Affinity Study Reveals Big-Name Brands Were Winners During Lockdown

Many well-known brands responded well to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to consumers, a new survey released today by independent digital agency AFFINITY today reveals.

The survey, the first of its kind conducted by AFFINITY, looked into how behaviour had changed during lockdown, and which brands had responded well to the pandemic.

Unprompted, survey respondents named brands including Harvey Norman, Google, Microsoft, Woolworths, Coles, Uber Eats, Myer and Amazon as all adapting well to the various lockdowns across Australia, stating that they had best dealt with the evolving changes, and responded well to consumer needs.

The survey also looked at Australians’ plans post-lockdown which found:

More than half of Aussies (58 per cent) set to go to beaches and parks much more often
54 per cent are keen to visit restaurants
52 per cent excited to shop in retail stores
49 per cent will head back to cinemas.

TV streaming, online shopping and online grocery ordering look set to stay, with 63 per cent of survey respondents saying they would do the same amount, or more, online shopping (including groceries) as they did in lockdown.

The survey examined particular behaviour changes during lockdown and whether people would continue these trends once stay-at-home orders lifted. For example, 58 per cent of women said they wore less make-up during the lockdown but 36 per cent said they thought they would wear more again once lockdown ended.

Nearly half the respondents (44 per cent) said they would exercise more and a third (32 per cent) said they would consume less social media, and 20 per cent said they would consume less news.

The survey will be conducted again in eight weeks to compare the results and see if people correctly predicted their post-lockdown behaviour, given the lift in stay-at-home orders across NSW and soon to be Victoria.

AFFINITY senior strategist, Caspar Yuill (pictured) said the survey data would have direct impacts for media and product planning for brands.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been the largest disruption to social, political and economic systems in the past 50 years and we wanted to understand how behaviours had changed in response.”

“The second wave of the study will determine actual consumer behaviour, which should allow us to say which changes in behaviour are permanent due to COVID or whether they were a temporary response due to lockdowns, and whether people are any good at predicting their own behaviour,” he said.

“Australians are keen to get back to the outdoors, restaurants, cinemas, retail stores, pubs, and even nightclubs, and don’t see any issues with travelling further afield to do things.

“For brands, this data is critical for informing their plans, particularly around which platforms to invest in post-lockdown and how audiences are consuming advertising. We know the data will be invaluable to our clients as they plan their campaigns for 2022.”

The survey was carried out over a two-week period in September/October, with 400 people from various age groups across Sydney, Melbourne and the ACT.

The next survey will be conducted from 6 December, and a full report detailing the findings soon after. Of particular interest will be any persistent behaviour changes after lockdown, and whether what Australians say they will do in future is actually what they do.

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