The number of visitors on villages.com.au searching for information on retirement villages took a 55% hit over a four-week period from early March – see the graph above. Traffic dropped from a peak of 4,000 visits a day to 1,800.

However, in the three weeks since, the traffic has built back up to 3,200 visits – making it just 20% off the previous peak.

Strong marketers tell us there is a distinct ‘flight to safety’ by the new enquirers, looking for a safer world given the pandemic.

Delivering a tailored message to these new customers will be key for the sector, when many operators are reporting a declining enquiry level.