• by Larissa Faw , July 29, 2020

Two in three Americans (65%) will not travel by plane this year, according to new research from MDC’s creative consultancy Gale. Their top concerns are close proximity to others and cleanliness of planes.

With most people reluctant to plan any trips by plane this year, many marketers looking to reach those self-grounded consumers are going to have to revamp their strategies, says Gale strategist Robyn Cauchy. “An addressable marketing strategy that's relevant and targeted to this situation will not only give brands a boost but communicate value to the consumer, that they are being marketed to in a way that's useful to them.”

Apart from travel, the survey found that the most recorded emotion across respondents about reopening was “cautious.” (66%).

Few people reported changing their food purchase habits, said Cauchy. “Most did not report trying, switching to nor increasing the frequency that they use curbside pickup nor delivery for their grocery orders,” she says. “The weekly grocery store trip appears to be a very entrenched habit. In the context of self-isolation, it might even be a welcome break from being at home; a chance to break up the monotony.”

Seven in 10 Americans (70%) expect people should return to their workplace by September, including about a quarter of respondents who said “right now.”

Men (16%) are more likely than women (9%) to say they “can’t wait” to go back to work (16% vs. 9%) and to think people should return “right now” (30% vs. 20%).

Although 37% admit they are tired of staying at home — they want to go back to their normal life — a surprisingly strong 72% of respondents would support a second stay-at-home order if a second wave of COVID-19 cases hit later this year.

“There's an overall eagerness for people to get back to work and for things to get back to normal, but it's still largely rooted in feelings of caution and doubt,” says Cauchy. “The findings told us that the majority of people are comfortable with the level of reopening in their communities, but as we're seeing that can change very quickly in the coming weeks alone.”