With the vaccine roll-out now well underway in many regions, we're beginning to see the light at the end of the COVID tunnel, and a return to normal life, including social gatherings, events, people's faces in full-view, etc.

That has many people planning for the next stage, and what they're planning to do with the freedoms they once took for granted. With this in mind, Snapchat recently commissioned a new study from GroupSolver to get an understanding of how its users, specifically, are planning for the next stage.

The data shows that Snapchat users are already outpacing non-Snapchatters in ‘post-pandemic’ activities, such as eating at restaurants, shopping in-person, going to see movies and plays, and going to major events.

Which makes sense - Snapchat's user base still skews young, and younger people are at far lower risk of suffering serious complications from COVID-19, therefore making them less concerned about the personal dangers of the virus. As a result, they would be more open to a return than the general population - but even so, the data points to new opportunities for marketers in reaching out to these segments with promotions and campaigns aligned with the return to normal activity, where applicable.

Snapchat users are mostly looking forward to catching up with family and friends in-person, and attending parties and barbecues among other social gatherings.

Which also makes sense given the app's younger audience - and really, younger people have likely missed out on the most in this context, with larger social gatherings playing a much bigger role in their regular interactions and helping them to form a sense of identity and belonging.

And travel is also a focus -as per Snapchat:

"Snapchatters (51%), especially those ages 25+ (54%), are outpacing non-Snapchatters in making travel plans."

That may also open up more opportunities for marketers in reaching out to Snap users.

And unsurprisingly, they plan to keep using Snapchat as things come back.

I mean, that's probably to be expected, but again, it does point to new and ongoing opportunities in the app, in regards to connecting with these audiences and promoting relevant products and offers.

You can read Snapchat's full survey report here.