At Spark Emotions, we wanted to truly understand how people are feeling on a monthly basis and in this month we focus on December. Throughout the year, we focus in on different topics by month depending on what is important to the general public. For December, we spoke to over 1,000 people to understand their emotions and what plans they have for the month ahead.
December is typically a month for spending the season with friends and family having parties, gifting and celebrating. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has made this December unlike any other, with much of the UK still under heavy restrictions. As people bring the year to a close, we wanted to know how they were feeling about Christmas and New Year’s Eve after nearly a year in the pandemic.
The December paper brings you an understanding of the general mood of the nation by understanding how people are really feeling in the United Kingdom; how the UK feels about Shopping for Christmas, and how people are planning to celebrate Christmas and see in the New Year.
There was a significant amount of change in November
There were many events in November that would have influenced how UK adults are feeling in December. The UK was put into a second lockdown for 4 weeks ending in early December meaning many businesses and hospitality venues were closed yet again in the crucial shopping period leading up to Christmas. There was some good news towards the end of the month with 3 new COVID-19 vaccines reporting effective protection against the virus and people were told restrictions would be slightly lifted over Christmas allowing loved ones to celebrate together.
December brings excitement
In November, people were aware of the cold weather settling in and the winter months brought worry. While people are still feeling the pressure of the season, excitement and hopefulness were prominent emotions for UK adults in December.
How does the UK really feel about December?
People are looking forward to the festive season, although when we look at the Spark Emotional Wheel, levels of happiness, excitement and control are particularly low when thinking about shopping for Christmas, suggesting people are feeling the pressures of Christmas after a year of uncertainness.
How can you help?
Many people won’t be seeing as many friends or family this year and with smaller budgets, people are looking for little ways to show their loved ones they care this Christmas. Inspire shoppers with tools and ingredients for homemade gifts or decorations they can create with the children while celebrating at home.
This year will be an opportunity for speciality food or drink since people will be celebrating at home, offer shoppers a culinary challenge to experiment with over the festive season.
At Spark Emotions, we specialise in helping our clients grow by truly understanding their customers. We are a global market research agency who combines consumer psychology and industry expertise to generate actionable insights. We are able to help you understand the macro effects on behaviour to help you build customer-led propositions that are proven to deliver business growth.
If you would like to see our full December Mood of the Nation, get in touch below
Written by Tara Moran, Research Executive at Spark Emotions.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Tara via email tara.moran@sparkemotions.com or connect with her on LinkedIn
