Coronavirus has disrupted everyday life as nations across the globe put actions into place to thwart its spread. As a result, many U.S. consumers are cancelling travel and vacation plans in an effort to comply with restrictions and social distancing precautions.
We dug into our Resonate data – which reveals thousands of attributes on over 200 million U.S. consumers and is updated in real-time, to learn more about the people that cancelling flights, hotel rooms and family vacations in order to help brands and companies like yours craft messaging in an unpredictable environment. We looked at their values, motivations and preferences, as well as how and where can you reach these people to send the right message about how your brand is maneuvering rapidly shifting information. We looked at the online consumers who have searched for content surrounding the Coronavirus, travel and refunds, cancellations, postponement, changes or rescheduling, and we uncovered some noteworthy insights to inform your business decisions during this time of uncertainty.
This group of 2.7 million U.S. consumers and travelers is made up of an equal number of married men and women who are mostly ages 45-54 and do not have kids under 18. Their top personal values are acceptance of those who are different, safety in one’s community and nation and living a life full of excitement. They’re motivated by proving competence and skills, having an optimistic outlook and recognition from peers. These consumers do, however, over index at a higher rate on their value for the safety of their community than living an exciting life, which means they’re willing to stay home in order to prevent the spread of disease, despite their passion for travel. Since they care about proving competence and receiving recognition, these drivers are likely what factor into them doing the right thing, which in this case, means postponing travel. They want to be seen as making the “right” decision, and do not want to be judged by those who are following the rules, so they’ll likely be avoiding large crowds and staying home as advised by state and local leaders.
Their top hobbies include international travel, visiting spas and stock trading. Their daily routines revolve around living a healthy lifestyle and include avoiding soda, limiting calories / fats / salts and they buy food based on nutrition. They buy groceries at health food stores such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, and shop at REI and Land’s End, both apparel retailers that have a focus on outdoor adventure, aligning with their passion for travel. One of their top TV networks is PBS, which is indicative of the more community-centric outlook this segment has.
When it comes to travel specifically, this segment is 188% more likely to travel for business and only 42% more likely to travel for leisure. In terms of where they typically travel internationally, they’re 726% more likely to travel to Eastern Europe and Russia, 601% more likely to travel to the United Kingdom and 406% more likely to travel to continental Europe. In terms of domestic travel destinations, they’re 161% more likely to travel to Boston, 113% more likely to travel to Hawaii and 110% more likely to travel to Jackson Hole. When they travel, they do so in a low-key manner. They don’t pack heavy, don’t pay extra for luxury amenities and don’t care about having solid communication access. They take 1-3 international trips a year and 4-6 domestic trips a year.
They’re 235% more likely to book online directly with the hotel or airline, 233% more likely to use travel apps and do not use social media for booking-related customer service. If you’re trying to update customers about your policies or give them information regarding cancellations, refunds and rebooking during this time, it’s important to update your mobile app and website, as that’s what this group mainly uses to stay connected to travel companies. You should also make sure your customer service reps are available for this group to call and make reservation adjustments, as this group prefers to contact companies directly to share their thoughts.
While this consumer segment is passionate about travel and does so frequently as part of their livelihood, they’re willing to put the needs of the community ahead of their personal interests. They have a community-centric outlook, which is obvious based on the issues they’re most engaged with: advocating for local issues, mass transit and enacting gun control. Their advocacy interests suggest they may be willing to make short-term sacrifices for the greater good of the community. They emphasize the safety others, and want to do the “right thing” no matter what.
Want to know how consumers are feeling about another industry aside from travel? Resonate’s highly relevant and accurate data can help guide your company in terms of how to connect with consumers during this time of uncertainty. One of our experts would be happy to give you a custom demo.
