Shoppers Return to Stores

Consumers are returning to in-store shopping in greater numbers, and out-of-home entertainment and travel are on the rise as three in five (61%) express optimism about the future, according to PwC. The survey of 9,370 consumers across 26 territories found that when asked to consider their country’s COVID-19 situation, those who are vaccinated are much more positive about the future versus those who are yet to be. 66% of those at least partially vaccinated are optimistic, compared to 43% of unvaccinated respondents.

Work arrangements also influenced optimism levels, with those working from home or in a hybrid way being 10 percentage points (68%) more optimistic than their away-from-home counterparts (58%). As optimism rises, consumers plan on spending more on out-of-home activities: from in-store shopping to entertainment and traveling. In-store shopping is recovering with about half (48%) of respondents saying they visit a physical store at least once a week and nearly three-quarters (72%) being ‘likely’ to visit a shopping mall in the next 6 months. Consumers also plan to spend more on groceries (41%), fashion (33%), and health and beauty (30%) further boosting economic recovery. Of the nearly one-third (31%) of consumers globally who expect to increase their spending on travel in the next six months, 82% are at least partially vaccinated.

The survey has also found a continued shift to mobile devices for online shopping. Nearly half (41%) of respondents said they are making purchases by smartphone at least once a week compared to 30% in 2020 and 17% in 2018. Millennials are embracing mobile shopping enthusiastically, with 50% shopping via their smartphone at least weekly. Consumers are taking sustainability into account in shopping decisions more than ever before. Fifty-two percent of respondents say they are more eco-friendly than they were six months ago. Almost 70% of respondents prioritize getting the best deal when shopping either in-store or online and more than half say an efficient delivery or collection service is always or very often important.

The survey data shows that across all industries, more than one in ten consumers do not believe companies are living their values or delivering on what they promised. The level of distrust is greater among younger consumers, with nearly three in 10 (28%) Gen Z respondents saying companies are not doing the right thing. How companies are using data emerged as one of the key factors affecting trust. Eighty-three percent of respondents stated that data protection practices influence their trust in a company and nearly half of global consumers (47%) say that the use of their data has become a top priority for them.