The dunnhumby Covid Consumer Pulse Survey for U.S., Wave 7 Report

Last March, when we realized the potential impact that COVID-19 might have on all aspects of our lives, dunnhumby launched a survey to understand how the virus would affect consumers food shopping habits. It was designed to help our clients better meet the needs of their Customers by seeing the impact of the virus through their customers eyes.


Little did we know at the time that one year later we would still be dealing with the impact Covid-19. This study presents the results of the sixth global wave of the study and the seventh wave for the United States. Other waves were conducted in March, April, May, July, September and November of 2020. This wave was conducted in February 2021.


This report focuses on just how things have changed over that year and what remains the same.

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View more recent thought leadership below:
Blogs and Reports
Blog | Six months on, how have consumer behaviours changed as a result of COVID-19?

In a series of posts published earlier this year, we covered the results of the dunnhumby Customer Pulse – a global study designed to explore changing consumer mindsets during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over three waves, conducted between March and the end of May, we polled thousands of people from more than 20 countries on subjects including supermarkets’ responses to the outbreak, the economic outlook, and how their shopping behaviour had changed due to COVID.


Keep reading to find out more.
Infographic | U.S. Consumer Pulse Survey: Wave 4

The dunnhumby Consumer Pulse Survey is a multi-phased, worldwide study of the impact of COVID-19 on customer attitudes and behavior. We surveyed more than 27,000 respondents online in 22 countries, with interviews conducted for Wave one from March 29 – April 1, for Wave two from April 11 – 14, and for Wave three from May 27 – 31. Due to the rapidly unfolding crisis in North America, dunnhumby conducted Wave four from July 9  – 12 in the U.S., Canada and Mexico only.
Webinars and Videos
Webinar On-Demand | Webinar On-demand | Untangling the Spaghetti Bowl: A Customer First Approach to Retail Media amid COVID

The emergence of new channels and the rise of digital has raised the bar for what is now table stakes for customer experience in retail. It is also increasing the capability gap among retailers of all sizes, while also driving a glut of channel providers to help retailers play catch-up.

While the providers have accelerated some retailers’ capabilities, this has come at the expense of customer engagement as solutions are often built and operated in silos. The result: a “spaghetti bowl” of legacy media partners that are difficult to unravel and a fragmented customer experience that is disconnected from data and insights and the initial intent of the partnerships – providing customers a more relevant experience and continuing to meet their needs as they evolve.

Today, COVID-19 has forced consumers in the U.S. and around the world to quickly adopt new behaviors which are dramatically impacting how they shop and go about their daily lives. With a rich and growing trove of data and online reaching its tipping point, retailers have a small window of opportunity to reassess how to effectively use their media channels – in-store, online and direct-to-consumer – to drive loyalty and sustainable growth, or risk losing out.

Join guest speaker Sucharita Kodali, VP and Principal Analyst of Forrester Research and John O’Reilly, SVP of Customer Development for dunnhumby, as they discuss:

  • The role of and current state of retail media networks 
  • The dunnhumby COVID Customer Response model and the impact of COVID-19 on consumer shopping behavior and retail media  
  • Strategies and best practices to deliver a more valuable customer experience with retail media through the phases of COVID-19 and beyond