••• travel research
Making the trip
Consumers are gaining confidence in international and domestic travel
COVID-19 was a blow for the travel industry but with the start of a new year and vaccines on the horizon lending hope to consumers, prospects are brightening. According to research from Tripadvisor, consumers are increasingly confident that they will travel abroad in 2021, particularly in the second half of the year. In fact, globally, the majority of hotel clicks on Tripadvisor are already shifting to international destinations for May 2021 trips onward (as opposed to domestic destinations, which dominated 2020).
Nearly half (47%) of travelers surveyed globally say they are planning to travel internationally in 2021, including 45% of U.S. travelers. One in 10 (11%) global respondents have already booked an international trip for 2021, including 14% of respondents in the U.S. The most eager to venture abroad are German and U.K. travelers – in the first week of January, 85% of hotel clickers on Tripadvisor in either country were planning international breaks for later this year.
When it comes to consumer confidence, though, vaccines are a driving force. The widespread rollout of vaccines won’t just impact travelers’ confidence to travel, it will have a major influence on where leisure travelers are prepared to go.
Globally, more than three-quarters (77%) of travelers surveyed say they will be more likely to travel internationally if they receive the vaccine, rising to 86% for travel domestically. In the U.S., those numbers change to 69% and 80%, respectively.
More than a quarter (26%) of respondents globally say that they would only travel to destinations that required visitors to be vaccinated before travel, with Australian (32%) and U.S. (30%) travelers the most likely to expect destinations to adopt this safety measure.
While international tourism looks to be getting a boost this year following a shutdown for much of 2020, domestic travel isn’t necessarily going to take a back seat in 2021. In the first week of January, nearly 70% of hotel clickers on Tripadvisor were booking future domestic trips, while further out, May through August are still proving the most popular months for domestic vacations.
Globally, three-quarters (74%) of travelers surveyed plan to take at least one overnight domestic leisure trip in 2021 – and an enthusiastic 80% in the U.S. In the U.S, just over a third of respondents (34%) are planning at least three domestic trips this year, compared to 31% of Australians surveyed and 24% of British travelers.
With travel plans dashed in early 2020, many people have been dreaming about their next big vacation for more than 10 months, so it’s no surprise that travelers are extra conscious of getting it just right. Three-quarters (74%) of travelers surveyed globally say they will spend more time choosing a destination this year, including 65% of travelers in the U.S. Sixty-four percent of travelers in the U.S. will spend more time reading reviews, 63% will spend more time selecting their accommodation and 70% will spend more time finding things to do.
As in-person dining was restricted in many countries throughout 2020, the success of takeout and delivery services soared, as consumers sought to satisfy their appetite. But encouragingly for the hospitality industry, in-person dining’s rebound in 2021 doesn’t mean a decline in takeout and delivery demand.
Nearly half (47%) of respondents globally say they plan to dine in-person at restaurants more often in 2021 than they did in 2020 and a quarter of respondents (27%) say they plan to order more takeout meals this year. In the U.S., 54% of respondents plan to dine in-person at restaurants more often this year and 38% plan to order more takeout
The study was conducted by Tripadvisor in partnership with Qualtrics and surveyed 2,330 consumers from the U.S., U.K., Australia, Italy, Singapore and Japan.
••• shopper insights
Under review
Study looks at the influence of user-generated content on e-commerce
Who better to advocate for your brand than the people already enjoying it? Recent research from Bazaarvoice, a provider of product reviews and user-generated content (UGC) solutions, reveals visual and social user-generated content is driving online retail purchases. Over half (51%) of global consumers agree social media influences purchases and 65% find the availability of previous customer photos on social media and websites essential in their purchase decision. In addition to social media, almost three-quarters (74%) of consumers prefer to see previous customers’ photos and videos on brand and retailer websites rather than professionally shot images. In fact, 62% of consumers are more likely to buy if they can view both photo and video content from previous customers.
As the most-used social media network globally, Facebook is also the most popular destination when it comes to influencing purchases (25%) and the most likely social platform for consumers to purchase a product on (26%). Among 18-34-year-olds, however, Instagram is the most popular destination, with 31% using it as their main source of inspiration and 27% saying it is the most likely place for them to buy.
Younger shoppers demonstrate a particularly strong preference for visual UGC on social media, as 73% of 18-34-year-olds prefer it when brands use visual UGC for social media outreach compared to an average of 64% across other age groups.
Shoppable images and videos are the type of content most likely to influence buying choices on social media (19%), ahead of video advertising (14%) and posts from followed brands (13%), suggesting rich content and the ease of buying on-platform are now critical in the customer journey.
However, it’s important that the content stays fresh – almost half (47%) of consumers want to see new UGC on social media at least two to three times a week, with 10% of those expecting updates multiple times a day.
Visual UGC is most important for products that are typically higher in value, as consumers seek evidence and certainty about its quality, as well as the accuracy of the description before buying. For over a third of consumers (36%), technology and electronics is the most important category for reviewing photos and videos from other customers prior to purchase.
When it comes to trusting the authenticity of a review when making a purchase, the quality of other customer reviews is the top priority (45%) compared to how recently a review was posted (32%) or the number of reviews a product has from previous customers (23%).
The quality of a review depends on the viewer, however. For one-in-five consumers (21%), a quality review is judged to be one that includes photos and videos as well as text, more so than a well-written review with good spelling and grammar (16%) or a review that clearly states when a product was purchased (11%).
The research was commissioned by Bazaarvoice and conducted in November and December 2020 by Savanta among 8,051 consumers from the U.K., U.S., Canada, France, Germany and Australia.
••• health care research
The doctor will Zoom you now
Health care providers cite key benefits of virtual care
While the pandemic created an immediate need for virtual health care platforms, it also highlighted the advantages these platforms hold for future use. Virtual care delivery platform Noteworth looked into the ways in which digital medicine platforms have helped organizations navigate the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and found that, of the more than 250 medical professionals surveyed, two-thirds (68%) believe that health care organizations will continue engaging with patients via digital health care platforms post-pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges for America’s health care community. For a growing number of health systems and group practices around the country, greater use of digital medicine platforms will continue to be a way to treat patients effectively without a disruption in care due to pandemic-related factors. Eighty-six percent of those surveyed felt that digital medicine platforms have greatly stepped up their ability to deliver care and increase efficacy with their patients. Additionally, 47% noted that having a specialized data report that gives an overall view of the patient’s medical history was a key element in navigating the challenges that arose due to the pandemic.
A majority of respondents (59%) said that the most significant benefits of using digital medicine platforms are remote monitoring and management for improved care. In addition, 56% said that patient engagement was a key advantage while another 49% said better access to care played a big part in the benefits of digital medicine.
Eighty-five percent of health care providers noted social distancing as a way in which they have worked to protect patient safety during COVID-19. Fifty percent said that virtual video visits were the most important for health care providers to deliver the best virtual care services through a digital health care platform.
The survey was conducted in December 2020 via SurveyMonkey and sampled more than 250 U.S.-based health care professionals.
••• retail research
Delivering success
2020 forced retailers to up their fulfillment game
In 2020, the retail industry faced immense challenges as many retailers were ill-equipped to immediately and effectively meet consumers’ changing demands. Bringg, a delivery and fulfillment cloud platform provider, surveyed 1,000 U.S. enterprise retailers and brands to uncover current strengths and weaknesses in online fulfillment capacity and a variety of fulfillment services, as well as top fulfillment priorities for 2021.
Many of those surveyed invested in new fulfillment channels since the beginning of the pandemic, including curbside pickup (51%), buy online pickup in store (BOPIS) (33%), alternative pickup locations (28%) and same-day delivery (27%). Though these channels proved to be effective throughout the pandemic and over the holiday season, retailers have recognized the need to continually invest in fulfillment capabilities and adjust current capabilities.
Retailers and brands surveyed reported that they are prioritizing adding alternative pickup locations (30%) and BOPIS (24%) in the next six to 12 months. However, less than half of the retailers surveyed work with a technology vendor to streamline operations.
When it comes to scaling delivery, the biggest pain points are working with multiple fleets (36%), scheduling delivery times with customers (30%) and lack of real-time visibility once the order is out for delivery (20%). In terms of working with external fleets for delivery, the biggest pain points were lack of visibility (39%), lack of brand control (31%) and cost (29%). Survey respondents indicate that the pain points associated with delivering on time include the number of drivers available (29%), dispatch and routing issues (20%) and travel distance between warehouse or retail location and delivery point (19%).
••• brand research
Platform to purchase
Study identifies top media channels for marketing
The term “choice overload” has often been applied to the way in which consumers are faced with an ever-increasing number of options – and the term is fitting for the swath of media platforms now available as well. However, the growing availability of these platforms presents a challenge for marketers and brands as well, who are faced with the enormous task of choosing between the various platforms or prioritizing one over the other. And thanks to the events of the past year, consumer habits have further changed, making the task of marketing and advertising even more difficult. In the last months of 2020, Borderless Access conducted an online study to find out which platforms consumers prefer and trust. The study also examined how U.S. consumers differ in their platform preferences from other countries.
Not surprisingly, most people around the world (74%) were exposed to brand messaging on social media platforms, followed by television (67%). Interestingly, in the U.S., the majority of people (67%) were exposed to ads on television, followed by social media platforms (66%).
When narrowed down to online channels alone, the study revealed that the majority of Americans (56%) are exposed to brand messaging on social media platforms, followed by e-mails and online ads at 45% and 44%, respectively. Notable here is the fact that a significant number of Americans are exposed to ads and brand promotions of some kind over e-mail, which is not the global norm, where e-mails are preceded by social media platforms, online ads, digital newspapers and online forums.
The ubiquitous nature of social media means that ultimately, digital platforms most effectively convert brand messages into purchases. Forty-eight percent of U.S. respondents said they had made a purchase or used a service or a product after being exposed to a brand message on a social media platform. However, 44% of U.S. respondents also credited their product or service used to brand messaging on television. This behavior is consistent with the global average.
Trust can be an important factor in a consumer’s decision-making process for specific products and services and as such, it is a key point for marketers when promoting the same. In 2020, television and print media were the most trusted in the U.S. for product or service information, while social media was on the lower end of the trust scale. Even for news consumption, television was the most trusted platform in the country, followed by radio and print magazines. This is consistent with the global viewer perception, where television leads in terms of trust.
Among online channels, search engine results are the most trusted by American consumers searching for product or service information, as is the case with consumers globally. Meanwhile, digital newspapers are the most trusted sources of news in the U.S.
As much as we’re exposed to digital media platforms, however, these channels have not completely overridden consumer trust and affinity toward traditional media. In the U.S., 41% of consumers want to be able to rely on digital as well as print media, while 20% trust traditional media more than digital. Meanwhile, 11% of Americans said they have completely stopped using print media, which is lower than the global average of 9%. Of that number, 21% have quit print media since the pandemic.
••• COVID-19 research
Phone, keys, wallet, mask
Brits have hygiene concerns in public spaces
Throwing on a mask before entering a grocery store and getting a squirt of hand sanitizer on the way out has become second nature to most, with hygiene concerns related to COVID-19 effectively changing the way we view spaces and surfaces that used to seem harmless. For 58% of Britons, it’s no longer comfortable to use public devices such as card readers, with 54% feeling the same way about public toilets. These findings come from a survey of 2,160 adults commissioned by Sagentia, which wanted to understand how people’s attitudes, behaviors and priorities have changed due to the pandemic.
Eighty percent of Britons are paying more attention to handwashing and cleanliness. Of these, 70% say it’s because they can’t be sure other people share their hygiene standards. However, most people feel a high level of personal responsibility. Among those whose behavior has changed, 71% say it’s because they want to reduce their risk of infecting other people and 65% want to do everything they can to protect their family. Just over half (54%) say they have made changes because they want to follow the recommended government guidelines.
The findings also reveal that COVID-19 has made many people more aware of the role science can play in informing decisions about the products they buy. This was true for a quarter of the general population (25%), whereas two in five (43%) said they were fully aware before the pandemic.
Attitudes toward work, shopping and leisure activities were covered by the research too. It found that 31% of people feel uncomfortable going into a shared workspace or office, 35% feel uncomfortable eating in a fast-food restaurant or café and 33% are uncomfortable taking part in a group class at the gym.
Some respondents (11%) indicated that using extra packaging on products would be reassuring. However, 47% said they worry that there has been an increase in single-use plastic due to COVID-19 and 40% worry that the topic of climate change has taken a back seat.
Alongside the consumer research, Sagentia ran an industry study asking businesses how they would respond to consumer behavioral change. Of those surveyed, 73% expect changes prompted by COVID-19 to influence research and development priorities. Almost half anticipate innovation in areas such as chemicals and materials science, for instance to develop antiviral coatings. Almost a third (32%) expect advancements in mechanical or physical technologies to improve hygiene, with 20% saying this is likely to involve energy or light-based sanitization.
The survey was conducted by YouGov on behalf of Sagentia and surveyed 2,160 British adults from October 5-6, 2020.
••• automotive research
Driving safe
COVID-19 has kept prospective vehicle owners cautious
The COVID-19 pandemic created immediate, visible uncertainty but it also affected consumers in more subtle ways. To better understand how this uncertainty among consumers impacts the automotive industry, Deloitte surveyed more than 24,000 consumers in 23 countries and found that key areas of uncertainty lay in electric vehicle adoption, financial security and digital services.
Before the transportation torch is officially passed from internal combustion engines (ICE) to electric vehicles (EVs), consumers require greater assurance around mileage, robust charging infrastructure rollouts and affordability of the electric segment. While the pandemic continues to play a large role in exacerbating doubts, stricter carbon emission regulations on the horizon point to a “closing window” for the traditional ICE segment experience.
Motivated by a sense of familiarity and financial concerns due to COVID-19, consumers across the globe are showing a near-term reluctance to switching away from ICE technology. Just one-quarter (26%) of U.S. consumers are considering alternative engine solutions for their next vehicle, down 15% year-over-year.
The top concern about EVs in both the U.S. and Germany is battery range (28%), whereas lack of charging infrastructure is top of mind in Asia (the Republic of Korea at 32%, Japan at 29% and India at 26%).
While the majority of consumers in the U.S. (71%), Japan (71%), Germany (64%) and India (63%) expect to charge their vehicles at home, more than half (51%) of respondents in China intend to make use of available charging stations at their place of work or on the street instead.
Consumer perception of connected vehicles appears to be edging up in Asia, with as many as 83% of consumers in China finding the technology beneficial; that number is just about half in the U.S. (44%).
With increased connectivity, 64% of U.S. consumers are most concerned about the possibility of hacking, which is shared among consumers in Germany (64%), the Republic of Korea (64%) and India (66%).
Advanced vehicle features that promote greater safety capabilities, such as blind-spot detection, are most appealing to U.S consumers (70%), whereas Germany also ranks built-in navigation systems as their most important future vehicle option at 65%. However, cost continues to be a limiting factor for advanced vehicle technologies with 74% of U.S. consumers unwilling to pay more than $500 for infotainment.
Another factor influencing future vehicle ownership across the globe is financial concern. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers in many markets are rethinking not only when they will be buying their next vehicle but also what type of vehicle they will buy next. As the risk of affordability concerns increase, a growing number of people are deferring vehicle loan/lease payments with some intending to acquire a less expensive vehicle than originally planned.
One in 10 Americans have opted to defer their automotive payment in 2020, but that rises to 23% among consumers aged 18-34. While the vast majority (84%) of U.S. consumers plan on purchasing a similar vehicle in the future, more than half of consumers in India (57%) plan to enter a completely different vehicle segment as a result of the pandemic.
Timelines for acquiring their next vehicle varies greatly, with 66% of U.S. consumers remaining on initial timelines. In contrast, roughly one-third of consumers in India (38%) and the Republic of Korea (32%) plan on delaying their next vehicle purchase.
The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to more virtual transactions but certain aspects of the buying process remain difficult to digitize, reinforcing the consumers’ desire for an in-person experience.
U.S. preferences remain largely in favor of in-person sales experiences (71%). In contrast, consumers in India look to be the most open to a virtual transaction in the automotive space with almost one-third (27%) indicating a fully virtual buying experience is preferred.
Authorized dealers will remain a part of the virtual buying process with more than half (59%) of U.S. consumers preferring to interact with a franchised seller. Having the ability to see the car in-person remains a major deterrent for fully virtual sales noted by 75% of U.S. consumers, in addition to respondents in Japan (80%) and Germany (76%). Similarly, more than half (59%) of consumers in China listed the physical test drive of a vehicle as a deterrent to a fully virtual transaction, as did 64% of U.S. respondents.
One virtual transaction that engenders a high level of interest globally is “virtual servicing,” where a vehicle is picked up from a home or office when it needs service. Consumers in the U.S. (46%), the Republic of Korea (70%) and Japan (67%) are largely in favor of the added convenience, provided it comes free of charge.