- With a drop of 33.7% in the allocated budget, the fashion and accessory sector will be hit hardest.
- The Canary Islands, Navarra, Aragón and Cantabria are the Autonomous Communities that will spend least at this season’s sales.
- Spending at the sales will be reduced overall by 27.21%, compared to the sales before the pandemic.
- 66.2% of people earning less than 1,000 euros will decrease their spending at these sales, while people earning between 4000 and 5000 euros are less affected, with just 35% saying they will spend less.
- 30% of the population state that their job stability has been affected by the pandemic.
- 19.4% of the working population are worried about becoming unemployed, with those on temporary redundancy schemes most afraid of losing their job, with 63% of people in this situation concerned, followed by the self-employed, at 40.6% of the total.
- Only 25% of the people surveyed feel positive, compared to a large majority who do not feel upbeat, optimistic, calm or happy.
- 65% feel a high degree of uncertainty, along the same lines as the research carried out in March and May.
- The feelings that have risen most compared to the surveys conducted in March and May are sadness, uncertainty and fear. Right now, the mood of the general population is at the lowest point since the start of the pandemic.
- The Autonomous Communities in which the population displays the most negative general mood due to the pandemic are Cantabria, Andalusia, Madrid, and Asturias.
- The regions that report a better mood are the Basque Country, La Rioja, Castilla y León, and The Canary Islands.
52.4% of people will reduce their spending at this season’s sales, according to a preview of the third part of EAE Business School’s report entitled “The Impact of Covid-19 on Mood, Habits and Expectations”, which is soon to be published. The report is based on a survey of 1,700 people. The report also reveals that the fashion and accessory sector will be hit hardest, with a drop of 33.7% in the allocated budget.
The overall budget for spending at the sales has fallen by 27.21%, compared to the sales before the pandemic. 66.2% of people earning less than 1,000 euros will decrease their spending at these sales, while 55.9% of those earning between 1,000 and 2000 euros plan to spend less. Meanwhile, 46.4% of people with an income between 2,000 and 3,000 euros will be spending less, compared to people earning between 4,000 and 5,000, who are the least affected, with just 35% saying they will spend less. Above 5000 euros, the drop in the sales budget increases once again, up to 58%. This reflects the level of impact on the household economy which, while negative for all income brackets, has affected the group earning between 4,000 and 5,000 euros the least. The Canary Islands, Navarra, Aragón and Cantabria are the Autonomous Communities that are spending least at this season’s sales.
“There are several direct reasons that explain these disheartening figures for trade in general, all obviously related to the pandemic. A total of 41% of people have directly seen their economic capacity reduced, which logically has an impact on their ability or desire to spend. This effect has not been felt equally by all income brackets, with the greatest impact hitting people with incomes under 2,000 euros per month and those earning over 5,000 euros. Moreover, the fact that people’s mood is at its lowest point since the start of the pandemic, especially combined with the high degree of uncertainty and a feeling of dread, contributes to a slowdown in consumption and increased saving. As if that were not enough, trading restrictions, closures of shopping centres, reduced opening hours, restricted mobility and the other limitations imposed aggravate the difficulties faced by this sales campaign even further. As sales are still seen as a commercial phenomenon associated with physical shopping, ecommerce is not enough to offset this lower consumption in physical stores”, explained Contreras.
People working in the sectors worst affected by the pandemic are those that, in general, will most reduce their spending on the sales and clothing.
People working in sectors such as hospitality, live performances, tourism and services for private individuals are those that will reduce their spending in the sales to the greatest extent. On the other end of the scale, the people who will reduce their spending the least in this season’s sales are people working in the public sector and administration, technology, computing and communications, banking, insurance and finance.
The sense of fear has grown by almost 20.1% in this autumn/winter season, compared to the same survey conducted in May, and 14.2% with respect to the study carried out in March.
MOODS AND COVID 19
The third instalment of the report “The Impact of Covid-19 on Mood, Habits and Expectations” also reveals that 30% of the population state that their job stability has been affected by the pandemic. Self-employed people are the group that are most afraid of losing their work, with 40.6% of those surveyed expressing concern. However, this figure pales in comparison to people on temporary redundancy schemes, with 63% of people in this situation afraid that they will lose their job. This reality, combined with doubts about the future, is leaving its mark on people’s mood. Only 25% of the people surveyed feel positive, compared to a large majority who do not feel upbeat, optimistic, calm or happy. The general mood is at its lowest point since the start of the pandemic, worse than in March or April.
65% of people feel a high degree of uncertainty, along the same lines as the research carried out in March and May. However, certain feelings have increased significantly compared to the studies conducted by EAE in the aforementioned months: sadness, uncertainty and fear.
The Autonomous Communities that display a general mood below the average are Cantabria, Andalusia, Madrid and Asturias. At the other end of the spectrum, the regions reporting a higher general mood are the Basque Country, La Rioja, Castilla y León, and The Canary Islands.