By Sean Delaney
A recent Axios/Ipsos Reid poll of a large swath of the North American population just showed that two thirds of people do not believe the coronavirus will be eradicated during this year.
A stark reality, but when you consider the world has been living in for more than two years, is it a surprise? Restrictions will ease, stores and businesses will reopen at full capacity, but will your customers want you to simply shift back to the old normal?
And the question is being asked, will a business potentially lose customers if it does?
A deeper dive into the Ipsos numbers shows that just a month produced a decline of 63 percent of the same population being nervous about public spaces to 54 percent.
If restrictions are waning soon, it does not look like the concern of customers will be gone as fast.
Anxiety and potential emotional outbursts remain high on the list of concerns. Case numbers continue to be steady, which means staffing, and staff absences will continue to be an employer concern.
As an Associated Press article published on MarketWatch pointed out, Many office workers will still be required to wear masks in the office and get regularly tested. Front-line workers like store clerks and restaurant staff who were already physically going to work will have to adjust to maskless colleagues and customers — whether they like it or not.
However, an article on ey.com shows that while consumers are nervous, they are ready to spend.
A poll of potential consumers saw Cautiously Extravagant and Back with a Bang, earn 57 percent of the responses when people were asked how they will spend once the pandemic is done. Businesses must be cautious but ready, and customers must remain vigilant but understanding as the pandemic ends.