Suburbanites seem to be ready to spend on their backyard entertainment this summer, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise considering the coronavirus has presented an obvious impediment to travel. In fact, people who live in the suburbs are the least likely to be comfortable traveling in under a month.

The top-line data indicate people who are less concerned about the spread of the coronavirus (and therefore more likely to return to activities with groups of people) are more likely to spend big on backyard activities for their kids.

For instance, nearly 3 out of 10 parents who plan on buying a pool, a swing set, or the like say they’re not concerned at all about being in public spaces right now which is nearly triple the rate of parents who say they’re not buying anything big for their backyards.

This carries over into the notion of travel, as nearly 20% of Americans who plan on making a major backyard purchase for their children this summer are comfortable traveling right now, which is 117% more than people not planning on making these kinds of purchases.

Interestingly, however, just because they say they would travel, doesn’t mean they are, as 39% of people who plan on making a backyard purchase for their children report choosing not to plan any travel.

And it’s not just big-ticket items; nearly 65% of parents say they’ll either be spending more or about the same on smaller stuff for their kids (toys, activities, and the like) than they did last summer. 

Not Just for Kids

Spending on the great outdoors won’t be limited to kid stuff this summer, as nearly a quarter of Americans with outdoor areas to furnish say they’ll be spending more than usual this summer on landscaping and gardening.

This is a space where suburbanites lead the way.

Socially Distant Summer Plans

With social distancing all the rage, CivicScience decided to take a look at camping, one potential vacation idea where it’s relatively easy to enjoy the outdoors while keeping six feet from other people. And, as it turns out, 6% of U.S. adults have recently tried, or plan to try, camping for the first time.

And people who say they’ve just recently tried camping for the first time – or plan to soon – report being the most concerned about public spaces right now.

Additionally, new campers – along with non-campers – are not at all ready to travel or take a vacation in the next six months compared to seasoned campers – 58% of whom would travel before Thanksgiving.

And where are new campers coming from? City-dwellers seem to be looking to get a taste of the country, likely in an effort to relax or have fun in less densely populated areas.

With vacation spending expected to lag, consumers, particularly living in suburban areas, will put their summer money towards recreational activities and home projects before buying a plane ticket or driving to the beach.