Some 60% of households expect their routines to remain altered for at least the next four months, Nielsen said.
Premiumization within off-premise alcohol isn’t slowing down, and has in fact accelerated during COVID weeks, Nielsen said. However, when it comes to total consumer goods, Nielsen said it is starting to see more cautious consumer sentiment in relation to spending. About four in 10 (42%) households say they are watching what they spend as a result of COVID.
The homebody economy continues. When asked what percentage of time households eat meals or snacks at home versus outside of home, 39% of households said they ate 100% of their meals and snacks at home. An equal amount (39%) said they ate outside of their home only 10% of the time. As a comparison, when asked what their habits were prior to COVID, only 12% said they ate all of their meals at home.
When asked what their plans are for the coming months, close to one in three households (28%) said they plan to eat all of their meals at home. That of course was lower for younger consumers aged 21-34, and much higher for consumers aged 65+.
What about consumer plans if economic conditions get worse (recession and/or inflation)? When asked about things they would do to save money when shopping for beer or wine, 39% said they won’t change how they shop for it. However, nearly 25% said they would buy less. That’s a slightly different story for households with below $30K, which said they would be more likely to stop buying it all together.