇧

2. Quality, heritage, tradition  
The word ‘quality’ cropped up time and time again in our survey, with our community telling us that products and services rooted in tradition, heritage and provenance are key to building a brand’s reputation.

“I trust the brands that produce quality products. I could mention Italian food brands such as La Molisana or Rummo Pasta… In fact, there are many Italian food brands that present artisan products that reflect the authenticity of the territory.” Bulbshare user 🇮🇹

3. Be ethical
Ethics is still key, with both younger and older consumers continuing to place massive importance on genuine moral and social purpose. Check out our community’s Purpose Power report for ten brands admired by our community for their ethical stance and actions. 

“The brand I really trust is Toyota. This company really cares about the environment and the future of our planet. It is no coincidence that this company leads the rankings of the most ethical companies in the world. I feel proud that I own a car of this brand.” Bulbshare user 🇷🇺

4. Listen to your customers, collaborate and co-create
A recent report from research firm Iris identified ‘participation brands’ as those that involve their consumers in their creative and marketing processes, saying that these brands ‘outperform the market, drive advocacy and command a premium’. Our community couldn’t agree more, consistently telling us how ‘being involved’ is the most powerful way to build trust. Check out our toolkit on How to Become a Participation Brand for a step-by-step guide to putting customer voice into the heart of your operations. 

5. CX is king
Believe it or not, brands are STILL getting customer experience very wrong. And bad CX was mentioned time and time again in our survey. Read our report on Co-creating your Customer Experience for everything you need to know about putting customers in the driving seat when it comes to CX.

6. Be local
As reported in our Active Altruism piece, our community values brands that support their local communities. If you want to build trust, looking after your own is a simple way to get there. Invest in local community projects, source locally and partner with other local businesses.

“Co-op is trustworthy. It does so much for the local community… British products and local suppliers are great for our economy.” Bulbshare user 🇬🇧

7. Choose a cause
Our community gets behind brands that are vocal about the causes they support. Our Moral Brands report shows how our community trusts organisations that put causes at the heart of their messaging and publish the real-life work that they are doing.

“The brand that I trust is Lucozade as in the summer of 2019 to get the nation behind England’s Women’s team, Lucozade Sport rewrote the unofficial anthem of the World Cup ‘Three Lions’ as a powerful testament that expresses the trials and tribulations of overcoming prejudices against women in sport.” Bulbshare user 🇬🇧

8. Honesty is the best policy
It sounds obvious, but our community doesn’t trust brands that lie. If you’re going to make big claims about your moral and social integrity, make sure they’re impervious to scrutiny. Modern consumers are savvy and will spot a half-truth a mile off. Honesty is paramount for our consumers.

“They must be honest first of all! If they write that there is no sugar, then I want no sugar. A customer must know what they are really buying.” Bulbshare user 🇵🇱

“Be honest and truly do what they say, instead of showing fake facts to prove they are good when they are not.” Bulbshare user 🇮🇹

9. Be consistent
Consistency is key. Our community has told us how scattergun campaigns supporting multiple causes are confusing and don’t feel authentic. To build trust, brands need to pick one cause and champion it consistently throughout everything they do.

“Be consistent and have a strong message that they follow and inspire others to as well…” Bulbshare user 🇬🇧

10. Save the world
It goes without saying that modern brands are expected to be morally and socially responsible. But in an era when governments are widely considered to be falling short on tackling global problems such as wealth inequality and climate change, it falls to brands to help save the world.

“(I trust) companies looking for the best solutions to overcome the problems that grip the planet and its delicate life cycle and struggles.” Bulbshare user 🇮🇹

“Brands should organise the recycling of garbage that remains after using their products, as well as directly offering their customers the opportunity to bring garbage for recycling. This responsibility to people and nature is worthy of respect and determines the authenticity of the brand.” Bulbshare user 🇬🇧

To find out how Bulbshare could benefit your organisation, please contact Michael Wylie-Harris on michael@bulbshare.com