Consumers prefer to shop at retailers that require masks, according to new survey

Learning to live with COVID might be the new normal.

Seventy-one percent of consumers in Numerator’s newest Consumer Behavior & Sentiment Survey said they agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, "I think we will learn to live with COVID-19 rather than ever fully returning to a pre-COVID 'normal'.

Also, almost half (49%) of consumers said they prefer to shop at retailers that require masks (61% of vaccinated consumers vs 20% of unvaccinated consumers).  And 59% three in five consumers (59%) said they prefer to wear masks in public at this point in time (68% of vaccinated consumers vs 31% of unvaccinated consumers). 

And 20% of consumers said they are concerned. about the Omicron variant, compared to 27% who said the same about the Delta variant.

Other findings from the survey are below.

• Comfort with out-of-home activities decreased slightly across most behaviors, with shopping in-store without a mask (down four points) and gathering with friends & family (down three pts) seeing the most significant declines.

• Among all activities surveyed, consumers showed the lowest levels of concern for eating outside a restaurant and ordering takeout food.

• Just over one-third (34%) of consumers think the Omicron variant will cause a return to lockdowns where they live. Comparatively, 61% of consumers said the same of the Delta variant at its peak last summer.