Halloween activities, spend
Halloween purchasing will be down in the U.S. this year, with less consumers buying costumes than in 2019 (27% in 2020 vs. 39% in 2019) according to a study by AMC Global. Celebration activities will also be reduced, with only 43% of Americans planning to hand out candy (vs. 63% in 2019) and only 14% (down from 24% in 2019) attending Halloween parties.
Trick-or-treating is also down to 20% in 2020, vs. 39% in 2019. For those Americans deciding to greet trick-or-treaters, 84% report they will be taking the safety precaution of frequent hand washing and 78% the provision of hand sanitizer. Seventy-seven percent report they will be wearing a protective face mask and 73% report they will keep a six-foot distance from trick-or-treaters. Only 6% report they will hand out candy if sick or not feeling well.
The research was conducted September 18-20, 2020. Read more.
Parents monitor internet use
More than 60% of U.S. parents with one or more school-aged children feel that they need to monitor their child’s internet use more closely but are overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, according to a study commissioned by Smith Micro Software and conducted by OnePoll. Thirty-four percent of parents indicate that their children’s video streaming has increased by 11+ hours each week. Roughly one out of three parents estimate that their child spends four-to-six hours per day on educational screen time, and an estimated additional one-to-three hours of non-educational screen time daily.
The study also found that eight in 10 parents feel conflicted about allowing their child to socialize during the new school year.
The research was conducted August 20 – September 2, 2020. Read more.
COVID-19 impacts marketing and advertising agencies
A study by Digital Third Coast looks at how marketing and advertising agencies have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 75% of the 30 executives polled said they have changed their service offerings in the wake of COVID-19. Forty-eight percent have worked to amend current service offerings, 29% have begun offering new services and 16% have reduced prices of services.
The study included an open-end component where the executives were asked, “How has COVID-19 shaped your agency’s offerings.” Here are a few highlights from the responses:
- “We’ve actually used the pandemic time to build a new product delivery mechanism around carefully vetted contractors.”
- “We are still doing the same thing. We just became more competitive in our pricing.”
- “We are having more conversations with our clients about what we offer.”
Money mind-set during COVID-19
Logica Research’s second wave of an ongoing study on the future of money shows that 67% of Americans report being stressed about their financial situation, with more women (70%) than men (62%) reporting increased stress. These numbers are similar to the spring 2020 wave of the study.
Slightly more people said they are preparing for a recession – 33% in the current wave, as compared to 31% in spring 2020. Preparation activities include setting aside money (76%), eliminating expenses (46%) and picking up additional work (26%). Twenty-five percent of respondents report postponing retirement.
The research was first fielded April 8-14, 2020. This update was conducted July 8-14, 2020. Read more.
Consumers cope with social distancing
Research from BIGtoken shows that 64% of consumers believe social media has helped social distancing feel less overwhelming overall. BIGtoken began surveying its U.S. adult user base in April to understand how the pandemic has affected social media use, and conducted a follow-up study in August to compare results. In April, 24% of respondents said they think they’re on social media more than five hours per day. In August, that number dropped to 21%.
Forty-four percent of respondents said they have started following more special interest accounts on social media since the pandemic started.
The research was conducted in April and August, 2020. Read more.