It's easy to get caught up in a loop of negativity when looking at the unfolding public reaction to COVID-19.

Carriers are forced to get creative and equip their front-line retail staff to work from home. Authorized agents in the indirect channel are also forced to shut their doors, but unlike carriers, not all have the ability of retaining their retail staff. It's an unprecedented state of affairs.

Amidst all the negativity though, there's a glimmer of hope.

We wanted to get a pulse on what consumers actually feel and think about their wireless service providers.

So, we analyzed over a million conversations between wireless retailers and their consumers to find patterns.

What data are we looking at?

• Response rate: The percentage of customers that respond to a text message
• Purchase intent: The percentage of replies that have a clear indication of a consumer's intent to make a purchase (activation or renewal).
• Mix of emotions: The percentage change in emotions like joy, love, fear, sadness, anger, and more.
• Snippets of real conversations: We extracted real replies from consumers whom indicated an appreciation for outreach, intent to purchase, or willingness to book an appointment at a store.

We will update this report every week. You can find it here, on our blog, or you can subscribe to our COVID-19 resource kit to get it sent to you directly.

Short on time? Here is what we found in this week's report:

• Consumers are extremely responsive to outreach: Since January 13 2020, we see a record high response rate between wireless retailers and their customers. From March 16 - 22, average response rate is 22.83% - a 31.5% increase since the previous week. This is likely due to screen times that are through the roof.
• Purchase intent is stronger than ever: Despite store closures and reduced store hours, consumers are still willing to purchase wireless products. This can come in the form of additional devices (smart watches, for example), larger data plans, or accessories. 5.32% of replies indicate an expression of purchase intent - also the highest rate since January 13, 2020.
• Negative emotions are real: Consumers are certainly fearful and anxious about COVID-19. Expressions of fear, anger, and sadness are at an all time high.‍
• Meaningful dialogue between retailers and their customers: Almost 6% of replies have more than 200 characters. Longer messages indicate that consumers are more involved in the conversation they are having with their wireless providers.