Nationally, 30% of people in the UK lost income during the pandemic. The majority of those impacted lost work due to layoffs, business closures or downsizes or experienced a temporary loss of hours or wage.
Of the 30% of people who lost work, left work or experienced reduced wages during the pandemic, 39% have returned to their same job or something similar, but 35% remain unemployed. When looking at education specifically, 27% of those with a university degree remain unemployed compared to 38% of those without a degree.
Over 90% of parents in the UK reported their children have done at least some in-home/remote schooling this academic year, and 36% reported their child/children have not attended in-school classes at all. For Black families, 50% report not having attended in-school classes compared to 36% white and 24% of Asian families.
Parents of children who have done some in-home schooling claim their biggest academic concern is their children falling back academically (36%). For parents whose children have only attended in-school classes, the majority (36%) are concerned about the social impact.
For UK consumers, 36% claim to be shopping for clothing in-store today. When asked about intentions once a vaccine is widely distributed, 52% say they plan to do most of their clothing shopping in-store -- a 16% increase compared to grocery (8%) and household goods (9%).
During the pandemic, some products or brands were challenging to find on demand, causing forced brand trials. For UK consumers, 31% claimed they were forced to trial a new grocery product brand, such as a flour or pasta brand. When asked if they have already or would return to their original brand choice, 87% said “yes”, while 13% said "no".
On average, 76% of people in the UK claim they will probably or definitely receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it’s been made available to them. The probability rate, however, varies significantly when looking at demographics. For example, 91% of those aged 65 and older report they will likely be vaccinated, versus only 55% of those aged 18 to 24.
The majority of those who are not likely to receive the vaccine, 41% say they are most concerned about safety.
The top two most trusted sources for people in the UK about the vaccine are reported to be family doctors (31%) and health authorities in the country (45%).
When asked how satisfied with government and health authorities vaccination campaigns they were, 61% of consumers reported they were at least somewhat satisfied, whereas only 59% of physicians reported any satisfaction.
