Eating and drinking out in bars and restaurants is the top activity adults are looking forward to resuming post-lockdown, but only a third plan to do so as caution remains, according to new research.
The study, from Kantar, also found that most adults are not ready to go on holiday, with 47% of adults planning on booking a holiday in the next three months, and 53% are not.
Key findings:
Holidays
- Most adults are not ready to go on holiday – 47% of adults are planning on booking a holiday in the next three months, 53% are not. 42% of adults surveyed are planning a short break in the next three months, 58% are not.
- For those booking a holiday, 64% are planning to stay within the British Isles, 38% are travelling to destinations within Europe and 13% are travelling to other destinations around the world.
Top going-out activities
- Eating and drinking out in bars and restaurants is the top activity adults are looking forward to resuming post-lockdown, but no more than a third of adults (33%) plan to do so. 29% of adults are keen to visit a cafe and 29% are looking forward to having a drink at the pub.
- Men and young adults are more likely to resume activities than the average adult – 38% of the adults looking forward to a pub visit are men and 46% of 16-34 are keen to have a meal in a restaurant.
- 24% of the overall sample (13%) planning to watch a film in the cinema are young adults aged 16-34 years.
- 16% of the overall sample (12%) planning to visit a museum post-lockdown are men.
Key concerns about resuming social activities
- Adults feeling unsafe around others represents the main concerns about resuming pre-lockdown activities. Over half of adults surveyed (54%) are concerned that safety measures won’t be followed by everyone when going out.
- Being in a busy urban area (43%) is the second biggest concern preventing adults from resuming social activities and having to take public transport (41%) is a third barrier preventing adults from resuming social activities.
- The least amount of concern for adults resuming activities is not being refunded if events and activities are cancelled.
Mark Inskip, Kantar Media CEO, UK & Ireland, said: “This new data provides crucial insight into how keen British adults are to resume post-lockdown activities and which barriers stand in the way. We can see, for example, more than half of British adults are not ready to book a holiday in the next three months, and of those who are ready, most will be staying within the British Isles (64%). Clearly, many are ambivalent to travel abroad and easing of travel restrictions will not remove worries overnight.
“As we move out of lockdown and back to normality, it’s more important than ever for brands and marketers to keep a finger on the consumer pulse and keep track of their evolving attitudes and behaviours. Sophisticated, in-depth insights allow businesses to do just that, enabling them to communicate effectively and appropriately to their target audience and get the most out of budgets in this challenging and fast-changing climate.”