Dubbed as the ‘first pandemic Christmas’, the gloomy situation in 2020 translated into fewer activities that people planned to engage in—an indication of the languid Christmas amid the pandemic.
In 2021, Filipinos planned to take part in more holiday activities.
This was among the highlights of a nationwide survey conducted on Dec. 3 to 8 by Synergy Market Research through partner UK’s YouGov—an international research and data analytics company.
“Based on the said study, on the average, there were around five activities being done by Filipinos pre-pandemic. This went down to less than four in 2020 but is now back up to 4.6 in 2021,” said Germaine Reyes, president and chief executive of Synergy Market Research.
Synergy shares other significant findings from the research which had 3,538 respondents nationwide. Respondents are male/female, aged 18 years old and above from NCR, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. “Said survey is representative of the online population in the Philippines which is nearly 80 percent this 2021,” Reyes said.
While the 2021 participation in Christmas traditions and activities went up from the previous year, Filipinos seem to be cautious, still, on anything that are social in nature. Joining reunions, attending Christmas parties or visiting relatives, at 42 percent, 34 percent and 41 percent in 2021, respectively, are much better than 34 percent, 27 percent, 33 percent, in 2020.
However, these are still much lower vs. pre-pandemic’s 51 percent, 46 percent and 46 percent incidence, respectively. Even something religious or shopping in malls/bazaars are still lower in incidence vs. pre-pandemic: attending simbang gabi/Christmas mass: 41 percent in 2021 vs. 46 percent pre-pandemic and shopping in malls/bazaars: 38 percent in 2021 vs. 44 percent pre-pandemic.
Those activities that ‘normalized’ (or at par with pre-pandemic levels) are the ones they plan to do more with immediate family such as preparing Christmas meals (67 percent), or traveling within or out of the country (alone or with core family members) at 20 percent and 9 percent, respectively.
Preparing gifts for giving is also at par now vs. pre-pandemic at 54 percent. But those who plan to go out of their way to do charitable acts is much higher at 13 percent vs. pre-pandemic’s 11 percent possibly to spread kindness in the midst of the pandemic and to help families affected by typhoon Odette.
Doing family photo shoots is also much higher now at 34 percent vs. pre-pandemic at 30 percent
In terms of spending, there is a pronounced number of Gen Zs who plan to spend more this time compared to last year’s celebration with 34 percent planning to spend more/spend much more which is significantly higher than total PH’s 29 percent.
Based on the Synergy-YouGov studies conducted on Gen Zs’ mental health this year, there is more pronounced mental health incidence among the Gen Z’s vs. other cohorts (around 9 in 10 are experiencing mild to severe levels of depression).
One thing is evident though: Gen Zs are willing to spend, not just for themselves but more for others, too (food for family, relatives and guests; gifts and donation).
Others that Gen Z’s plan to spend much more on which is higher vs. what’s seen in total PH are on the following: clothes/outfit (31 percent vs. 24 percent total PH); home décor (25 percent vs. 19 percent total PH); gadgets, devices (20 percent vs. 15 percent total PH); appliances (19 percent vs. 15 percent total PH). Thus, companies can help this generation make good choices that they will feel good and alleviate their mental well-being.
The older cohorts, on the other hand, appear to be more cautious with 53 percent of Gen X and 52 percent of Baby Boomers planning to spend much less/spend less this year compared to total PH’s 44 percent. “Possibly, since they may still tend to be the household head and given the financial shock that this pandemic brought about, they could be playing it safe as there are still uncertainties in the future,” Reyes said.
As the economy re-opens, with more getting vaccinated, with lesser restrictions, lesser active cases and the vigilance against local transmission of Omicron variant, these are hoped to make 2022 look much brighter for many, if not all.
“And how is each one planning to jumpstart their 2022? What are the priorities? Are there differences across cohorts/generations? These are some questions that will be answered in another survey that Synergy is conducting via YouGov in order to understand Filipinos better during these times,” Reyes said.
Synergy Market Research + Strategic Consultancy is a research-management consulting-data analytics company whose purpose is to build stronger, more meaningful brands by designing and translating research results that bridge customer needs into innovative solutions/recommendations or strategies for companies.