How does the #StayAtHomeNation feel, one month on?

We’ve all felt the sting of this lockdown. Our jobs, shopping habits, how we use our free time and interact with each other – every aspect of life has been massively disrupted. As the dust settles after the initial upheaval, we’re bouncing back with typical British resolve.  In our isolation, we’re learning to work, source supplies, stay in touch, and give support to people in need.

At Delineate, we have a solid understanding of how the nation reacted as the restrictions took hold. Our platform allows us to understand consumer opinion in real-time, and with our COVID-19 Impact Tracker we’re following the #StayAtHomeNation as we move through this crisis.

To help brands and especially marketers and communicators, with the changes and challenges they’re facing, we recently published a free white paper “#StayAtHomeNation: Understanding the impact of COVID-19”. If you missed it, you can download it here

As a follow-up, we thought it would be useful to gauge how the nation is feeling one month on. The general picture we’re seeing is that we’re moving from concerns about our health to worries about our wealth.

We’re feeling more confident about healthcare

The NHS has been at the forefront of our minds from the outset, and the capacity of our health service has been a major concern. Worryingly, only half the population (51%) initially believed they would receive appropriate healthcare if they became ill. That figure has risen significantly to 64%, as we’ve seen success stories of recovery and temporary hospitals across the nation.

We’re feeling better

Most of us adapted pretty quickly to the rules on social distancing and self-isolation. Perhaps that’s why we now feel less likely to catch COVID-19 (a drop from 32% to 26%), and we say we’re in good health (up from 74% at the end of March, to 79% now).

We’re feeling calmer

The past few weeks have taken a toll on our mental health, but we’re regaining our confidence. As we went into lockdown a third of the population (32%) reported feelings of anxiety. It’s been gradually decreasing since then, and currently only one in four of us (25%) say we’re feeling anxious. As we see fewer coronavirus related deaths in the UK, will we see anxiety levels drop even further?

We’re feeling more positive

In line with the experience of other countries, we don’t believe the COVID-19 outbreak will be over any time soon. So, it may be surprising to learn that we’re currently feeling happier about our immediate wellbeing. In March, one in five (19%) people reported positive feelings about their wellbeing for the coming four-week period. This has risen to 24%, almost one in four of the population.

We’re changing focus

It’s promising that we can see the restrictions are working. However, while we may be relaxing our concerns for our health (while still adhering to the regulations of course), we’re becoming increasingly concerned for our economic future beyond lockdown.

We’re starting to feel the pinch

The impact of the coronavirus is having a real impact on business and the high street. While the Government, banks and other financial institutions are offering support, we’re all wondering how can we recover? If we look to our economic situation a year from now, 64% believe we’re facing a bleak future, and increase of 7% from March.

 Closer to home, we’re also thinking about our own finances.  While our standard of living has remained relatively stable so far, we’re beginning to see change. Many of us (40%) now feel worse off than we did a month ago, a rise of 7%. This increase could suggest that our standard of living is starting to fall. As we start to tighten the purse strings, what effect will this have on consumer habits and the economy?

What happens next?

This is just a quick snapshot of changing opinions during lockdown taken from our COVID-19 Impact Tracker, which is part of our always-on data products. If you’re interested, have a look at our  COVID-19 page which is updated daily for more information.

It’ll be fascinating to see how the opinions of the #StayAtHomeNation develop as we move closer to coming out of lockdown. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be delving into specific aspects of consumer behaviour in our blogs and zooming out occasionally for a general overview of the nation’s opinions.

Until next time, stay safe and sane!