The human ability to adapt is perhaps our defining characteristic. We are spread across continents and biomes, both altering and adapting to those environments. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, individuals around the globe are adapting in real time to this new reality. Leveraging statistics and insights from across Material, we are taking a look at how new expectations of the home are redefining how we live, work, play, and more.
But even as we explore the ways in which people are adapting their homes as the pandemic continues, we also recognize and have seen the impact of other critical issues outside of COVID. The crisis has also shined a light on systemic social, economic, and racial inequities in the United States. Black and Hispanic workers are more likely to be frontline or essential workers, putting them at greater risk of contracting the virus. This combined with unequal quality of medical care are likely contributors to the fact that Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native people living in the US are hospitalized for COVID-19 5x more than whites; Hispanic or Latino people are hospitalized 4x more, according to the CDC.
As a result of systems that provide unequal opportunities and treatment to people based on race, Americans are weighing current states of crisis very differently, and people of color are experiencing higher levels of anxiety about current crises and their economic futures. This, in turn, may mean that Americans are making a wide range of choices about their homes and how they navigate their lives during this conflux of crises.
Even in the face of all these disparities, we are also united by many common experiences. We still eat. We still play. We still spend time — in person or virtually — with loved ones. But now, it’s all happening in one place. The home of the future is being created right now, and while it may look different for different groups of Americans, it’s likely to change for all of us.
According to Kelton Global, a Material company, 69% of American consumers will change at least one behavior permanently beyond COVID-19. Let’s take a look at some key ways in which people are adjusting their homes and spaces to meet safety requirements during the COVID era, and explore what this tells us about Americans’ changing perspectives on the present and future of our world.
Join us in exploring today’s trends and tomorrow’s habits, starting in the home.
In the coming weeks, months, and years, individuals around the world will develop new habits and new needs. How they interact with brands will fluctuate as new routines are created, and as brands adapt both reactively and proactively.
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