Signals #4: Understanding the coronavirus crisis

Since our first edition of Signals was published over a month ago the coronavirus outbreak has continued to spread rapidly across the world, and we have seen unprecedented government measures to mitigate the economic fallout.

There are now over 2.6 million confirmed cases of coronavirus globally, and much of the world has been placed under some form of lockdown.

In our fourth edition of Signals, we have sought to highlight our key learnings so far and begun to identify how attitudes and behaviours around the world may be changing.

You can download previous editions of Signals from the dedicated Ipsos COVID-19 web page.

This edition features:

• Points of view – In Innovating in Challenging Times – Issue 2, we dive deeper into the dynamics observed in our concept testing database analysis – this time exploring services, durables, and technology. Meanwhile, Brand rituals in a low-touch world considers how brands should continue to respond to the crisis as they aim to make sure that they are part of the new routines – and rituals – that consumers are starting to establish during this fluid period.
• Research insights – In the third wave of our analysis of G-MED’s Global Physician Online Community, we share the voices of doctors from around the world as they discuss how they are dealing with coronavirus, as well as the knock-on effects on other aspects of the healthcare system.
• Opinion polling – Our latest coronavirus opinion poll finds a majority of people across 15 countries disagree that the economy will recover quickly once the coronavirus lockdown is lifted in their country. This sentiment is shared in April 2020’s Global Consumer Confidence Index, with all but one of the 24 countries surveyed registering a significant drop and the Index falling to its lowest level in more than seven years.
• Country insights – Our latest analysis of what Indians are discussing on social media about coronavirus highlights the sharp difference in the topics dominating mainstream news vs online conversations. In the UK, we turn our attention to how Brits are spending their time during lockdown and find many are trying new activities such as baking, gardening, and exercise. Finally, our detailed study in Brazil finds the population’s two main concerns are the spread of the virus and its economic impact – including loss of income and fears about unemployment.