After 15 months spent masked-up and largely isolated, Americans are finally on the verge of returning to a more normal life. With more than 60% having received at least one vaccination dose, and with the number of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths steadily dropping, most states have lifted mask, social distance, and capacity restrictions in places of business.
Collective cabin fever, the return of warm weather, and the loosening of restrictions have led some experts to predict a new, 21st century version of the Roaring 20s, with Americans enjoying leisure activities in record numbers: dining out, bar and club-hopping, shopping, watching movies in theaters, returning to ballparks, attending concerts….
With more time out of the house, what will happen to all of the home-based lifestyle habits that helped Americans maintain some sense of sanity since March 2020? Will consumers continue to use streaming TV services at the same levels we’ve seen during the pandemic? Which services will they hold onto, and which will they drop? Will the idea of streaming first-run movies lose its appeal, with restrictions eased at movie theaters? Will Zoom calls with family and friends go by the wayside?
The first three waves of Hub’s Predicting the Pandemic research looked at how consumers’ leisure and entertainment behaviors had changed as a result of COVID-enforced confinement. In Wave 4, we’ll explore how those behaviors are likely to change—or have already changed—as Americans readjust to their new normal.
The study is conducted among 3,000 U.S. consumers age 14-74 who watch a minimum of 1 hour of TV per week.