Movement of people in Brisbane and Perth CBDs rebounds after recent lockdowns while Sydney and Melbourne CBDs lag well behind

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Jul-21

A special analysis of movement data in Australia’s Capital City CBDs since the COVID-19 pandemic began shows movement in the Brisbane and Perth CBDs rebounding after recent lockdowns in early July, while movement plunged in the Melbourne CBD as the city entered its fifth lockdown. The average 7-day movement level in the Brisbane CBD was at 35% of pre-pandemic averages, up 13% points from a low of 22% in early July, while in the Perth CBD movement levels rebounded even more strongly to be at 41%, up 17% points from the low of 24% during Perth’s most recent lockdown three weeks ago. In contrast, the extended lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne have forced movement in the two cities towards record lows. In the Sydney CBD the average movement level has remained at only 10% of pre-pandemic levels all of last week while in the Melbourne CBD the average movement level dropped to 16% of pre-pandemic levels after the city entered its fifth lockdown on Friday July 16th. The Adelaide CBD again came out on top for the 168th day in a row with the highest average movement levels at 43% of pre-pandemic levels, but these figures were compiled before the city went into its third hard lockdown on Wednesday last week following an outbreak of COVID-19 sparked by a returned traveller. Hobart is now the only State Capital City to avoid a lockdown this year, but despite this good record at managing COVID-19 average movement levels in the Hobart CBD were at only 36% of pre-pandemic levels last week after the island State closed its borders to nearest neighbour Victoria which provides the largest share of visitors to Tasmania. Roy Morgan has partnered with leading technology innovator UberMedia to aggregate data from tens of thousands of mobile devices to assess the movements of Australians as we deal with the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UBERMEDIA

Super fund satisfaction near record highs in June with HESTA the top fund ahead of Cbus and Unisuper

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Jul-21

New data from Roy Morgan’s Superannuation Satisfaction Report shows an overall super fund satisfaction rating of 71.7% in June 2021 – an increase of 8.6% points from June 2020, and up 6.9% points over the last six months. The rating for June is just below the record high reached a month ago and continues a series of excellent customer satisfaction ratings over the first half of 2021 as the Australian economy recovered and Australian stock markets reached new record highs. HESTA has the highest customer satisfaction rating among Industry Funds, ahead of Cbus, UniSuper, AustralianSuper and Catholic Super. The highest placed Retail Super Fund is OnePath, followed by Colonial First State, MLC and ASGARD. The strong performance of the stock market during the first half of 2021 has helped drive customer satisfaction in Industry Funds to a new record high in June 2021 of 72.3%, up 8.2% points on a year ago. Customer satisfaction is also near record highs for Public Sector Funds at 79.7% in June (up 7.6% points on a year ago), and satisfaction Retail Funds is at 67.8% (up 9.7% points on a year ago). However, the highest customer satisfaction is again for Self-Managed Funds at 80.6%, which have experienced the largest increase of 10.7% points from a year ago. The report’s findings are from Roy Morgan Single Source, Australia’s most trusted consumer survey, compiled by in-depth interviews with over 50,000 Australians each year.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Mortgage stress near record low in mid-2021

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Jul-21

New research from Roy Morgan shows that an estimated 677,000 mortgage holders (17.3%) were at risk of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to May 2021. This period encompassed the end of the JobKeeper wage subsidy in late March, low community transmission of COVID-19 and only a few ‘short and sharp’ lockdowns and border closures to deal with outbreaks. This level of mortgage stress is down sharply on a year ago when an estimated 794,000 mortgage holders (19.4%) were at risk during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in the three months to May 2020. Of those mortgage holders considered ‘At Risk’ in the three months to May 2021, some 440,000 (11.8% of all mortgage holders), were considered ‘Extremely at Risk’, down from 480,000 (12.3%) on the three months to May 2020. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 50,000 Australians each year including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Movement plunged in the Sydney CBD, Brisbane CBD and Perth CBD as all three were placed into lockdown

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Jul-21

A special analysis of movement data in Australia’s Capital City CBDs since the COVID-19 pandemic began shows that movement in the CBDs of Sydney, Brisbane and Perth plunged over the last week as all three were placed into lockdown to deal with the latest COVID-19 outbreaks in each city. The average 7-day movement level in the Sydney CBD last week was at its lowest since the pandemic began more than a year ago, at only 11% of pre-COVID-19 averages. This is a drop of 48% points since movement levels reached a 2021 high of 59% of pre-pandemic averages during the Easter holidays in early April. There were also record low movement levels last week in both the Brisbane CBD, at only 23% of pre-pandemic averages, and Perth CBD at only 25%. The movement levels in Australia’s 3rd and 4th largest cities dropped rapidly after the respective Premiers announced snap lockdowns just over a week ago. Meanwhile, the average movement levels in the Melbourne CBD have increased by 10% points to 22% of pre-pandemic averages since the recent lockdown of the city, with mandatory mask-wearing in offices and factories only ending this week. Despite this increase, movement levels in the Melbourne CBD remain slightly below the averages in both the Brisbane and Perth CBDs. Unsurprisingly movement levels are highest in the only two State Capital Cities to avoid recent lockdowns, at 45% of pre-pandemic levels in the Adelaide CBD and at 40% in the Hobart CBD last week. Roy Morgan has partnered with leading technology innovator UberMedia to aggregate data from tens of thousands of mobile devices to assess the movements of Australians as we deal with the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UBERMEDIA

Supermarkets dominate Australia’s most trusted brands in 2021 led by Woolworths, Coles, Bunnings & ALDI

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Jul-21

Roy Morgan data scientists analysed nominations from more than 20,000 Australians to identify the nation’s 20 most trusted brands, and the 20 most distrusted brands. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a retail sales boom on the back of record Government support for the economy, and it is perhaps unsurprising that leading supermarket and retail brands fill five of the top six spots as Australia’s most trusted brands. The latest Roy Morgan Risk Report reveals that the nation’s two largest supermarket brands, Woolworths and Coles, took out first and second places on the list of most trusted brands in the country in early 2021, followed closely by leading hardware retailer Bunnings Warehouse and fellow supermarket ALDI. The Roy Morgan Risk Report also reveals the top-20 list of Australia’s most distrusted brands, with several brands entering the top 10 for the first time including Amazon, Rio Tinto and Huawei, and brands such as Crown Resorts, Uber, Twitter and TikTok new entrants into the top 20 list. Leading banks including NAB, ANZ and CBA were among the big improvers on the distrust ladder with all three dropping well out of the top-10 most distrusted brands. The Roy Morgan Risk Monitor surveys approximately 1,800 Australians every month to measure levels of trust and distrust in more than 900 brands across 26 industry sectors.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, UBER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TWITTER INCORPORATED, TIKTOK, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Movement in the Sydney CBD plunged last week – even before the city was placed into lockdown

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Jun-21

A special analysis of movement data in Australia’s Capital City CBDs since the COVID-19 pandemic began shows that movement in the Sydney CBD plunged to only 26% of pre-pandemic averages last week – even before the city was placed into a two-week lockdown on the weekend. The average 7-day movement level in the Sydney CBD last week was at its lowest since early January, during the COVID-19 outbreak in the Northern Beaches, and movement levels are set to fall further this week after the entire Sydney metropolitan area was placed into its first lockdown since mid-May 2020. Movement levels in the Melbourne CBD are recovering from the lockdown of the city in early June. Although restrictions on mask wearing and crowd gathering sizes remain, average movement levels in the Melbourne CBD had picked up to 18% of pre-COVID-19 averages last week, up from a low of 12% during the lockdown. The last few days have seen a flurry of new border restrictions introduced as new cases of COVID-19 have emerged in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Before the new restrictions introduced over the weekend, movement levels in other Capital City CBDs were at just under half of their pre-pandemic levels, led by the Adelaide CBD at 46% – the only mainland State yet to report a recent community case of COVID-19. In a close second place was the Perth CBD at 44% of pre-COVID-19 averages, ahead of Brisbane CBD (40%) and Hobart CBD (39%). Roy Morgan has partnered with leading technology innovator UberMedia to aggregate data from tens of thousands of mobile devices to assess the movements of Australians as we deal with the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UBERMEDIA

Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards 2020: Australia’s winning retailers announced

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Jun-21

The annual Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards were awarded in locked down Melbourne in early June. As usual, the awards in the retail category went to a mix of first timers and veterans. Among those enjoying their moment in the customer satisfaction spotlight for the first time were Schnitz as the Quick Service Restaurant of the Year with six monthly customer satisfaction awards and Chemist Warehouse as Chemist/Pharmacy of the Year. There were seven repeat winners led by Myer as Department Store of the Year for a sixth straight year, Bunnings Warehouse as Hardware Store of the Year for a fourth year in a row, Rebel as Sports Store of the Year for the sixth consecutive year and perhaps most impressively of all The Reject Shop confirming its dominance in the field as the Discount Variety Store of the Year for the ninth year running (2012-2020). First Choice Liquor (Liquor Store of the Year), The Athlete’s Foot (Shoe Store of the Year) and Subway (Major Quick Service Restaurant of the Year) all built on their victories in 2019 to complete back-to-back victories in their respective categories for the first time.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Roy Morgan unveils Annual Customer Satisfaction Award winners for 2020 across all categories

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Jun-21

Roy Morgan’s Annual Customer Satisfaction Awards have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but after rigorous examination of the data recorded from Australians during 2020 we are able to announce the deserving winners who have excelled with high customer satisfaction ratings despite the challenges of the pandemic. Nineteen of the 40 award winners are repeat winners backing up from a victory a year ago, while there are 21 new winners. Respondents name the companies they deal with in various categories across more than 30 industries, and rate how satisfied they are with them. Monthly Customer Satisfaction winners are cited in each category throughout the year, with the annual award going to the company with the most wins. Several companies scored a clean sweep of 12 monthly victories during 2020, including first-time winners Aussie Broadband and Health Partners, as well as back-to-back 2019 & 2020 winners Myer, The Reject Shop, Powershop, Bunnings Warehouse, Rebel, RAC and Defence Health. Costco also returned to the winners’ circle with an unblemished record in 2020 after last winning the annual award in 2017. The data that determines who wins comes from Roy Morgan’s Single Source survey, compiled from in-depth interviews with over 50,000 consumers from all around Australia.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Isuzu UTE wins Best of the Best Award

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Jun-21

Vehicle manufacturer Isuzu UTE has been named the winner of the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Award – ‘Best of the Best’ – taking the mantle from fellow car manufacturer Lexus. The ‘Best of the Best’ award goes to the company that achieved the highest customer satisfaction of all 40 winners in the Annual Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards. Isuzu UTE also won the prestigious ‘Best of the Best’ Award in 2018 and their victory this year was built on the back of seven monthly victories in the Car Manufacturer of the Year category, including six wins in a row from March to August 2020. Isuzu UTE came out just on top of 2019 winner Lexus (five monthly victories) Other car manufacturers to perform exceptionally well in 2020 included Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Suzuki. Isuzu UTE averaged customer satisfaction of an exceptional 94.92% in 2020 to beat Liquor Store of the Year First Choice Liquor by the barest of margins in second place on an average of 94.88%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, ISUZU UTE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Movement in the Melbourne CBD plunges to below 20% of pre-COVID averages as the city experiences a fourth lockdown

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Jun-21

Special analysis of movement data in Australia’s Capital City CBDs since the COVID-19 pandemic began shows a plunge in movement in the Melbourne CBD in late May after the city entered a fourth lockdown on May 28. The average 7-day movement level in the Melbourne CBD was at only 19% of pre-COVID-19 averages at the end of May, around half the movement level in the Sydney CBD (38%). This is the first time average 7-day movement levels in the Melbourne CBD have plunged below 20% since the short five-day ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown in Victoria from February 13-17. Movement levels have declined in other Capital City CBDs during May, despite no significant outbreaks or lockdowns in other cities since a three-day lockdown in Greater Perth in late April. Looking around Australia the Adelaide CBD is again the stand-out with movement levels sitting at 65% of pre-COVID averages in late May, ahead of the Perth CBD (59%). Movement levels in the Brisbane CBD (52%) and Hobart CBD (49%) are at around half of their pre-COVID-19 averages. Roy Morgan has partnered with leading technology innovator UberMedia to aggregate data from tens of thousands of mobile devices to assess the movements of Australians as we deal with the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UBERMEDIA