Fewer consumers are dining indoors and shopping inside malls, according to ICSC’s latest Coronavirus Consumer Survey of 1,012 U.S. consumers, conducted Sept. 24 to 26.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Cumulative ICSC Coronavirus Consumer Survey results from April 2020 forward

Bright outlook but COVID-19 clouds the horizon

Consumer sentiment is up slightly. Thirty-eight percent of U.S. adults believe the economy will improve within the next year, 2 percentage points higher than two weeks ago. And 27% now think the economic situation is better than a month prior, up 5 percentage points from two weeks ago. But the pandemic continues to pressure consumers, as 73% are still concerned about the delta variant and the rise in COVID-19 cases, up 2 percentage points from two weeks ago.

Cutting back?

Consumers have cut some activities from their routines:

• 57% dine indoors, down from 59% two weeks ago
• 46% shop inside malls, down from 51% two weeks ago
• 35% visit leisure/entertainment complexes, down from 39% two weeks ago

Despite concern for COVID, 63% of adults engage in normal levels of out-of-home activity, the same as two weeks ago. And only 64% are cutting back on spending due to COVID, the lowest share in nearly a year.

Supply chain issues are frustrating shoppers

More consumers are facing supply chain issues. Fifty-eight percent say merchandise they wanted to buy has been unavailable in stores and/or online over the past couple of weeks, up from 57% who said so two weeks ago. And 43% experienced shipping/delivery issues with orders over the past couple of weeks, up from 40% who said so two weeks ago.

RELATED: ICSC’s Coronavirus Consumer Survey coverage two weeks ago