For the third time since March, there is a sustained increase in the percentage of Americans who believe the pandemic is moving in a negative direction.  55% of Americans now believe the pandemic trajectory is getting worse, compared to 43% one month ago (October 9-12). This percentage has increased for four consecutive waves.

85% of Americans are concerned about COVID-19, compared to 84% one month ago. This topline percentage of Americans who indicate concern has been very steady over time, however the percentage with the strongest degree of concern (“very concerned”) has been increasing, with 52% of Americans now very concerned (vs. 48% one month ago).

This resulted in an increase in negative emotions – 76% of Americans experienced 1 or more negative emotions in the past week, compared to 71% who reported the same in October.  Stress (39%) and anxiety (37%) are the most common negative emotions.

This current wave of the pandemic comes as we enter the holiday season, which introduces several situations where people are more likely to congregate indoors:

Even with the current pandemic, 52% of Americans plan to spend Thanksgiving with people outside of their household.  Most of these Americans plan to take one or more precautions, with limiting party size (40%), remaining as socially distanced as possible (38%), and wearing masks when not eating/drinking the most common.

With the holidays approaching, more Americans intend to shop in-person the next month.  In particular, there are large increases in the percentage of category shoppers who intend to shop at electronics (37% vs. 27% one month ago), home goods (32% vs. 23%), and sporting goods (30% vs. 22%) stores in November / early December. These are all popular gift categories.

The transition to colder weather is not ushering in a rise of in-person diners.  Aside from an increase in consideration of visiting coffee shops/cafés in-person (38% vs. 33% one month ago), visitation intent to all restaurant categories was consistent with October.

Finally, we asked about COVID-19 testing this wave.  37% of Americans have had a COVID-19 test in the past and 36% plan to be tested in the future (note: this wave occurred just prior to the worst week of the pandemic in terms of new cases).

Russell Research has interviewed over 23,000 Americans over the past 8 months about their coronavirus concerns and its impact on everyday behavior. Our COVID-19 Monitor will continue to evolve in the coming waves as the situation changes.  The next wave is slated for December 4 – 7, 2020.

Below are our key findings from November 6-9, 2020. Russell Research has tabulated data available for all 23,000+ interviews with several additional questions asked in the survey.  Please email [email protected] for more information.

America continues to be concerned about COVID-19. Between November 6-9, 85% of Americans indicated they are concerned about coronavirus, near equal to the 84% seen in October.

However, 52% of Americans are now very concerned, up from 48% last month, and the first time since August it has exceeded 50%.

The pandemic trajectory is trending increasingly negative. 55% of Americans currently believe that the situation is getting worse, up significantly from 43% in October.  This is the highest “negative” percentage since late July.

Only one in four Americans now believe the pandemic is getting better (26% vs. 33% in October).

Comparatively, three in ten Americans (31%) indicate that they’re paying more attention to the pandemic compared to one month ago, up from 27% in October.  Only 14% are paying less attention (vs. 15% in October).

Nearly two in five Americans have had a COVID-19 Test.

A majority of Americans will spend Thanksgiving with people outside their household. A range of precautions will be taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

There has been a significant increase in the percentage of Americans who experienced a negative emotion in the past week.

There have been no major changes for in-person shopping consideration at essential item destinations.

Essential Item Destinations

There has been a directional increase in consideration of visiting coffee shops/cafés in-person.

Food & Drink

With the holidays approaching, there have been increases for in-store shopping consideration at nearly all specialty formats, with the largest increases for electronics, home goods, and sporting goods retailers.

Clothing & Specialty Retail