Signals #6: Understanding the Coronavirus Crisis

The coronavirus crisis is evolving quickly, with many countries now coming out of lockdown and gradually going back to offices, shops, museums and restaurants.

This is all against a backdrop of great uncertainty as to what the coming period will mean for societies, markets and people around the world.

Our sixth edition of Signals presents new research from our teams around the world, drawing on our global polling, expert analysis and studies carried out by our teams in different countries. The aim is to keep all of us in touch with the latest information as the impacts of the crisis continue to unfold.

You can download previous editions of Signals from the dedicated Signals hub page.

This latest digest includes:

• Points of View: While recent weeks have seen drastic changes to what we buy and how we buy it, Forecasting in Challenging Times reminds us that robust business planning is still crucial throughout the coronavirus crisis, through a specific focus on consumer-packaged goods.
• Research insights: Media and advertising patterns have changed considerably around the world with increased viewing of both entertainment and news content at different times of the day. We look at the local story the UK, MENA and Italy. Meanwhile, our Affluent Consumer Survey shows that the wealthier segment of the US population, who are insulated from the worst of the economic effects, may emerge from the crisis with greater intent to purchase in a number of sectors.
• Country insights: A new edition of our report on China during coronavirus comes at a time when the country is returning to normality. It looks at what this means for society and the economy in the near future. Although Italy is now entering the third phase of easing its lockdown, public anxiety is still high and a number of tensions will shape the politics of the future. A new paper from Russia looks at what lessons can be learned from observing how previous crises in 2008 and 2014 have affected consumers in the country, highlighting five main trends. Finally, in Turkey, we present responses to the pandemic since the first case was announced, outlining what our opinion surveys and consumer analysis tell us about society and the economy.
• Global polling: Ipsos’ Global Consumer Confidence survey shows economic optimism to be on the decline around the world with May’s figures marking a 10-year low in consumer confidence. Another global survey finds a majority in 9 of 16 countries are comfortable returning to work, but many fewer feel the same about children going back to school.