If you’re like us, when you think of businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19, your mind probably goes to restaurants, travel, and recreation.  Maybe you think of the small business owners and retailers who had to shut their doors during countless lockdowns and various phased re-openings.  What many of us overlook is the negative impact that COVID-19 has had on the financial stability of our healthcare system.

Ecommerce continues to grow at a rapid pace as millions of American consumers opt for the convenience of online shopping. But with that convenience comes the risk of package theft, which continues to be a problem in cities and neighborhoods across the country. 

With much of 2020 in the rearview mirror, and youth looking ahead to a gradually healthier, more normalized 2021, we pause to look back at the milestone events that shaped the past year. Even while many adults say they’d like to forget 2020 and start from scratch, for youth, each year is a lifetime that they can’t forget, and its events deserve to be acknowledged.

Brands have been facing uncertainties since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; and for many of them, this has led to tightening budgets, primarily spending less on advertising. So, what was the marketplace impact of these cuts in ad spending that most brands instituted during March and August of this year? More than likely, those brands lost some ground in brand equity and are probably facing a decline in brand awareness. And, as we all know, a decline in awareness is never good for sales.

As we near the end of 2020, it’s safe to say that it hasn’t been the year that anyone was expecting. It’s been a very tough year with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting many aspects of day-to-day life, as well as long-term plans. Several employees are still working from home, while others continue to commute to essential jobs. Some children are attending school virtually, while others take the bus to school for in-person learning. Many have not seen friends and family as often, and some have even had to delay or cancel weddings, birthday celebrations, and vacations.

Our YouthBeat^® panel has some new and some traditional plans for celebrating Halloween this year. See what they have to say from our Say What? Video Journals: 

Over the past seven months, I’ve noticed an evolution in how my neighborhood mom and pop shops are conducting business. So, it wasn’t surprising to receive a note from my daughter’s school the other day indicating that student picture day would be conducted entirely online this year. The local photography studio made sure to let me know that this would be the first year that they would be doing away with the traditional paper order forms, that “many of us prefer.”

On March 11 and 12, 2020, I had typical days as a qualitative moderator. One day, I assisted a colleague who was conducting research with consumers to test a new haircare device; the next, I was moderating groups for a clothing brand where respondents tried on various outerwear styles. COVID-19 was high on everyone’s minds (professional sports were just suspended; Tom Hanks announced he had it), but it was mostly business as usual.