About this research
While the past year has been met with uncertainty and forced changes, we're beginning to understand the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic and witness new consumer trends and insights.
Kantar has executed a global study to evaluate behavioural shifts, opinions and the overall impact the pandemic has had on our communities.
We've collected feedback on:
- Employment impact
- Educational impact
- Ecommerce impact
- Vaccination opinions
This research was conducted online in January 2021 among 8,102 people across eight global markets: USA, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Mainland China and India. Respondents were sourced from Kantar’s LifePoints research panel, only accessible through the Kantar Profiles Network. All interviews were conducted as online self-completion and collected based on local census distributions. Respondents from Mainland China were not included in the vaccine related data.
Additional data around vaccine opinions was collected from Kantar's physician panel among 1,408 doctors across US, UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
Explore some of our findings below and a comprehensive report here.
Impact on employment and schooling
Employment
32%
of respondents globally personally lost work due to business changes, illness, caretaking or because they didn’t feel safe. Only 44% returned to their same job and 23% are still unemployed.
25%
of respondents in India had their hours or salary reduced, and of those with another contributing adult in the household, 18% say they experienced reduced hours or salary.
12%
of US respondents who’s employment was impacted found other employment, but with reduced hours.
4%
of German respondents reported another contributing adult in their household left work due to illness –either their own or to care for another.
Education
16%
of parents of school-aged children globally report their children are in in-person school full-time for the current academic year.
36%
of parents of school-aged children in the UK say their children have not had any in-person schooling this academic year.
48%
of parents of school-aged children in China report that their children did some schooling from home due to school closures or a scheduled mix of remote and in-person schooling.
36%
of parents with school-aged children in the US say the social impact on their children is their biggest academic-related concern, and 30% say it’s their children falling back academically.
A father in India said...
“My child is a patient of DMD. When school was running, he went everyday, but during the pandemic he is confined in the house. As a result, now his moving ability is badly affected and he is almost disabled. This COVID-19 pandemic affected our life fully.”
Answers about the COVID-19 vaccine
Vaccine willingness
71%
of respondents globally say they will definitely or probably get the COVID-19 vaccine when it’s available to them –9% say they will definitely not.
37%
of French respondents claim they are unlikely to get the vaccine, and 46% say it’s in part because they are concerned about the safety of the vaccine.
29%
of Indians who claim they are unlikely to get the vaccine say they want more information on the vaccine before they decide – the most popular reason not to get vaccinated in the country.
21%
of those in the US who are unlikely to get vaccinated report they don’t trust those creating the vaccines and 52% are concerned about the safety.
Distribution and media
54%
of respondents globally say they are very or somewhat satisfied with how the government and health authorities are organising the vaccination campaign in their country.
60%
of French respondents and 52% of German respondents are dissatisfied with how their countries are organising vaccination campaigns – versus 38% in the Netherlands and 33% in the UK.
43%
of respondents in the US say their family doctor is a reliable source of information on a COVID-19 vaccine, and 22% say doctors who speak to the media are as well.
26%
of respondents in India say social media is a reliable source of information on a COVID-19 vaccine.
The physician perspective
Vaccine Distribution
40%
of physicians globally are very or somewhat satisfied with the way governments in their country are organising their vaccine campaigns.
59%
of UK physicians are satisfied or very satisfied with how their county is organising vaccine campaigns – the most satisfied globally – followed by 55% in Italy and 37% in Germany.
48%
of US physicians agree that mixing COVID-19 vaccine brands between a first and second injection may be appropriate in some circumstances.
77%
of physicians in Italy disagree that mixing COVID-19 vaccine brands between a first and second injection may be appropriate in some circumstances.
Patient Interactions
37%
of Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) globally report to treating about the same number of patients per week today as they were in January 2020.
51%
of PCPs in the US report to treating fewer patients per week compared to January 2020, and 46% of PCPs in the UK report to treating more.
91%
of patent interactions with a specialist in France are reported to be in person, 7% via telephone consultation and 2% via online video consultation, compared to PCPs who reported 77% in person, 10% at home, 8% telephone and 5% video (in January 2021).
40%
of patient interactions with a PCP in Italy are reported to be over the phone and 37% in person, compared to 22% and 65% respectively for interactions with a specialist (in January 2021).
A 28-year-old man from the UK said....
“Having less anxiety and improved mental health,” when asked what he was most looking forward to post-pandemic.
Post-pandemic shopping and activities
Hobbies and activities
31%
of respondents globally are most looking forward to seeing friends and family post pandemic, followed by 29% looking forward to traveling and 12% going to bars/pubs and restaurants.
44%
of respondents in the US reported to picking up a new hobby during the pandemic – 18% started reading and 15% started gaming.
91%
of respondents in India reported to picking up a new hobby during the pandemic – 51% started exercising and 48% started gardening.
12%
of respondents in Germany are most looking forward to going to pubs and restaurants post-pandemic, as are 19% in France and 10% in Italy.
Shopping behaviour
29%
of respondents globally were forced to trial a new brand of paper product (i.e. toilet paper or paper towels) during the pandemic, and 91% say they have already returned or plan to return to their original brand when available.
56%
of UK respondents are doing most of their clothing shopping online, and 41% plan to do most of their clothing purchase online post-pandemic as well.
19%
of US respondents are currently doing most of their grocery shopping online for delivery, and 15% plan to shop online for delivery post-pandemic as well.
9%
of Chinese respondents who were forced to trial a new brand of cosmetics during the pandemic do not plan on returning to their original brand when it is available.