---
title: "Study Finds Consumers Returning To Stores, But Shopping Habits Have Changed"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/bf2ad716-57b7-4fbf-8179-4a7b2a0b9079
source: "Franchising.com"
original_url: https://www.franchising.com/articles/study_finds_consumers_returning_to_stores_but_shopping_habits_have_changed.html
author: "Multi-Unit Franchisee"
category: "Specialty retail"
industry: "Retail"
segment: "Specialty retail"
published: 2020-09-08T07:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:34:16.897Z
image: https://imgs.franchising.com/art/articles/5552_plate.jpg
---

# Study Finds Consumers Returning To Stores, But Shopping Habits Have Changed

**TL;DR:** A study by Mood Media found that 71% of global consumers feel comfortable returning to physical stores, but their shopping habits have changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The study surveyed over 8,000 consumers across the UK, US, China, and France, and found that US consumers are returning to non-essential shopping at a rate of 60%, but with changed behaviors such as spending less time in-store.

*By Multi-Unit Franchisee, originally published in Franchising.com on 2020-09-08. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/articles/study_finds_consumers_returning_to_stores_but_shopping_habits_have_changed.html).*

## Story

As Covid-19 lockdown measures continue to be scaled back around the world, almost three-quarters of global consumers (71%) now report feeling comfortable returning to physical stores, according to research by Mood Media entitled “Shopper Sentiments: A September 2020 Global Mood Survey.” But their shopping habits have changed and they see a “return to normal” as still being a ways off. The research was conducted in partnership with Censuswide.

More than 8,000 consumers across the UK, US, China, and France were surveyed about how they are adjusting their in-store shopping behaviors and developing new shopping patterns in today’s world. **Key US findings include:** **Reassurance from Safety Measures in-store:** More than three-quarters of US consumers (76%) report feeling at least somewhat comfortable with the new health and safety measures placed in stores, and 37% report that these health and safety measures make them feel safer. **Non-Essential Shopping:** Sixty percent of US shoppers say they have already returned to non-essential retail stores, but only at a rate of 51% for those 55+ in age.

US shoppers aged 16-24 are returning to non-essential shopping more conservatively than other countries surveyed, at a rate of 54% compared to a combined rate of 74% elsewhere. **Changing Shopping Habits Among US Consumers:** Of those comfortable returning to physical stores, 28% of US respondents reported spending less money and less time shopping than before the pandemic, while 20% in the US are spending more money and less time in-store than pre-pandemic. This highlights an overarching trend of consumers trying to spend less time in-store - regardless of their spend.

Optimism Regarding a “Return to Normal”: Only 22% of US shoppers expect their shopping habits to “return to normal” by the end of 2020 (29% of males and 16% of females) while 24% don’t expect to fully resume their in-store shopping habits until the summer of 2021. Additionally, 16% predict it taking until the end of 2021 before shopping norms can resume. The most optimistic group in the US are males in the Southeast, where 34% believe normalcy will return by the end of 2020.

The least optimistic US group are females in the West, where 24% don't believe their consumer shopping habits will ever return to pre-pandemic norms.

## Entities

- Franchising.com (publication)
- Retail (sector)
- Multi-Unit Franchisee (person)
- covid-19 impact (topic)
- U.K. (location)
- China (location)
- US (location)
- consumer behavior (topic)
- France (location)
- retail trends (topic)
- shopping habits (topic)

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Originally reported by Multi-Unit Franchisee, Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/articles/study_finds_consumers_returning_to_stores_but_shopping_habits_have_changed.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/bf2ad716-57b7-4fbf-8179-4a7b2a0b9079).