Media Central and the Communicorp Media Group conducted online audience research on the 24th & 25th of March with two objectives in mind:
1. Gauge consumer sentiment in Ireland during COVID 19 pandemic
2. Analyse changes in listenership behaviour since COVID 19 pandemic
With 6,335 respondents research was carried out over a 48 hour period.
A majority (87%) continue to grocery shop instore, but we have seen online now highest among older consumers (55+)
- 60% of all consumers are saying that the current situation will likely see them change their shopping habits and shop online more in general.
- Many consumers are reviewing their finances and providers –in mobile (11%), insurance (10%) and gas electricity (9%), about 1 in 10 is actively considering switching supplier at the moment, higher again among those 35-54.
- Media engagement is high at the moment–on radio, people have increased their listening with almost 78% of people are listening the same or more to live radio.
- 73% of people surveyed are still open to charity donations –in addition to some of the usual popular organisations(Alone, Irish Cancer Society)lots of people are also talking about helping frontline healthcare workers (e.g. feed the heroes).
- A majority feel that they are going to shift their shopping online more. While this is most pronounced among younger age groups and in Dublin, even among those 55+ over 40% say they are likely to shop more online.
- The vast majority are continuing to spend online, the leading categories for spend being clothing and accessories (54%), cosmetics/beauty/hair (24%) and stationary/books/wholesale (19%).
As the impact of Covid-19 continues to effect all aspects of our economy, Media Central continued with the 2nd Wave of research. From consumer feedback they have added some additional questions to try and further understand and make sense of where the market is and what changes are occurring.
There have been some notable changes and trends since Wave 1, firstly the time at home combined with the pressures on personal finance means we are seeing more consumers reviewing their current providers producing a growing mood to switch. We can also see a number of brands have performed better than others since the outbreak in terms of consumer sentiment towards their brands. This, alongside the fact that we are seeing over 70% of people are listening to the same or more live radio shows how important it is to keep communicating to consumers where you can as they are listening more than ever.
Across all our stations, the programming teams are continuing to work hard to keep Ireland informed, entertained and most importantly be a source of trust and we are incredibly proud of the work they are doing. Radio is one of most accessible and trusted mediums in which people have and will continue to turn to in these uncertain times.
This wave of research received 5,000+ responses over the period of the 9th – 15th April. We hope you find this helpful and it can provide some insight for you during this difficult period.
Lastly we asked participant’s a simple question, “how they are feeling”, and we are glad to report that many feel we may be turning a corner and “HOPE” was the biggest single feeling expressed.
