76% of Australians remain nervous about attending large public gathering events new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates.
In its latest Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey, the ABS also reports that a majority of respondents are also uncomfortable with returning to flying or travelling by public transport (63% and 59%).
ABS program manager for Household Surveys Michelle Marquardt said that many Australians are still observing the social distancing rules.
"Although restrictions are gradually easing, social distancing is still being observed, with 95% of Australians continuing to keep their distance from people outside their household and 79% avoiding social gatherings with people who do not live with them," she said.
So what does this mean for fashion?
Well, according to the ABS many Australians are holding out on returning to normal daily activities until a vaccine is developed (64%) and lower daily infection rates are achieved (61%).
The hesitation around using public transport and returning to daily activities means that work wardrobes are unlikely to be updated in any rush, and the sustained growth in loungewear, activewear and sleepwear is likely to stay for a little while yet, especially as winter settles in.
With major festivals and PR opportunities such as Coachella and Splendour In The Grass cancelled or postponed, festival dressing is expected to be subdued for the moment too. This might pick up later in the year, with Falls Festival set to still go ahead.
However, as accessories label Peta + Jain's director Peta Wessel told Ragtrader in March, just because the festivals aren't happening, that doesn't mean the product won't sell.
"We haven’t really noticed an impact in sales from influencers as our festival range has been out for a few weeks and already been Instagrammed and had a great results with sell-outs on six of our new styles.
"We were really lucky and one of the few brands that had deliveries on time and were not impacted too heavily by delays [from China]," she said.
The Melbourne Cup is also pencilled in to go ahead this year (this could be subject to change though), which would provide a nice cash injection to the fashion industry with the 2018 carnival bringing in $35.4 million for fashion brands.
It will also be interesting to see how the current recession impacts the Australian consumers' confidence and willingness to spend, especially when the stiumulus packages such as JobKeeper stop.
So even if events do go ahead, will consumers be willing to spend and gather in large groups?