It’s been a crazy year, hasn’t it? And yet, as we work our way further into 2021, there’s a sense of guarded optimism that seems to be spreading across the world that we can see in our Q1 review of the Blis consumer confidence pulse. 

The pandemic has dominated the last 365 days, but now – thanks to a combination of lockdowns and vaccination programmes – there is at last a light at the end of the tunnel. After more than a year of panic, occasional despair, false dawns and frightening new variants, we’re seeing that light through the lens of consumer wariness and caution. But the light is there, nonetheless, and we’re all eager to get there.

Our consumer confidence pulse covers six global markets: the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia and, newly added: the Netherlands and Italy. Each region was impacted differently by the pandemic. Some were hit much harder and earlier by the coronavirus. Some locked down quickly and securely and others took a less restrictive approach. Vaccine programme rollouts have also been faster and more efficient in some regions than others. At the same time, each entered the pandemic from a vastly different place in terms of its political and economic climate.

All of this means that drawing parallels in terms of customer sentiment across markets may be misleading. But that doesn’t mean similarities don’t exist, or that there are no lessons to be learnt.

In fact, the spread of the virus, once the trajectory is set, is relatively predictable until stalled by restrictions like lockdowns, and more recently, vaccination programmes. And after a year of working with consumer movement data through the pandemic, we can confirm one universal truth: that consumer behaviour is also relatively predictable.

Around the world, consumers have reported more confidence in their household financial situation than in their country’s economy. This is very possibly a reflection of people seeking to control what they can when surrounded by chaos. The income support schemes introduced in many markets have undoubtedly helped.

To this point, we noticed a strong tendency towards fiscal prudence: consumers prioritised savings and debt repayment, particularly early on in the pandemic. That behaviour continues, but we’re also seeing a resilience in consumer spend, punctuated by the nearly instant bump in store visits when restrictions are lifted. This suggests that people are choosing to behave cautiously when it comes to their bank accounts, rather than squirreling away funds out of necessity.

Indeed, the fact that consumers are now eyeing bigger-ticket purchases – like holidays, home improvement and cars – indicates that they’re itching to get back to what they know, even if the experience is slightly altered. We can all relate to that, can’t we?

Ultimately, the most significant influencers of the past 12 months have been governments and scientists. Their statements and actions have had the greatest impact on consumer sentiment and behaviour, diverting and stalling it at various intervals. But consumers and the businesses they patronise have fortunately proven adaptable and resilient. Through it all, they have found ways to keep consuming.