Here’s what the UK thinks about coronavirus and emerging from lockdown

The Toluna and Harris Interactive COVID-19 Barometer is a bi-weekly index that taps into a community panel of 30+ million members providing accurate and timely information on the world’s perceptions regarding the Coronavirus.

The latest research surveyed 1,078 respondents in the UK and found that despite coming out of lockdown, we’re still hesitant to visit restaurants, cinemas, gyms and spas.

That said, we are most confident about seeing our hairdresser, with 38% of respondents planning to go to a hair salon within the next 1-2 months. However:

• Only 34% of those surveyed will eat out
• Only 15% will visit the cinema or theatre
• Only 15% will go to the gym
• Only 5% would visit a spa if they reopened

When asked about whether they’ll resume pre lockdown activity as normal, people in the UK plan to do a lot less of the activities they did in pre-pandemic times:

• 40% of those asked will eat out less in restaurants
• Over a third (34%) plan to visit the pub less
• 32% of those surveyed aren’t going to go to the cinema as much
• 26% will attend live music events less often
• 19% plan to go live sporting events less often

We also plan to spend less as our personal finances become a greater concern, while over a quarter (27%) of those surveyed are still extremely worried about their financial security.

In the next 1-2 months:

• Only 14% plan to spend more money generally
• Only 9% of respondents expect to buy something of significant value
• Over a third (35%) have gone without something they usually buy
• 40% of those surveyed stated that they’ll spend less money on entertainment following the easing of lockdown

People in the UK are looking to review their savings (31%), their investments (14%), where they bank (14%) and their insurance policies (10%).

To better prepare for future downturns, UK respondents said they want to:

• Put more into savings (38%)
• Plan to get better at budgeting (28%)
• Plan to pay off their debts post-COVID19 (18%)

We are still not confident in holidaying with nearly 68% worried about a second COVID-19 wave

In the next 1-2 months:

• Only 12% of people in the UK are planning to book a holiday abroad
• A higher percentage, 17% of people in the UK, are planning a staycation

But we are all prepared to do it again, it seems – If a second wave were to hit, people in the UK have said they’d be prepared to go into lockdown again with 44% saying they could cope with lockdowns that lasted longer than 12 weeks. 14% could only cope with lockdowns of up to 4 weeks, 20% could manage another lockdown for 5-8 weeks, with 11% able to spend another 9-12 weeks in isolation.