The pandemic and the resultant financial impact has severely altered consumer lifestyles and behavior. Even those unaffected so far seem to tread cautiously, given the apparent unpredictability. This report tries to uncover the purchasing trends as it exists six months into the pandemic. Retailers, manufacturers, and consumer brands can leverage this data in their decision making.

The US economy may have reopened, but given the ongoing health crisis and the looming financial threat, it will be quite sometime before consumers get back to their usual spending pattern. Already, nearly 50 million Americans have filed for unemployment insurance, while hundreds of thousands continue to be furloughed. Amid this uncertainty, how are Americans planning their expenses, and how do they see it impacting their holiday shopping? Piplsay polled 30,315 Americans nationwide to get these insights. Here’s a summary of what we found:

Other Insights

• 52% of men have reduced their spending substantially as compared to 48% of women
• 56% of Gen Xers will cut down their travel this year as compared to 44% of Gen Zers, whereas 54% of Gen Zers will reduce their personal care expenses as compared to 46% of Millennials
• About 45% of whites and Hispanics and 53% of blacks plan to stick to essential purchases this year mostly
• 60% of blacks and Hispanics and 52% of whites will spend less this holiday season due to the pandemic

Survey Methodology: This Piplsay survey (powered by Market Cube) was conducted nationwide in the US from July 1-2, 2020. We received 30,315 online responses from individuals aged 18 years and older.