COVID Mindsets: Folks Want to Get Out, Safely!

ATLANTA -- In August, GP PRO shared the results of a June survey in which it sought to understand what and how people were feeling as the COVID pandemic continued to maintain its grip on the U.S., suggesting that people want to get out into their communities more, but they need to feel safe.

According to Michelle Auda, senior director of Insights with GP PRO, the new data suggests that people want to get out into their communities more, but they need to feel safe. “To a degree, whether in response to personal experience, geography, what’s on the news, or even political affiliation, I think reality has set in. People are accepting the fact that this pandemic isn’t going away anytime in the immediate future, and they’re slowly getting back to familiar routines and activities,” she said. “But they need to believe they're safe while doing so."

The early summer survey uncovered five primary mindsets, revealing that 29 percent of survey participants were “cautious but reasonable,” 25 percent were "reluctant rule followers,” 19 percent were “germinators,” 13 percent were “freewheelers,” and 12 percent were “avoiders."

Three months later, with many states and countries extending their peacetime emergencies, the World Health Organization reporting more than seven million cumulative cases of coronavirus in the U.S., and U.S. coronavirus deaths reaching more than 220,000, GP PRO wanted to see if there was a shift in how people were feeling about and responding to COVID.

Not surprisingly, the survey did uncover some changing COVID mindsets, including fewer “freewheelers” and “reluctant rule followers” and more “germinators."

Auda added that “germinators” express their fear by taking responsibility for their own personal safety in ways that may appear excessive, such as wearing gloves while wiping down their grocery cart, using disinfecting hands wipes and hand sanitizer simultaneously, or crossing a street to avoid passing too closely to someone.

“According to our findings, more than one quarter of consumers fall into the ‘germinator’ category. That means there are a lot of people really trying their best to get back to living and working right now despite the pandemic—maybe your mail carrier or your local barista; your child’s teacher or your next door neighbor,” said Auda. “So I would again encourage people to show empathy. To make this ‘new normal’ a little easier on everyone.”

For more, go to www.gppro.com.