The year 2020 was marked by high volatility in consumer sentiment. This is visible both in the long-running Kantar Consumer Index project and in the specially created daily measurement Monitoring Nastrojów (Sentiment Monitoring). Consumers react quickly and dynamically to both bad and good news coming from the market as well as from state administration.

How did the pandemic affect sentiment?

It is clear that after the collapse in sentiment right after the pandemic was announced and restrictions were introduced, there is a rebound in the summer period, followed by a very strong decline in the autumn, during the second wave of the pandemic. November is the month when consumers begin to feel the negative financial effects of the pandemic. Not everyone experiences them as clearly current economic problems, but they do limit consumption plans and negatively affect consumer sentiment.

Reactions to news about vaccines

The beginning of December brings increasingly optimistic information about effective coronavirus vaccines and about the implementation of vaccination plans around the world and in Poland, which also contributes to an improvement in sentiment. However, recent days bring worrying news about new mutations of the virus, and drastic restrictions are being introduced in trade and mobility. Sentiment monitoring, which is carried out on a daily basis, already indicates the first negative reactions.

Sensitivity to media reports

Changing consumer sentiment in 2020

Consumer sentiment indicators show how sensitive we are to media reports and how quickly we react to them. At the same time, the dynamics of these changes show that we are impatiently awaiting positive information that will allow us to return to pre-pandemic consumer behavior. Certainly, however, these behaviors will not be identical; the growth of the e-commerce sector is very clearly visible, and after the pandemic subsides it will continue to be eagerly used.

More information can be found HERE or in the attached REPORT.

Summary

The report on consumer sentiment in 2020 shows that it was extremely volatile – from the collapse after the pandemic was announced, through a summer rebound, to a strong decline in the autumn. Consumers react both to negative reports and to optimistic information about vaccines, which can be seen in daily measurements. The research also points to sustained growth in the e-commerce sector, which may remain popular after the pandemic subsides.