In August and September 2021, Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) conducted a survey of a representative sample of 1,500 U.S. consumers to understand their sense of optimism, their desire to shop, what they were looking to buy and how they planned to use different shopping channels, especially as their behavior had been so radically altered by Covid and lockdowns.

Our survey was in the field just as the Delta variant surged across the USA and we saw signs of the continuing fears and caution that have characterized the past year. Even though this latest Covid wave appears to be cresting, our survey points to the fragility of consumer confidence and the lack of enthusiasm for an all-out return to pre-pandemic shopping behaviors.

Click here to read our findings in A&M’s Consumer Sentiment Survey report.