Memo #11: How COVID-19 Has Impacted our Attitudes, and What it Means for our Main Streets

By: Salman Faruqi and Kate Graham, Canadian Urban Institute

Months of disruption and isolation due to COVID-19 are reshaping our attitudes, perhaps even in ways that we may not yet fully understand. Will we emerge from this crisis feeling less comfortable in public spaces? Will our orientations towards public gatherings and public services change, and if so, for how long? What will it take for us to feel comfortable visiting our local main streets and small businesses again?

Although we do not definitively know the answers to these questions, nor how long this pandemic will last, we do have some indication of the ways our attitudes are changing. This memo provides a summary of what we know today, based on a scan of available public opinion research about how Canadians’ attitudes have changed during this pandemic – and how this may affect our main streets.

Attitudes about public spaces

It will take time for many people to be comfortable going back to public spaces.

An Abacus survey conducted in July suggests that most Canadians believe the government is moving at the right pace to return to normal activities. Still, up to 30 percent of Canadians believe that the government is moving too quickly. This is consistent with a survey conducted back in April, which found that up to 30 percent of Canadians would be uncomfortable returning to public spaces until a vaccine is developed.

Canadians have been eager to return to public spaces like main streets, provided they have assurance that health and safety guidelines are being followed.

Even early in the pandemic, a survey by Statistics Canada found that people were extremely concerned about stress from continued home confinement. They also expressed concern about the consequences of not being able to access public spaces. Consequently, they have been eager to access safer outdoor public spaces, with Google Mobility finding an increase in parks usage by 142 percent as of late June.

Attitudes about interacting with other people

Maintaining social ties is a major consideration for Canadians, especially those aged 75 and older.

The Statistics Canada survey also reported that one third of Canadians aged 75 and older live alone and are therefore more at risk of social isolation. This is especially true for elderly women. This has led to older Canadians being more likely to have developed plans to interact and communicate with their families and friends than their younger counterparts.

People believe the trade-off can be balanced by persisting with social distancing measures.

Data from Campaign Research has found that over 80 percent of Canadians feel that physical distancing rules are effective in minimizing the risk of contracting COVID-19. As many provinces and regions in Canada open up, fears of a second wave may lead to continued pressure from Canadians for governments to enforce safety measures such as mandatory masking, distancing when sick or after travel, and contract tracing.

Consumer Behaviors

The pandemic and lockdown measures have contributed to many businesses experiencing substantial declines in revenue.

Statistics Canada found that one third of all businesses in Canada experienced a decline in 2020 first quarter revenues by over 40 percent compared to 2019. Businesses in the food services, arts, entertainment, recreation and retail trade industries were most likely to report a decline in revenue.

The declines in consumption spending are impacted greatly by young Canadians, who are financially being hit hardest during the pandemic.

In April, Statistics Canada found that young Canadians were more likely to report that the pandemic would impact their job or finances, with 43 percent believing they would lose their job compared to 34 percent for all Canadians. This has been borne out in the recent Labour Force Survey, which found that young workers have been the most impacted by job losses during the pandemic. While youth employment has recorded strong gains since May, it still remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels – a trend that will continue to impact consumer spending.

Photo credit: Ross Dunn, Flickr

Implications for Main Street Businesses

Canadians must feel comfortable and safe to return to main streets, but will favour small and local businesses as they reopen.

“I think fundamentally on main streets, we’re seeing that businesses that are connected with their communities are doing better than the ones that don’t have the strong connections.” – Mitchel Reardon, Experiments, Urban Planning & Design Lead at The Happy City, CUI CityTalk, July 9 2020

Surveys during the lockdown found that Canadians missed going to restaurants, bars, shopping centers, nonessential brick-and-mortar retail stores and personal services stores. Still, public attitudes research suggests it will take some time for people to return to main streets, and to spend at pre-pandemic levels.

• Prior to re-opening, two-third (66 percent) of Canadians reported they would be comfortable visiting brick-and-mortar retail stores within two months or sooner of the immediate COVID-19 crisis receding. A minority of Canadians felt it would take longer.

• While over half (55 percent) of Canadian consumers said they had no plans to cut back on spending or would do so for only five months or less, many others believed they would restrain spending.

• At the same time, the majority (78 percent) of consumers say this crisis has made them more aware of the importance of small businesses in their communities, and more likely to support them more in the future.

• “Buying Canadian” is also a priority, with a Leger survey finding that 74 percent of Canadians say they often purchase products or services that originate in Canada from a Canadian company. They are motivated by a desire to support the Canadian economy and job creation, or by a belief that Canadian goods are better quality.

What Canadians’ Attitudes Mean for the Future of Main Streets

We know the pandemic will have major impacts on Canada’s main streets as they move towards recovery. For small and local businesses, the attitudes research points to three areas to pay attention to:

Businesses must meet health and safety requirements - Consumers are interested in limiting direct contact with other people as much as possible, and would like to see businesses frequently cleaning their stores, having hand sanitizer and disinfecting cloths easily available for consumers, limiting occupancy in enclosed spaces, facilitating social distancing, and training staff on hygienic protocols.

Businesses must get involved in their communities - For local businesses, taking part in community building initiatives, such as having store hours exclusively for senior citizens, will help them develop connections with consumers in their neighbourhood.

Businesses must develop a local and Canadian brand - Maintaining a brand that evokes the “buy local” and red-and-white ethos of consumers will encourage shopping at local establishments.

We are in a period of rapid change. Attitudes are shifting, behaviours are changing, and businesses and governments alike must adapt quickly to emerging conditions. While we cannot predict the future, we know COVID-19 will have a significant continuing impact on Canada’s cities and our main streets – and we are wise to pay close attention to how these trends progress.