Media Alert: UserTesting’s July COVID-19 Impact Study Reveals Big Shifts in Buying and Work Patterns

Study reveals steps companies must take to attract customers back to stores, and shows why most workers want to continue working from home part-time after the pandemic ends

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UserTesting, a leading provider of on-demand human insights, today published the findings of its July COVID-19 Impact Study. This three-part study looks at the current challenges and attitudes facing consumers and provides insights and practical steps for organizations to consider as they move forward on the road to recovery.

The research focused on the following three areas:

• Bringing Customers Back–The Importance of Sanitizing: The report asked participants to rate 15 public activities, from grocery shopping to staying at a hotel to using public transportation. More than 50 percent of the respondents strongly feared going to a movie theater, gym, flying in an airplane, using a rideshare service or taking public transportation. Consumers made it clear that they are most likely to trust a business or service where they’ve seen good hygiene practices. If businesses want to bring customers back in the door, they will need to publicize their cleaning processes, and show that they can enforce them. Making customers feel that they are in a safe and clean environment is a key first step to bringing them back.

Watch these videos to hear consumers describe their anxieties about situations including grocery shopping, eating in a restaurant, and going to the movies.

Read our blog post for the full report on bringing customers back.

• Growth and Future of Curbside Pickup and Home Delivery: The use of pickup and delivery services has exploded in response to the pandemic. Nearly 85 percent of the U.S. population has used one of these services since the pandemic began. Despite cases of delayed deliveries, lost orders, missing items, and other issues, most survey respondents reported good experiences overall. Although consumers enjoy this convenience, most stated they will go back to pre-pandemic shopping habits when they can, due to lower prices, greater selection, and the fact that some people prefer to shop in person.

Watch this video to hear first-hand, customers sharing their views on pickup and delivery satisfaction.

Read our blog post for the full report on curbside pickup and home delivery.

• The Impacts of Remote Work and Remote Schooling: The pandemic has shown that employees can be productive from home. The study found that about 70 percent of U.S. workers would like to continue working from home at least part-time post-pandemic, while only 20 percent want to commute every day. Pre-pandemic, about 60% of workers said they commuted daily, so this would be a big shift in work habits if employers permit it. Most people who want to work from home prefer to do it part-time, with some days in the office (where they can collaborate more easily) and some days at home (where it’s often easier to focus). Employers that can give this sort of flexibility will be able to attract the best employees, but it’s a big change. Companies should start talking to their employees about it now.

Watch this video to hear people discuss the future of working from home.

Read our blog post for the full report on remote work and remote schooling.

Remote education has been a challenge. The study revealed that about 60 percent of parents with K-12 age children reported that their kids have been taught online during the pandemic, about 30 percent were homeschooled and almost 14 percent received no schooling at all. The majority of parents with kids learning online said it’s not as effective as in-person learning. Poorly prepared transition plans to remote teaching, difficulty keeping kids focused at home, and balancing parenting and schooling have all created a lot of frustration for parents. Schools have a user experience concern that needs to be addressed immediately.

Watch this video to hear from people on their concerns about the quality of education during the pandemic.

To learn more about the findings of the COVID-19 Impact Study, join the upcoming webinar on Tuesday, August 4, at 11:00 a.m. PDT/2:00 p.m. ET. Register here.

Methodology

UserTesting’s COVID-19 Impact Study uses a mixed methodology to give deep insights on public issues and attitudes. It includes a quantitative survey of 1,100 US adults, fielded at the beginning of July; paired with self-guided video interviews of about 60 people, conducted in June through the UserTesting platform. The quant survey results were used to select video clips that represented typical survey responses. So the quant survey tells you what typical people said, and the interviews tell you why they said it and how they felt about it.

About UserTesting

UserTesting enables every organization to deliver the best customer experience powered by human insight. With UserTesting’s on-demand Human Insight Platform, companies across industries make accurate customer-first decisions at every level, at the speed business demands. With UserTesting, product teams, marketers, digital, and customer experience executives, designers and UX researchers confidently and quickly create the right experiences for all target audiences, increasing brand loyalty and revenue. UserTesting has more than 1,500 subscription customers, including more than half of the world’s top brands, and has delivered human insights to over 35,000 companies to-date. UserTesting is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. To learn more, visit www.usertesting.com.