At Spark Emotions, we created our Mood of the Nation to truly understand how people are feeling on a monthly basis and this month, we focus on May. Throughout the year, we focus on different topics depending on what is important to the general public. For May, we spoke to over 1,000 people to understand their emotions and what plans they have for the month ahead.
Spring has sprung and on the 17th of May, more COVID restrictions lift and most businesses will be able to reopen. With that in mind, we wanted to know how people are planning to spend their bank holidays in May.
The May report brings you an understanding of the general mood of the nation by getting to the truth of how people are really feeling in the United Kingdom; how the UK plans to spend the May bank holidays, what UK adults are planning for summer and some insights into plans for home improvements.
April was full of big news stories
There were many events in April that would have influenced how UK adults are feeling in May. At the beginning of the month, the government announced that everybody in England would have access to two free lateral flow tests a week, non-essential businesses could reopen on the 12th and towards the middle of the month Prince Philip passed away.
Excitement is growing
With restrictions lifting, people are continuing to feel hopeful and optimistic, but this month we are seeing more people report excitement. People are now able to visit businesses and see friends. Far fewer people have reported feeling apprehensive as we saw in April.
UK adults feel Enthusiastic
Through our unique tool, we are to plot the exact emotion that people are feeling towards something, whether that be a brand, a store, or even the current state of the entire world around them. Click here to read more about The Spark Emotional Wheel.
As predicted, scores of Happiness, Excitement and Control have increased for the third month giving May the emotional score of ‘Enthusiastic’. This score is the same as our highest score for 2020 which was in July. We expect these levels to continue to increase into June as the final restrictions lift.
How you can help
While most UK adults are looking forward to restrictions lifting, many older adults are still concerned about COVID safety. Continue to display safety measures to show customers that their safety remains a priority.
People are looking for inspiration for what to do for summer and upcoming bank holidays this year. This could be a big opportunity for food occasions. Encourage adventurous picnic and BBQ ideas to increase excitement for summer.
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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 on LinkedIn
