October 2020 is going to be very different from previous years. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the way people go about their lives, including the introduction of local lockdowns for some parts of the country.
That’s why at Spark Emotions we wanted to truly understand how people are feeling on a monthly basis. Throughout the year, we focus in on different topics by month depending on what is important to the general public. For October, we spoke to over 1,000 people to understand their emotions and what plans they have for the month ahead.
The October paper brings you an understanding of what the general mood of the nation is in the United Kingdom; how the UK feels about the events of Halloween and Bonfire Night, and as The Great British Bake Off begins we ask about cooking from scratch.
Positive COVID-19 cases begin to rise in the UK
Many factors influence how we feel, and the pace of change is phenomenal. Big events in the last month have included schools beginning their Autumn term, a rise in positive COVID-19 cases and the introduction of the ‘rule of six’.
The UK is optimistic, yet worried when looking ahead to October
The UK describes the month of October using very similar emotions to the month of September, but with one key difference. In September, the most popular emotions were ‘Hopeful’, ‘Worried’ and ‘Optimistic’, whereas in October we see ‘Optimistic’ become the most popular emotion, with some anxiety still being seen with ‘Worried’.
After a drop in mood for September, the UK feels more positive in October
Our Spark Emotional Wheel is a bespoke tool that helps us quantify emotions (click here if you would like to read more about the Spark Emotional Wheel). We have found the UK public have moved from feeling Inquisitive in 2019, to Enthusiastic in July, Interested in August, and Attentive in September. Scores for Happiness, Excitement and feelings of Control have all improved for October after a dip in September compared to previous months. However, despite feeling more positive month to month, emotions have not returned to pre COVID-19 levels.
What this means for you
It is crucial to understand your customers’ emotions, so you can tailor your product or service to help alleviate your customers’ anxieties. There are many things as a business you can do and by getting to the truth of how they are feeling and what you can do to help.
Follow us on LinkedIn for more updates on how people are feeling about October, including Halloween, bonfire night and scratch cooking
Written by Scott Willey, Associate Director at Spark Emotions
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Scott via email scott.willey@sparkemotions.com or connect with him on LinkedIn
