People in Ireland becoming less anxious about health and shopping – survey

Irish people feel considerably more secure when out shopping than consumers in other countries and are growing less anxious about their health and the wider implications of the pandemic, according to a survey published on Wednesday.

People are also gearing up for more domestic travel but the vast majority are still afraid of flying, Deloitte Ireland's State of the Consumer Tracker suggests.

The research shows that 58 per cent of consumers here are happy to shop in stores, putting Ireland in joint third in Europe for this measure with the global average at 51 per cent and just 41 per cent in the UK.

The survey found that a majority of Irish consumers were less worried than they had been the previous week, although 46 per cent said they remained concerned about their physical wellbeing.

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Job loss remained a significant concern for 31 per cent of those polled, compared with 36 per cent two weeks previously, while 22 per cent of people said they were worried about making upcoming payments, compared with 24 per cent in the previous study.

The number of Irish consumers who plan to spend on travel increased by 12 per cent with 20 per cent actively seeking travel deals, compared with 16 per cent in the previous tracking study.

As the health crisis begins to improve, the data suggests that consumers are planning to travel domestically, with a 23 per cent increase in intended spend on vehicle fuel/oil and only a small increase in confidence in air travel.

All told, just 20 per cent are saying they would feel safe flying, up 1 per cent when compared with the previous survey.

The re-emergence of the “convenience consumer” has continued with 45 per cent saying they were happy to spend more on convenience, consistent with the previous wave of research, but people are still hesitant when it comes to large purchases with 41 per cent saying they were still planning to delay big spending.

The latest bi-weekly survey, which tracks Irish consumers’ attitudes towards personal wellbeing, financial concerns, travel and hospitality, transport and retail, was carried out among 1,000 Irish consumers – and a similar number in 17 other countries – between June 9th and 13th, when Ireland was entering the second phase of exit from the Covid-19 lockdown.

Lasting damage

The head of Deloitte Ireland's consumer division Daniel Murray said that while consumer confidence "continues to be steadily restored, the lasting damage of the Covid-19 crisis is still evident".

He highlighted the 46 per cent of people who remain worried about their physical wellbeing and pointed out it had only decreased by 4 per cent since the first State of the Consumer Tracker.

“While Irish consumers may be holding back on purchasing new vehicles and availing of public transport, they are increasingly willing to spend on fuel, which may reflect an increasing interest in travelling domestically,” Mr Murray said. “This presents an opportunity for more travel-related spend, for example on hotel stays, tourist activities, travel amenities and such. This will provide a vital boost to the domestic hospitality industry in lieu of international tourism numbers being restored.”