Impact of COVID-19 on Consumer Behavior in Different Countries

This dissertation investigates the impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior in different countries, analyzing factors that influence buying behavior and identifying similarities and differences in shopping attitudes during the pandemic.

Dissertation
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Abstract
The Covid-19 affect the overall world in opposite manner such that people do not invest
high amount upon unnecessary items and this in turn cause adverse impact upon the economic
performance. Also, the entire study is based upon to identify the customer behavior of different
countries after pandemic and through secondary research it can be stated that there is an
entrenchment in online shopping. Such that more than 55% of the entire world shift towards
online system and this is the only similarity identified from the chapter 2. Also, the study is
based upon the quantitative research methods and this in turn helps to meet the defined aim of a
study. Moreover, through data analysis, it is also examined that people shift towards online
purchasing after Covid and majority of them are preferred groceries product as well.
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ACKNOWELGEMENT
I would like to express my gratitude and special thanks to my tutor who gave me the
opportunity to undertake this dissertation. In addition to this I would like to extend my gratitude
towards the college authorities who provided me with good sources and facilities. In addition to
this I would also thank my parents and friends and family.
Thank you.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................1
Background of the study.........................................................................................................1
Research aim and objectives..................................................................................................2
Research questions.................................................................................................................2
Significance of the study........................................................................................................2
Rationale.................................................................................................................................3
Structure of dissertation..........................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................5
2.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................5
2.2: Factor that cause direct impact upon customer buying behavior....................................5
2.3: Behavioral changes among customers within different countries...................................8
2.4: Presenting similarities and differences in shopping attitude of customer during pandemic
..............................................................................................................................................11
2.5 Conclusion......................................................................................................................14
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...........................................................................15
Introduction..........................................................................................................................15
Research type........................................................................................................................15
Research approach................................................................................................................16
Research philosophy.............................................................................................................16
Data collection......................................................................................................................17
Data analysis.........................................................................................................................18
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Research limitations.............................................................................................................19
Ethical considerations...........................................................................................................20
Reliability and validity.........................................................................................................20
Conclusion............................................................................................................................21
CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS...................................................................22
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................36
Conclusion............................................................................................................................36
Recommendation..................................................................................................................38
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................40
RESEARCH PROPOSAL.............................................................................................................44
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................44
LITERATURE REVIEW..............................................................................................................44
RESEARCH QUESTIONS...........................................................................................................45
MOTIVATIONS:...........................................................................................................................45
CONTRIBUTIONS.......................................................................................................................46
DATA AND METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................46
DATA ANALYSIS........................................................................................................................48
LIMITATIONS..............................................................................................................................51
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................51
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................53
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Topic: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior: Overview of different
countries
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
In the current times, situation of pandemic placed significant impact on several countries
adversely. Consequently, behavioral changes have also been found in the buying behavior of
customers. At the time of COVID prevalence, individual started to purchase products in bulk for
meeting future needs and requirements. This reflects that there is a drastic change in the overall
customer buying behavior. Also, due to continuous fluctuation in the economic market within
each country, customer’s behavior is also affected and thus the present dissertation will help to
identify the similarities and differences within various nations. It is also analyzed that while
purchasing is only centered on the most basic needs such that they prefer to buy only local
products. This in turn shows that people living standards also changes, and they buy differently
by considering different perceptions (Pantano and et.al., 2020). For instance, in some country,
government allowed single person from one house to buy essential product, whereas in other
nation, delivery boys are hired who deliver the product to the needy people. This strategy
changes the entire lifestyle of people and as a result some of them faces stressed environment
while other develop strategies to overcome particular time.
In addition to this, customers are deeply concerned about the impact of Covid-19 in the
term of heal and economic perspective. As a result, their habits are changed, and they respond in
different ways as well. Some of them feel anxious and worried while other are concerned about
their hygiene products. On the other side, it reflected that every customer respond different in
various country after the pandemic. Thus, the present study will also shed a light upon how the
customers react differently within each country because the impact of virus is different in every
nation. Further, it also compares how customers in different countries behaved during the
pandemic and most of the countries announce shutdown which in turn creates fear among
people.
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Research aim and objectives
Aim
The aim of study is to analyze the impact that pandemic (COVID-19) had on buying
behavior of customers in different countries.
Objectives
 To develop understanding about the factors that impact customer buying behavior.
 To analyze behavioral changes among customers in different countries.
 To investigate similarities or differences in the shopping attitudes of customers during
pandemic in different countries.
 To recommend strategies for dealing with the situation of COVID-19 and enhancing
performance.
Research questions
Q.1 Why do the consumers behave differently in different countries during pandemic?
Q.2 Are the behavioral changes in different countries positive or negative or both?
Q.3 Are there any similarities or differences observed in the attitudes towards shopping during
pandemic in different countries?
Significance of the study
Current study and related findings will prove to be more beneficial for several
stakeholders. As, other scholars who want to conduct study on similar topic can use this study for
getting better insight. Such that the topic is interesting and that is why, it will definitely help
other scholars to collect information and consider the same as a secondary research in order to
develop understanding about the same. Referring this study, researchers can identify gap or
develop suitable hypothesis for further study. Along with this, findings can also be used by
government authority for assessing the extent to which customer’s behavior changed during
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pandemic. Hence, by taking into account the current scenario and resultant customer behavior
government can take competent measures when similar situation arises in the near future.
Rationale
The rationale behind conducting current study is to assess the extent to which outbreak of
COVID affected buying behavior of customers. It is recognized as issue because during
pandemic issue pertaining to stockpiling was common among customers. Due to the
government’s decision in relation to lockdown customers started to collect and preserve products
on a large volume (van der Wielen and Barrios, 2020). This is considered as the most important
issue now because due to which many of the customers failed to fulfill their necessity. Hence,
through thematic perception test technique research could shed light on the manner in which
customers behaved in an adverse manner. Further, research also highlights actions or strategies
enacted by government for dealing with the behavioral changes of customer’s effectually. In
addition to this, due to having interest in the current issue (pandemic) research has been initiated.
Further, availability of more data also encourages conducting study on the concerned topic and
thereby showcases suitable findings.
Another reason for conducting study on this particular topic is such that scholar has their
own interest to study on this topic so that it will assist to enhanced their knowledge pertaining to
chosen topic. Moreover, study on this particular topic will help researcher to understand the
behavior of people in different countries during pandemic and this in helps to identify the
similarities or differences in the shopping attitudes of customers during pandemic in different
countries.
Structure of dissertation
Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter of dissertation presents research aim, objectives and question on which
whole study will be based. Further, it depicts who will be benefited from study along with the
reasons in relation to conducting the same. Structure of dissertation is also mentioned which
followed in the concerned study.
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Chapter 2: Literature review
In research, second chapter is highly significant as it focuses on evaluating books,
journals and scholarly articles associated with the topic. Hence, in this, brief thesis has been
prepared, considering research questions, which used by the researcher for supporting results
included in data analysis part.
Chapter 3: Research methodology
Further, 3rd chapter of dissertation presents type of research conducted for addressing
research issue and objectives. It also mentions tools that have been collected for gathering,
analyzing and evaluating data set. Thus, it is considered one of the most effective and important
section that helps to collect relevant information pertaining to chosen topic.
Chapter 4: Data analysis and findings
Fourth chapter of dissertation is considered as the most important which highlights results
of issue being investigated. In addition to this, for developing better understanding about
findings graphs and charts have also been added.
Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendations
Final chapter of dissertation concludes finding derived through analyzing data set. This
includes all the essential key points covered throughout the research which determined whether
the aim and objectives are met or not. It also contains recommendations which concerned
stakeholder can employ while developing strategies for coping up with outbreak of COVID-19
and other undesirable situations within different countries.
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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
Literature review is a survey of books, scholarly articles, and other sources that are
relevant to a particular source, area of research in the relation to research problem being
investigated. Similarly, the present section will consider author's point of view by using different
sources which includes articles, books and online sites. With the help of present chapter,
investigator identifies the relationship of work in contexts of its contribution to the topic as well
as with other work. Further, the present section will identify the factor that causes direct impact
upon customer buying behavior. Also, then evaluate the behavioral changes among customers
within different countries. Moreover, this section also investigates the similarities and
differences in shopping attitude of customer during pandemic.
2.2: Factor that cause direct impact upon customer buying behavior
In accordance with the Singh and Verma (2017) customer behavior is a study of how
individual customers, groups select, buy and dispose ideas in order to satisfy the need and wants.
Also, it refers to the actions of consumers in marketplace and underlying motives for those
actions. In every country, the behavior of the customer is depended upon their lifestyle and this
in turn also affect the performance of organizations. That is why, there is a need to identify the
trend so that companies are able to meet the defined aim. The author also identified different
factors who contribute to customer buying behavior (Factors affecting the buying behavior of
customer, 2018). This includes personal factors in which age, life-cycle, occupation and lifestyle
are involves that might affect the overall buying behavior of customers. Shokouhyar and et.al.,
(2021) also supported the same by stating that while demographic variables such as income,
education and marital status are important while making any purchasing. Further, age and life
cycle have potential impact and it is obvious that customer change the purchase of goods and
service with the passage of time.
Kumar (2017) examines that lifestyle of customer is another important personal factor
which influence buying behavior directly. It is the way a person lives in society and expressed by
things, so it is determined by customer interest, opinion and their activities that shape up entire
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process of buying. In this, personality factors are also included which means changes from
person to person, time to time and place to place. Therefore, it is also greatly influence the
overall buying behavior of the customer. Also, argued that Chung, Song and Lee (2017) social
factor is another factor that also causes buying behavior of consumers and it is also subdivided
into different parts such that reference groups who have a potential in forming a person attitude
or behavior. For example, a product is visible i.e. dress, cod, car then it definitely influences
reference group in highly manner. Another sub-factor is family which is considered one of the
highly influencing factors within social factors. Such that marketers are find the roles and
influence husband, wife and children so that their products can be sold. Further, most of the
companies are target the women through advertisement which affect the buying decision. Bashir
and et.al., (2019) also supported that every person have their own role and status within a society
and it is depended upon the groups, clubs and family to whom they belong. For instance, a
woman is working in an organization and plays a role of finance manager. Here she is play two
roles i.e. a manager and other is mother. Therefore, her buying behavior is further influenced by
her roles and status.
Cultural factors is the another important key aspects that also influence the buying
behavior of a customer. This is further influence by other sub factors such as culture. To support
the same, Joshi and Rahman (2019) stated that influence of culture upon buying behavior varies
from country to country and that is why, marketers carefully design the promotional activities by
analyzing the culture of different groups, regions. Another key aspect related to this is subculture
which refers to each culture contain different subculture such as religions, nationalities and racial
groups which is further affected the overall buying decision of a user. Companies can use these
groups by segmenting the markets into various small portions. For example, in India during
pandemic government decides to provide free meal and ration to below poverty line people so
that they stay during Covid-19 and this is possible by consider subculture. Dhanabalan and et.al.,
(2018) also emphasized that social class is another sub factor which needs to be considered while
making any decision. In this different factors are taken into account by marketers such that
wealth, education, and occupation that helps to make decision.
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Psychological factor is another factor that also influences the buying behavior of each
individual and it is also driven the action to seek satisfaction. So there are some factors which
also influence the decision-making process i.e. Motivation. As per the view of Budiharseno
(2017) the level of motivation is also affects the buying behavior of customers and every
individual have different needs such as physiological, biological and social need. These type of
motivation encourage people to buy the products as per the need and thus a need become a
motive. For instance, during the time of lockdown, every individual buy their essential items
because it is their social need which keeps provoke them to purchase the product in order to be
satisfied. Belief and attention is another sub factor which also cause direct impact upon the
buying behavior. Therefore, these beliefs and attitude also make up brand image and by
launching different attractive marketing campaign they are successful to attract the customers
towards it. That is why. Rootman and Krüger (2017) examined that with such attitude, most of
the time, customer provoked to buy products even they do not required such. This might affect
their income level and also causes direct impact upon their performance as well.
Perception within psychological factor is all about selecting, organizing and interpreting
the information in such a way that helps to provide a meaningful experience to their customers.
This is also affected by three different perceptual processes which includes selective attention in
which marketers tries to attract the customer. Next is distortion in which customer try to interpret
information in such a way that support what customer already believe. Third is retention in
which company collect information in order to retain their beliefs. Chen and Yao (2018) also
supported the same by stating that with the help of such factor, the shopping experience of the
customer can be analyzed. In every nation people have different attitude towards products that is
why, it is a duty of marketers or company to identify the trend so that it will help to meet the
defined aim of a customer.
As per the changing marketing trend, customer buying decision are affected and among
all they influence from family. For example, if a member of family is in favor of specific product
then their children and relative also affected from the same and purchase the same. This in turn
reflects that there is a need to identify the trend and pattern because it affects the overall pattern
either positively or negatively. Also, Akram and et.al., (2018) shared their views and stated that
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due to nationality, customer prefer the products which that helps to make decision for the welfare
of a firm and this in turn causes direct impact upon their buying behavior as well. Thus, such
factors also affect their decision power and this in turn somehow leads to encourage shifting
another brand as well, only if they find any product or service better as compared to another one.
2.3: Behavioral changes among customers within different countries
In accordance with the Singh and Verma (2017) behavioral change refers to any
transformation or modifications of a human behavior and it is necessary for the companies to
identify the behavioral change within a country’s so that they are able to meet the defined needs
and wants of people. During the time of covid-19, majority of the people are depressed and
stressed because pandemic affects their quality of life, own business and this in turn causes
negative impact upon their overall life as well. On the other side, He and Harris (2020) argued
that the biggest change which have been analyzed after pandemic is such that with regard to
quality and ambiance. As most of the people changes their shopping pattern by including
different parameter within their shopping. It is so because most of them are influenced from
many factors which include internal and external factors. Therefore, sudden change within a
customer preference will also affect their purchase decision and they also focused upon quality
of the product in order to gain best outcome.
For example, consumer across the globe has responses in different manner during crises
and their normal behavior is also changes regarding shopping experience. However, it is
analyzed that there is a drastic change in other countries except Germany and Japan with a
moderate degree of economic shock.
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Figure 1: Consumer sentiment and behavior continue to reflect the uncertainty of Covid-19
crisis. 2020.
As per the above diagram, it is analyzed that they all give priority to price sensitivity and
for them value remain the same as a primary reason for those customers who try new brand.
Moreover, they also consider convenience and availability as well, thus consider it as a top
drivers of customer decision. Therefore, it is reflected that there is a change in behavior of
shopping and most of them are shift towards digital shopping as well. The above image also
shows that India is one of the least affecting country where customer change their shopping
habits and it is intending to continue by 69 to 78%, whereas, people of Japan changes their habit
and it is one of the highly affecting country which is likely to be continued in the future.
Sheth (2020) reflected that there is a new trend identified among customer after
pandemic, as people are more concern with their changing habits and quality of products as well
as price. In India, a survey found that 90% of consumer is making changes in their behavior
during shopping. Such that they stated that they are shopping more health- consciously and also
focusing upon limiting food waste (Indian consumer behaviors permanently altered by Covid-19,
2020). Whereas, Hassen, El Bilali and Allahyari (2020) argued that personal hygiene habits are
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also seeing in some customers in which they cut down on discretionary products. Along with
this, they also stated that quality as well as safety of the products is also ensured by them while
making any purchase decision. Study also reflected that small kirana shops also increases their
customer base because they are the only one who provide services during lockdown.
On contrary side, people of USA made alteration in their shopping preferences such that
they are now finding themselves shopping with what is available to what is preferred by them.
Though there are many customers who are more loyal towards their brand and also do not
purchase from any others. Ben Hassen, El Bilali and Allahyari (2020) shared their views and
stated that after Covid-19, by considering social distancing at places, e-commerce has essentially
become the only single platform for customer to buy goods. Moreover, this sudden change in the
behavioral also affected top online firms like Amazon. As most of the customer shift towards
another brand because company changes its policy and most of them faces issue with regard to
delay in shipments as well. Though most of the merchants also rethink their approach due to
establish brand image at global level.
Li, Hallsworth and Coca‐Stefaniak (2020) also highlights that in UK, customer also
suffer the problem of delay and this in turn encourage people to shift towards another brand
during and post Covid-19. As a result, it is an evident in reduced shopping intent across
categories except groceries. Almost entire public shift towards online shopping and start
purchasing products online including restaurant and grocery deliveries (Survey: UK consumer
sentiments during the coronavirus crisis, 2020). Therefore, it reflected that there is a drastic
change in the overall shopping experience that might also affect business due to lower down the
customer base. Moreover, it is reflected that there is no sign of recovery, and they all only
expand their digital lives during pandemic. Though most of them spend their time outside after
the pandemic and that is why, start spending amount within restaurants and purchasing new
items as well.
Son and et.al., (2020) emphasized that in UK, US and Australia, there are some key
trends identified in terms of behavioral changes emerging from impact of Covid-19. The major
changes examined in online shopping, such that in China, Alibaba's online supermarket increased
by 220% in February 2020 as compared to previous years. However, it is reflected that
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consumers in China have increases their spending in travel, whereas Indians increased their
spending during festive and wedding seasons. Further, in UK, customers prefer to buy in bulk
and this in turn leads to stock pealing where stock is finished immediately because customer take
product even though it is not required by them. Luchetti and et.al., (2020) critically evaluated
that due to sudden shock in the economy of a country, majority of the customer prefer to use
local shops that helps to increase their loyalty towards it. Moreover, it can be estimated that there
is 15% decline in consumption of US customer by 2023 because their loyalty shake up, also
customer will be forced to try new things and this in turn decrease in their consumption rates.
Addo and et.al., (2020) shared their opinion that during pandemic, customers preference
will be changed but companies are trying their best in order to attract new ones. So, as per the
new shopping reality, customer wants to increase their basket size and decrease their shopping
frequency along with density of shoppers. Beside this, customer also replaces offline channels by
at-home alternatives because of safety concerns. This in turn affects the results in opposite
manner which also decrease the consumption level too. On the other side, more than 70% of the
UK shoppers also plan to spend less on Christmas presents this year due to uncertainty of
economic condition within entire world. This somehow reflects that there is a 71% change in the
people's shopping habits which in turn leads to cause decrease in consumption rates as well.
Thus, Presti and et.al., (2020) supported the same and stated that changing in shopping
habits have changed for good and it is examined that more than 2000 UK adults shift towards e-
commerce over the last five months and this in turn change the habit of 60% people. Though it
might be not a good sign of physical store shoppers because it affects their complete revenue and
sales in opposite manner (Three ways Covid-19 has affected customers shopping behavior at
Christmas 2020 and beyond research, 2020). However, by analyzing the need and wants of
customer, most of the people shift their business towards online in majority of a country so that it
will not affect the behavior and tries to meet the same.
2.4: Presenting similarities and differences in shopping attitude of customer during pandemic
Pfattheicher and et.al., (2020) examined that each country and people react in different
way during pandemic and even government also imposed different laws and regulation in order
to provide better treatment to their people. Similarly, the shopping attitude of customer during
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pandemic is also different, but somehow similar. The only similarity identified from the
shopping attitude between individuals is the rise of online shopping. However, Covid-19
pandemic also represent a unique situation where people do not prefer to buy products from
offline stores and that is why, it give rise of online shopping. Also, there are many studies which
also represents that shopping motivation that drive online purchase behavior during pandemic
and that is why, the sales of online application is increases as compared to offline stores.
However, it is examined by Papageorge and et.al., (2021) that there is change identified from the
customer behavior and moderate degree of economic shock can be a reason for this shift as well.
So, to incorporate with such changes, customer also prefer to start shopping through online and
this in turn leads to cause positive impact upon the behaviors as well.
This is highly seen in other countries except China because Chinese are already indulging
in such area prior to pandemic. Though majority of people in UK and US are also uses online
shopping, but after pandemic there is a rise in online activities that also support people to stay at
home as well. The biggest advantage gains by Indians because 59% of the online business
increases because people prefer to purchase online products in order to avoid or minimize their
time outside of their homes. Thus, it is a right sign to minimize the impact of pandemic during
this time. Moreover, at the time of pandemic also, customer either goes to their local shops or
else purchase product online and this in turn shows that their engagement towards online product
increases. Therefore, it can be stated by Hassen, El Bilali and Allahyari (2020) that consumer
brand relationship are likely to change due to pandemic and even business need to reexamine
how they build trust with their customers in order to cope up with the new reality so that
shoppers are able to cope up with the changing customer demands. Also, different brand located
in different countries are also articulate their value and also adapt to rapidly identify the
changing nature of customer so that they meet the defined aim easily in order to cop up with
situation.
Through this, it is realized that there is only one similarity identified during pandemic in
terms of shopping attitude. Whereas, there are many differences shown in each country which
includes difference between spending on the day. Stanley and et.al., (2020) reflected in their
study that individuals in each country have their own spending and as per their earning they
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spend money. Similarly, during pandemic, people are ready to spend extra for their own or to
meet the needs and wants of their family as well. Such that Indians feel value for money
whereas, UK and US people spend their amount as they can without facing any trouble. Apart
from this secondary sources revealed that in China, more than 80% of the consumer report that
engaging regularly with out-of –home activities, because there is no stricter lockdown situation.
On the other side, countries like Brazil and Mexico have the lowest percentage of consumer
reporting which they have resumed to normal activities.
As per the view of Choma and et.al., (2021) the preference of the customer at every
country is considered another difference in the shopping attitude during pandemic. Such that
each individual have their own preference which is also depended upon their own class and this
in turn affect their purchasing decision as well. For example, India shifts towards value based
purchasing and that is why, it prioritizes obtaining maximum value for customer for every
spending. Whereas, people in China increases their spending over the traveling. This in turn
reflects that preference of individual is depended upon their income and necessity, which is also,
varies from situation to situation. Bareket-Bojmel, Shahar and Margalit (2020) also reflected in
their study that consumer is more conscious of what the buy and more focused on gaining value
from purchase. For example, in insurance industry, it is the only sector which gets benefited from
the pandemic because most of the people are concerned about their health and that is why, they
get proper insurance. Though it is not a preference of each and every individual but it might
affect their overall spending.
Apart from this, it is also analyzed that product shortage is the issue which might be
faced by every customer within different country during pandemic. Such that, majority of people
within UK collect products in bulk and this in turn leads to product shortage. As a result, most of
the shoppers were facing issues with of product shortage and this might affect the overall
performance in opposite manner in the terms of their sales and revenue. Therefore, it is also
evaluated by Harper and et.al., (2020) that there is a difference in the perception of a customers
and this in turn also affected the overall behavior of a customer towards shopping habits. Further,
it is also examined due to economic shock most of the customer decrease their spending and this
in turn causes opposite impact upon the overall economy. Such that due to decrease in spending,
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the flow of money will automatically decrease and this in turn somehow affect the overall
performance as well. However, Siedner and et.al., (2020) also critically evaluated that pandemic
affect the spending and shopping habits of individuals in adverse manner such that none of them
spend their amount on unnecessary items and as a result it affects the economy as well.
2.5 Conclusion
By summing up above section it has been concluded that there are different factors that
affect customer buying behavior which includes physiological factors, lifestyle, social factors
and cultural factors. These all factors directly affect the person buying behavior and this is
somehow also leads to encourage them in order to make better decision. The above section also
summarized that before any purchasing, every individual is influences within any factors and
then make decision whether it is related to their family, personal or cultural etc. Further, it has
been also identified from the above section that during pandemic, most of the customer prefers to
buy hygienic product and purchased in bulk because of lockdown. However, government
provides their best to the customer in order to minimize any challenges. Further, most of the
customer shift towards online stores which in turn cause opposite impact upon the physical stores
after Covid-19.
Moreover, it has been also summarized through the above section that similarities in
shopping attitude of customer during pandemic are shift towards online or digital stores.
Whereas difference between their shopping attitude with regard to their preference that
encourage them to buy only urgency products.
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CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
Research methodology is the specific procedure and techniques which is used to
determine, select and analyze the data about a specific topic. The present section will also allow
the reader to critically evaluate the study's overall validity and reliability. Moreover, with the
help of effective research methodology, scholar is able to examine the relationship between the
various variables and then determine the trend and certain variables. In this, scholar will describe
the type of research used by the scholar in order to present the findings in better manner. Also, it
will present approach that helps investigator to meet the defined aim and then examine the type
of data collection methods which also assists to conduct study in effectual manner.
Research type
Generally, there are three types of research used by the scholars which includes
qualitative, quantitative and mixed. Such that Qualitative study only involves collecting and
analyzing non-numerical data which helps to understand concept, opinions and experiences.
Also, it can be used to collect in-depth insights into a problem in order to generate new ideas for
a research (Dodds and Hess, 2020). Next is Quantitative study which is defined as a systematic
investigation that helps to collect only quantifiable information and then analyze the same
through employing specific technique or tool. Last is Mixed research, which uses both qualitative
and quantitative study in order to collect the valid information.
Thus, quantitative study has been adopted by the scholar in order to generate the valid
results and also develop understanding of consumer buying behavior in country after Covid-19.
Moreover, with the help of this study, investigator measure the term pertaining to consumer
behavior and this in turn reflect whether the defined aim of a study is met or not. Also, with the
help of this methodology, scholar is able to produce valid results and this in turn more useful as
compared to qualitative study.
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Research approach
Research approach is the plans and procedures for a research which span the steps from
broad assumption to detailed methods. Through effective research approach, scholar is able to
identify the solutions of the problem and then make better decision that helps to accomplish
defined aim. It is of three types (Dźwigoł and Dźwigoł-Barosz, 2018). Deductive Approach
which is concern with quantitative study and also develop hypothesis in order to prove the
theories. Further, this approach assists to measure concepts in quantifiable manner and also
explain the relationship between concepts and variables. Next is Inductive approach which is
related to qualitative study and only relied on observation and theories that proposed towards an
end of a research process as a result of observation. So, this approach only helps to identify the
trend between variable and shows the research findings. Last is Abductive approach which is a
mixture of both inductive and deduction because it is designed in order to minimize the
weakness examined in such methods.
From the all, deductive research approach has been used by the scholar because it helps
to provide data in quantifiable manner and as the research method is based upon quantitative
study, so deductive approach should use. Moreover, this approach also analyzes the outcomes of
test and it is also more important to compare the research findings within literature review
findings. Through this, scholar is able to present the findings with quantitative manner and that is
why, able to conduct the study in more precise manner. In addition to this, different sources have
been used in order to track the customer behavior after Covid-19 in a numbers and facts that
examine the results and make valid outcomes as well.
Research philosophy
It is a notion about a way through information regarding phenomena should be collected,
analyzed and used. With the help of this, scholar is able to be aware and formulating the beliefs
as well as assumption related to the research and this in turn somehow derived the best outcomes
as well. Also, the research philosophy helps scholar to collect the information and attain the
results in effective manner. Moreover, it is of four types which include Interpretivism philosophy
which interpret the data in a systematical manner (Zangirolami-Raimundo, Echeimberg and
Leone, 2018). Along with this, it also emphasized over qualitative analysis over quantitative that
16

is why, it is only focused upon the meaning and consider different aspects of an issue. Next is
Realism philosophy which is relies on the idea of independence of reality from a human mind.
Also, with the help of this type, scholar is also able to identify the interrelationship between
individuals and groups. Third type is Positivism, which is only adhering with factual knowledge
gained through the observation. In addition to this, it is only relied upon the quantitative study
and this in turn leads to statistical analysis as well. Last is Pragmatism which identify different
ways of interpreting the world and there is not exact way that helps to provide entire picture
because it is related to multiple realities.
Among all, Positivism research philosophy has been used by the scholar because it is
based only on quantitative study and describes the key facts and figures pertaining to consumer
buying behavior due to Covid-19. Moreover, with the help of chosen philosophy, investigator
finds the relevant information which is observable and quantifiable in nature. As the term
customer buying behavior is not numeric term but there are relevant facts shown within a
research that helps to meet the defined aim and also conduct the study in well manner as well.
So, to collect information from different countries, it is necessary to use positivism as compared
to interpretivism in order to provide valid results that clearly examine whether the aim is meet or
not.
Data collection
It is a procedure which is used to collect and measure the accurate information for
research. It is possible by using validate techniques that also enable one to answer research
questions and evaluates outcomes as well. Thus, in dissertation, it plays a crucial role in order to
gather information that helps to understand the concept and gain knowledge as well. It is of two
types such that Primary research and secondary research. Under primary which is also known as
first handed research because it provides fresh information and assists to generate valid outcomes
as well. There are various techniques involved within this type which includes survey, interview,
observation, case study etc. On the other side, secondary data collection methods are second
handed data which is already published and recorded by other researcher previously (Mohajan,
2018). It is further accessible in the form of data collected from different sources such as
government, publications, census and internal records which includes books, scholarly articles
17

and website etc. This method is cost effective and does not require enough time in order to
present the findings. Whereas, primary research requires enough time and there is no surety to
gather correct information and provide valid outcomes as well.
For the present study, scholar used only secondary data collection methods in which all
secondary sources has been used in order to derive valid outcomes. Such that the data includes
transaction data, Gallup Daily Tracker Data and Social Distancing Data. Though some of them
are not easily accessible by the researcher and that is why, among all only transaction data is
used. In this, scholar gets data set from China Union Pay Merchant Services Corporation who
provides daily city-level offline consumption data set. Whereas, the term consumer behavior is
not measurable term but there are trackers installed that provide actual information, though there
can be a measurement error in main conclusion due to use of POS machines and QR scanners
changes. On the other side, survey method has not been used because it requires enough time to
analyses the data and that is why, it is not opted. Hence, due to financial constraints which is
involved because of funding would be required and as survey method is time-consuming as well
as costly method and that is why, it is not chosen.
Data analysis
It is a process which is systematically applying technique which is used to illustrate and
describe the data in an effective manner. Thus, with the help of this, researcher generally
analyzes the pattern of observation through an entire data collection. Basically there are two
methods used by the scholar in order to analyze the data which includes Thematic data analysis
that helps to examine the only qualitative data in which themes are designed that helps to clearly
determine the actual findings (Snyder, 2019). On the other side, SPSS is another tool that aid
researcher to present the findings in a statistical mode. Along with this, scholar is able to
examine the trend and also proves hypothesis that leads the entire study towards positive manner.
So, for the present study, scholar uses SPSS technique because it presents the findings of
all quantitative information, whereas thematic data analysis is depended upon qualitative study
only. Therefore, it can be stated that with the help of this technique, scholar present the themes
and graphs that helps to present the entire data in a presentable manner. Along with this, scholar
18

is also generated the best results which helps to meet the defined aim and also examine customer
behavior after Covid-19.
Research limitations
Every research have certain limitations which is normal but it is crucial to make attempts
to minimize the scope of limitations along with acknowledge the research limitation within the
study. It is important to identify the shortcomings of the research project which will helpful for
users of it, in understanding the relevance of it. This research study is exposed to various
limitations which is having the potential to affect the outcome of the research. The quantitative
research generally needs large amount of data as the sample size. Pertaining to this study, there is
lack of time which results into making this research prone to inaccuracy and limit the scope of
study (Theofanidis and Fountouki, 2018). In addition to this, the interested stakeholders in many
developing countries might lack relevant knowledge and understanding in regard to the resources
needed for the purpose of conducting thorough quantitative research. Along with that, the
researcher come across the problem of controlling the environment within which the data is
being collected. This results into increasing the chances of gathering limited data. Also, carrying
out the research is time-consuming, very expensive and complex. It requires proper planning and
the researcher has made sure that the research is carried out in a structured way.
There is little difficulty which is being faced while carrying out the data analysis as its
requires extensive statistical analysis which might be difficult for others from the non-statistical
background to understand and interpret. In regard to this research, secondary data collection
method is being used by the scholar which leads to increase in chance of the nature of
implementation of the method is flawed. The literature review helps in determining the scope of
work and lack of past studies in the respected area might result into not effectively addressing the
research questions. Apart from this, scope of study of discussion can be a limitation regardless of
the choice of the area. As the researcher is not having the many years of experience in respect to
conducting the research of large sizes, therefore, there is possibility of the scope and depth of the
discussion may be compromised in certain when compared to the work of the experienced work.
19

Ethical considerations
In order to conduct the study in effective manner, it is necessary to comply with ethical
principles that leads to derived valid output. The ethical consideration is considered to be an
important part in regard to carrying out the research. The researcher of the study has complied
with all the relevant ethical code of conduct while carrying out this research. Pertaining to this
research, the researcher has respected the dignity of the research participants and putted it on the
priority list. It has been made sure that no harm is done to the research participants in any way
and in regard to taking the responses; it has been made sure that the full consent of the
respondents is being undertaken before the study (Clark-Kazak, 2017). Apart from this, it has
been considered that resources pertaining to the study are being selected from the relevant topic.
In addition to this, proper reference of the same is done at the end of the report which helps in
highlighting reliability and authenticity of the data. The researcher has maintained the privacy
and confidentiality of the research participants and data.
Along with that, anonymity of the individuals who are participating in the investigation
has been ensured. The investigator has avoided any form of deception or exaggeration in respect
to the aims and objectives of the research and the affiliations in any form along with any possible
conflict of interest have already being declared. The researcher has made sure that there is not or
any type of miscommunication pertaining to the study and ensured that the investigation is
completed with honesty and transparency (Fiesler, 2019). Apart from the above, it has been
ensured that any types of misleading information and presentation of data findings in a biased
way is avoided. Proper acknowledgment of the work of other authors used is done and
maintained high level of objectivity in the discussion and analysis is done. Thus, all these aspects
have been covered and complied by the researcher leading to making the research far more
effective and accurate and without any conflict.
Reliability and validity
Reliability and validity of the data helps in effectively evaluating the quality of research.
Reliability states about the consistency and validity refers to the accuracy of the measure.
Reliability accounts for determining how consistently a method is being used for measuring the
something. If the same outcome is being consistently achieved by using the same technique or
20

approach, then the measurement is considered to be reliable (Mohajan, 2017). On the other hand,
validity determines how accurately the method is measuring in respect to what is required to be
measured. In the context of the research study, it is considered an important part pertaining to the
research methodology. In respect to the reliability, the researcher has utilized the same technique
and method in order to derive the same output. The scholar has identified the sources and got it
reviewed by the mentor before using it, in order to ensure its reliability. Along with that, the
sources which are copyright has been used by the researcher which helps in drawing a valid
conclusion.
The secondary research clearly determines and evaluates the impact of COVID-19 on
consumer behavior. In respect to the present study the researcher has used secondary sources of
data collection which involves books, journals and website which is published in the last 5 years
and this consequently leads to proving the validity of the research. In addition, by making use of
the authentic sources will help in deriving the actual and true result which results in effectively
meeting up with the desired aims and objectives of the research topic (Chan and Idris, 2017). The
scholar has made sure that the data collected from the sources is valid and reliable and this
results into conducting the research in an effective and efficient way leading to accurate and
expected outcome. Along with that, addressing the research questions in a better way and
meeting with the stated objectives.
Conclusion
It can be summarized from the above that through the use of quantitative research, the
researcher would be able to grab an understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on consumer
behavior in different nations. Apart from this, the scholar is using only secondary sources for
collecting the relevant data along with meeting with the various ethical standards. In an overall
basis, the above chapter states about the relevant factors and aspects which resulted into change
in the consumer buying behavior due to the emergence of COVID-19.
21

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
The present section will help to analyze the data pertaining to customer buying behavior
during covid-19. Also, in this, descriptive statistics will used that define the average of spending
in different areas so that it will help to examine the spending through tracker. Moreover, the
current section also presents themes, tables and graphs in order to present the secondary data in
an effective manner.
Month
Spending surged in
March
Online grocery
shopping
Spending on
dining
Spending on
groceries
Jan-20 2.9 0 0.1 6.8
Feb-20 10.5 6.8 5.8 6.2
Mar-20 5.6 7.2 -23.9 78.9
Apr-20 -33.2 13.8 -61.1 24.5
May-20 -1.8 16.5 -46.5 22.8
Jun-20 -2 15.8 -27.9 20.7
Jul-20 2.4 16.4 -10.5 21.7
Aug-20 0.3 18 -7.7 18.4
Sep-20 5.1 19.9 -5.6 20.8
Oct-20 0.7 21.9 -16.5 15.7
Nov-20 1.9 21.9 -18.1 20.2
Dec-20 -1.2 24.3 -29.7 17.4
Jan-21 -4.1 21.9 -25.5 23.3
Feb-21 -0.2 24 -26 20.8
Mar-21 6.6 25.4 -14.5 13.7
Descriptive Statistics
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std.
Deviation
Month 15 1.00 15.00 8.0000 4.47214
SpendingsurgedinMarch 15 -33.20 10.50 -.4333 9.83613
Onlinegroceryshopping 15 .00 25.40 16.9200 7.34635
Spendingondining 15 -61.10 5.80 -20.5067 17.30035
Spendingongroceries 15 6.20 78.90 22.1267 16.64166
Valid N (listwise) 15
22

Interpretation: The above descriptive statistics exhibits that the mean of the spending surged in
March is -33.20 which reflects that the spending of people is decreases within a year. So, before
Covid-19, the spending of Canadian people is high but during lockdown situation, spending lead
towards negative and this shows that people do not spent amount on unnecessary items.
Moreover, the mean of online grocery shopping is increases from last one year. Thus, it is a
positive sign because people shift towards online purchasing which is far better in order to
decrease the infection and maintaining social distancing. Apart from this, it is also identified
from the above table that spending on the groceries is increases from last one year and the
average rate of spending on such item is 22.12 that shows that people increases their spending on
groceries. As the trend identified from the above reflect that there is an increasing trend and it
also encourage people to enhance their spending within this only.
Further, the spending on dining is decreases and the average number also indicates that
negative amount spend by the customers and that is why, it can be stated that people do not
spend amount within dining. This in turn shows that due to change in the overall spending, most
of the people shift towards either online purchasing or grocery items because it is consider under
necessity. That is why, it is examined from the customer spending is increases over grocery
products and they also start focusing upon online purchasing as well.
Correlations
Correlations
Month Spendingsurge
dinMarch
Month
Pearson Correlation 1 .098
Sig. (2-tailed) .728
N 15 15
SpendingsurgedinMarch
Pearson Correlation .098 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .728
N 15 15
23

Interpretation: Through the above table, it is interpreted that there is no association between the
increasing months with n surged in March. It is so because the value reflected on the table shows
that 0.98<0.25 which signifies that there is low relationship between both variables. Therefore, it
can be stated that there is no actual trend identified between the spending as per the increasing
months. So, customer buying behavior is not clearly identified from the above table and that is
why, there is no impact between both variables. Also, as the month increases there is no change
identified because customer buying behavior is changes only towards online items and thus, it
can be stated that as per the time changes, there is no change identified in the spending, though it
is decreased from month to month because pandemic affect the overall economic situation of the
countries in adverse manner. Son and et.al., (2020) also supported that overall sales of the
companies is decreases from the starting year of 2020 from ending of same year. This is all
because of pandemic that affect the sales and spending of customers as well.
Correlations
Month Onlinegrocerys
hopping
Month
Pearson Correlation 1 .931**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 15 15
Onlinegroceryshopping
Pearson Correlation .931** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 15 15
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Interpretation: In accordance with the above table, it is interpreted that there is a strong
relationship of months and online grocery shopping. Such that there is a 93% relationship
between the variable which means that as the month increases, people spend their amount to buy
the grocery items. Thus, it can be stated there is a high relationship between months and online
grocery purchase as 0.75<0.93. So, it is also supported by Islam and et.al., (2021) that during
pandemic, entire population realize that they must spend the amount on essential items instead of
others. Also, there is a need to purchase product online rather than physical stores. This in turn
24

reduce the chances of getting infectious and stop the chain of virus as well by avoid going
outside.
Theme 1: Spending surged in early March
Figure 2: RCB Economic: Spending surged in early March
Interpretation: In accordance with the above graph, it is reflected that there is fluctuating trend
identified in year over year change in the debit and credit card spending. Like, there is a sudden
decrease in the cards spending on March, 2020 and also, it is further increases by end of March.
This is all because of spreading virus in entire world that forced people to use card system in
order to avoid physical touch. Zwanka and Buff (2021) also support the same that online
purchasing among customer is the biggest similarity identified within entire world because to
stop the spread of virus they start purchasing product only by using credit and debit cards. This
in turn reflects that most of the customers are depend upon the online service in order to book the
products.
So, it can be stated that due to change in the spending pattern, people are completely
depend upon online service and that is why, it helps to increase the spending over online
purchase only instead of purchasing in physical stores.
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Theme 2: Online grocery habits are more embedded
Figure 3: Online share of groceries transaction volume
Interpretation: Through the above, it is examined that percentage of online grocery shopping is
increases among Canadians. This in turn reflected that there is an increasing trend identified
among people during Covid-19 and that is why, it support them to avoid contact with others.
Also, the above graph reflected that there is continuously increasing trend reflected from the
February 2020 and it increases from March onwards. It is because of lockdown situation where
people can purchase grocery items online. However, some of them still purchase products offline
and this shows that there is a positive sign of rising online business which might increase the
business as well. Also, it is supported by Chenarides and et.al., (2021) that due to pandemic,
online trend is emerged and that is why, it causes positive impact upon business sales as well.
Though the stores in this space were also allowed to open their doors because it is considered
under emergency service. Still the customers are allowed to use whatever they preferred, but
most of them are prefer to use online shopping and this in turn increases from last year to till
now (Covid Consumer Spending tracker, 2021).
Theme 3: Optimism lifts entertainment spending
26

Figure: 4: Optimism lifts entertainment spending
The analysis explains people preferences for digital entertainment spending has been consistently
growing optimistically, where music and entertainment, communication digital platforms and
movies, art have seen the most preferences by people Admits lockdown, customers preferences
for spending on entertainment, has been confidently growing towards varied scale technology
spending (Sayyida and et.al, 2021). From the above graph, it can be also analyzed consumers
globally invested resources on books, music and entertainment services functionally evolving
within digital platforms. This enables us to examine focus on consistent usage of optimistic
entertainment spending, where lockdown made people get addicted to social media and internet
usage. Rise in e-books, music and entertainment goods have been productively growing globally
within time period of lockdown admits Covid-19. Telephone, internet data usage and digital
communication platforms have been gaining high preference within recent period globally as it
became one of the most preferred spending.
Socializing through digital platforms has been also consistently growing in recent time
within web based services, for wider scale imperative expansion of customer spending. Art and
movies have been also effectively increased in preferences among people globally, on which
during Covid-19 there is wide rise on subscriptions of movies and downloads of e-books which
27

is an important aspect to analyze. Globally lockdown made people engagement on social digital
platforms widely grow in recent Covid-19 time period, on which people investments to be active
on digital entertainment spending has been effectively growing. TV engagement, music and
entertainment goods have been consistently growing among global audience where online
spending of customers has seen high positive rise. The results also explains that globally
people engagement on digital music, entertainment services and art products have been striking
positive growth uniformly in recent time period. Globally countries audiences are being
consistently shifting on digital entertainment products, on which art and movies services has
generated functional rise in people engagement (The Pandemic's Uneven Effect on Consumer
Spending, 2021).
Theme 4: Dining spending remains weak
Figure 5: Dining spending remains weak
28

From the above graph results, it can be understood that dining preferences among people has
been going under huge decline since March 2020 consistently. Groceries spending has seen
instant rise globally, due to complete shutdown people kept groceries in stock which generated
rise in spending among people for necessity goods. The people health standard have been
facing decline in march period, where it gradually took upscale in later time period where
patients with Coved -19 has been also grown high. Data analysis also explains groceries
spending by people have been consistently striking up within immediate months, on which
necessary supplies and services are in high demand. People investments on health has been also
growing, as people health conditions were detonating due to virus spread which significantly
made up rise on public healthcare spending.
Dining practices faced downside in people spending, where customer’s choice to hang
out in restaurants and cafes were declined due to countries governments restrictions. It took time
people to gain confidence in dining among external food joints and restaurants, where data
shows people preferences saw rise till end year of 2020. This further explains people preferences
on groceries and health, were consistently high within pandemic periods which are part of
necessities. Globally countries lockdown conditions, made huge impact on customer’s choices
for spending which furthermore explains investments by people in basic healthcare needs have
been consistently growing. Admits lockdown, people preferences for outside dining has been
declined fundamentally due to shut down in public spaces and restaurants , within public which
signifies less preferences for public outings and spending decline on basic necessities as widely
crucial. Data also fundamentally explains people preferences towards spending on healthcare
improvement, and groceries as basic necessities been highly crucial rather than on dining (HOW
MUCH IS CONSUMER SPENDING STILL BEING IMPACTED BY COVID-19?, 2021).
Theme 5: Changes in retail sales
29

Figure 6: Changes in retail sales
From the time frame of May 2018 till the time of February 2020 retail sales in the field of
restaurant and bars are equal to the sales of the food and beverages. By the assistance of the
above figure it can be evaluated that both the sales of drinking place and food and beverages is
constant and does not fluctuated over the time. This might be because of the reason that during
the period of the pandemic the consumer were very scared of getting infected and with respect to
this fact the sales of both the drinking and food and beverage section is very low and constant.
But after January 2020 the sales of drinking place has reduced to a great extent. On the other side
the sales of the food and beverages first increased and then decreased.
In addition to this the present data is being based on the consumer price index (CPI)
which measures the average change over the time within the prices of different types of the
goods and services for a consumer. This concept of CPI measures the price changes from the
side or the perspective of the buyers. This is calculated by dividing the sales by the CPI and the
30

multiplying it with 100. Hence, the above chart data is based on the CPI only and provides a
better data for the evaluation of the figure of sales of bars and the restaurants.
As per the views of Sheth (2020) this constant sales of both drinking and food and
beverages is because of the reason that most of the consumer selected to “stay in” rather than
going out for eating and drinking. By the time of April, the economy of the country entered in
the phase of recession and because of this it resulted in the decrease in sales at the bar and
restaurant as well. This might be because of the reason that many of the people were unemployed
and many different businesses were shut down because of the pandemic and economy shut
down. Hence, this resulted in the increase in unemployment within the country and the economy
suffered to a great extent because of the unemployment. Hence, as a result of this the consumer
cut down their spending over the unnecessary things such as drinking or eating food out.
Theme 6: Demand for travel and hotel services
This is also the major aspect of the economy as within the economy the travel and hotel
service counts for a major part. This is pertaining to the fact that both these are major element of
the whole economy. This is pertaining to the fact that travelling was popular among the
consumer and this was the recent trends among the consumers. Hence, when the pandemic
affected the economy this sector also was majorly impacted and affected in negative manner.
31

Figure 7: Demand for travel and hotel services
With the help of the above diagram it is clearly visible that from the time of 2015 till
2019 the rail passenger was constant but in the year 2020 this declined to a great extent. But after
that it increased a little bit and this is particularly because of the reason that either the impact of
pandemic has reduced or the fear among the consumer have decreased. In addition to this the air
revenue passenger miles were also having the constant increase but after the pandemic the
revenue has decreased to a great extent.
In the similar manner, the vehicle miles travelled was also constantly increasing but after
the impact of the pandemic the vehicle miles travelled has reduced to a great extent. The major
reason pertaining to the fact is that due to the pandemic the geographical boundaries were sealed
and nobody was allowed to travel to other countries. Hence, because of this reason all the three
transportation and travelling method decreased to a great extent. Along with this, the people also
32

had fear that if they will travel frequently then there are high chances of getting infected and due
to this they limited their travelling to other countries or other places.
With the diagram above it can be highlighted that within the rail and air travel there was a
decline of 96 % and 91 % respectively. On the similar note the travel from road decreased
around 27 % and this was pertaining to the fact that the substitution of train and plane was by
road only. But this was permitted on the grounds of the guidelines of COVID 19 and with a
special focus on social distancing.
In accordance with the views Baicu and et.al., (2020) the pandemic has created a harsh
and fearing impact over the people. Thus, because of this reason that people might get infected
with the virus the people have limited their travelling from one place to another. In addition to
this it is also good for the people as this will result in people coming in less contact with the
other people and as a result of this there will be low chances of getting infected.
Theme 7: Changes in the hotels
33

(Source: Consumer spending and the COVID- 19 Pandemic, 2021)
In addition to the transportation, the hotel industry is also the area which is majorly
impacted because of the pandemic. This is particularly because of the reason the decrease in
transportation has resulted in the high impact over the producer price index of the hotel and
motels. This producer price index (PPI) is a measure which analyses the changes in price
received by the producer of different goods and services which they provide. In simple words it
analyses the changes in price from the side of the seller. With the help of the above chart it is
clear that the prices that is received by hotel and motels have decreased not less than 14 % from
the prices as compared to the last year.
In support of this Laato and et.al., (2020) stated that hotel and motel sales decreased
because of the reason that the people were having fear of getting infected and this resulted in the
decrease in the stay and visit at the hotels and motels. In addition to this hotels and motels are the
place where the people are large in number and this can affect the people and their perception
that social gathering will affect the health of the people to a great extent. In addition to this, the
decrease in prices of the hotels has resulted in the decrease in the sales of the other related
activities and material as well. For instance, with decrease in the prices of the hotels and motels
the demand of fish and other raw material of food have also reduced. Hence, it can be stated that
when the hotel industry will not work then all the other related industries and business will be
affected to a great extent. As seen from the example it is clear that because of reduction of the
business of hotel the raw material and supply chain was also affected and this resulted in
decrease in business of the company.
With the overall discussion He and Harris (2020) stated that the current pandemic has
created a major impact over the consumer behavior. This is particularly because of the reason
that because of the pandemic the people had a fear of getting infected and due to this they
reduced the shopping by going out to the stores. In against of this they were majorly focused on
the online shopping as under this they just have to order the material from their mobiles and the
product will come to their place within the specified time.
On the other side, Donthu and Gustafsson (2020) argued that there are also many
different types of factors which affect the consumer buying behavior to a great extent. The
34

reason underlying this fact is that consumer is attracted from what is going on within the
environment and the different factors present in environment affect the buying behavior to a
great extent. Out of all the factors the lifestyle is the major factor which affects the buying habit
of the consumer to a great extent. This is particularly because of the reason that when the product
or the service will not be suiting the lifestyle and standard of living of the person then this will
affect buying behavior of the consumer. In addition to this, the major factor which affect the
buying behavior is the current pandemic as because of this situation consumer are not buying
much of the product.
Moreover, in the end it can be stated that the pandemic has created a major impact over
the sales of all the business and types of the sector within the economy. Whether be it hotel
industry, travel and tourism, transportation, food and beverages and many others sector within
the economy. On the other side the major impact of the pandemic was the unemployment and
because of this all the sector within the economy were impacted and this affect the consumer
behaviour as well. this is pertaining to the fact that due to unemployment the income of the
consumer also reduced and this resulted in decrease in the purchasing power of the consumer.
35

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusion
Based upon the above analysis, it can be stated that the impact of Covid-19 has drastically
affected the consumer buying behavior. The emergence of Covid-19 has resulted into change in
the personal factors of the consumers along with their lifestyle. The way of living and
consumption style of the people have changed as people are looking for more hygienic place for
carrying out their activities. During the time of crisis, the nations across the globe have adopted
the different practices and along with that, their normal behavior is also changed pertaining to the
shopping experience. Among other nations, the countries like India and Indonesia have
experienced greater degree of economic shock in comparison to the nations like Germany and
Japan which has experienced moderate degree of economic shock. Thus, it clearly reflects the
impact of crisis on the shopping behavior of the consumers. It can also be stated that consumers
in India and Indonesia is the least affected country where the consumers are intended to make
change in their shopping behavior while that of, Japan changes its shopping and consumption
habits which has resulted into affecting the nation which is expected to be continued in the
future.
Due to Covid-19, there is a change in trend which is being identified among the
consumers as people are now more concerned about their changing habits and the quality of
products with respect to the price. The people are more health conscious and reducing the food
wastage. This pandemic has resulted into changes in the shopping experience of the people and
increased the usage of e-commerce platforms for the purpose of buying the food. This change
has positively affected the online firms like Amazon and also encouraged other firms to establish
their business online which will help in effectively meeting up with the changing consumer
requirements. The pandemic has resulted into making people preferring to buy the products from
the online shopping sites. Therefore, businesses are required to implement new strategies which
complies with the guidelines issues under the situation of Covid-19, in order to build a positive
relationship with the consumers and establishing a good connection with the brand. This is
36

applicable to all the organizations across the globe and how the businesses build trust is order to
meet up with the reality.
Along with that, the preferences of the consumer differs from one nation to another and
thus, it emerges the needs for nation as a whole to identifying the emerging need based upon the
circumstance and undertake the decision in regard to bringing in the new platform for the
purpose of meeting with the changing consumer shopping trends and shopping preferences. But,
on the other side, there was an issue that arises due to crisis which was product shortage which
might be faced by every consumer across the different nations as during the time of crisis people
were buying the products in bulk which resulted into product shortages affecting the
performance of the economy in respect to the revenue and profits. In addition to this, there was a
decline in the spending of the people due reduction in income and thus, shopping habits were
changed on a greater range affecting the purchase of unnecessary items which adversely affected
the businesses and the economy at large.
Through the data analysis section, it has been also concluded that due to change in the
shopping habits of customers, there is a fluctuation examined within an overall economy of the
countries. Further as per the above, it can be summarized that most of the people also spend their
amount in different areas and that is why, it reflected the spending is changes as per the time. For
example, during March, 2020 to May, 2020 most of the people decrease their spending and start
investing on necessity items only. Thus, it has been analyzed that though there are many factors
identified that affect the customer buying behavior and that is why, it affected the overall
spending as well. Like, customers mostly influence from their family members and friends and
that is why, they also prefer to spend amount on those items only.
The secondary research also identified that the spending of Canadian people decreases,
but companies make actions in order to improve the sales. Whereas, it is also determine that
during pandemic, the hospitality sector is one of the weak sector due to many health and safety
restriction imposed by government. So, it can be stated that though there are many negative
things happened but the rise of online shopping is performed during this time only like people
start making payment through online and they become cashless, online classes has been started
37

etc. Thus, it reflected that there is a rise of online and digital business whereas, most of the
people understood the ways to amount investment.
Recommendation
From the above, it is examined that there is a huge change in the customer spending and
that is why, to get back on the track, it is essential for the companies to implement strategies that
support business in order to cope up with the situation. These strategies are as mentioned below:
 It is recommended to the business to perform proper Screening especially in hotels that
helps to detect the elevated body temperature associated with fever caused by virus. If
they found any, then it is the responsibility of the owner to provide immediate isolated
facilities to their customer so that the chances of spreading the virus will be minimized.
 Moreover, it is also recommended to the small companies i.e. grocery shops to provide
online facilities to their customers in terms of payments. This in turn assists to decrease
the chances of infection and also maintain social distancing. It is so because if the
payments are accepted through cash then customer has to wait in a queue, as a result most
of them do not follow social distancing. That is why, it is suggested to the companies to
start introducing online payment system that is cost and time effective method and
essential to deal with a situation of Covid-19, as identified from the data analysis section.
 Further, to identify the demand of the customers during and post pandemic, it is further
suggested to conduct market analysis and review the sites of trackers. This in turn helps
to examine the current market situation and also offered the product accordingly. In
addition to this, it is also identified that there is a huge gap determine in the sales of shops
and thus to manage the same, it is necessary to examine the trend and then attract
customers as well. This in turn helps to minimize the situation up to some extent.
 It is also examined that due to pandemic economic performance is affected in negative
manner. That is why, it is suggested to use effective strategies that helps to improve the
financial performance which can be discount offers, loyalty schemes etc. Thus, the
38

strategy assists the companies to improve the performance and also attract range of new
customers towards it. This in turn aids to improve the financial performance and as
customer started purchase in bulk and that is why, the process will be decline by
implementing such methods.
39

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RESEARCH PROPOSAL
INTRODUCTION
As the outbreak of COVID-19 (commonly known as Coronavirus), which originated in
Wuhan, China in December, 2019, has widely affected the people and thus their behavior
worldwide, it is worthy to investigate how the pandemic has modified the behavior of people as
consumers in different countries. This change, like any other change, is inevitable especially
when such circumstances prevail. Therefore, it is of great significance and interest to study the
consumer behavior regarding whether different trends can be seen in the buying behavior of
different people in different countries. A lot has been researched about such trends in different
countries individually, however, the research comparing trends in different countries has not
been done yet, thence, the study shall delve deep into analyzing the similarities and differences
(if any) in different nations. Moreover, in order to be able to address the situation (pandemic) on
a global level, this knowledge is required as the policies need to be framed accordingly.
LITERATURE REVIEW
A study by Baker, Farrokhnia, Meyer, Pagel, and Yannelis (2020) is the first one to study
the reaction of household spending during an epidemic and analyses spending behaviour of tens
of thousands of Americans. In the analysis, an increase in the spending is noticed. However, the
study fails to incorporate the reactions of older people as only younger population’s data is a part
of the analysis. Moreover, an article by Coibion, Gorodnichenko and Weber (2020) stated a
decrease in the spending in the case of the U.S. households but the limitation of the study is that
it is unable to establish whether the economic cost is sufficiently low in order to justify the
lockdown policies that have a likelihood of saving innumerable lives. Further, Andersen,
Hansen, Johannesen, and Sheridan (12 May, 2020) found out a decline in the aggregate spending
among Danish, and Swedish customers. The problem lies in the fact that utilising data from a
large bank only means the data was not representative of the entire population. Furthermore,
Andersen, Hansen, Johannesen, and Sheridan (25 May, 2020) studied the spending behaviour in
the Danish economy and observed a drop in the aggregate spending but using data only from the
largest bank of Denmark could have affected the results. Chen, Qian, and Wen (2020) used the
44

high-frequency, transaction-based consumption data in case of China, however, the drawback is
the limited time period for which the study was carried out as more changes could have been
witnessed.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This research is intended to answer the following questions:
 Why do the consumers behave differently in different countries during pandemic?
 Are the behavioral changes in different countries positive or negative or both?
 Are there any similarities or differences observed in the attitudes towards shopping
during pandemic in different countries?
MOTIVATIONS:
COVID-19 being a current problematic situation is in fact the biggest challenge to the whole
world at present and thus becomes a topic of interest to study. This provides insights into how
the behavioral aspects of people as consumers get affected during a pandemic. Studying
consumer behavior and the psychology behind it are worth investigating at a global level in the
form of comparison of both the consumer behavior and the associated psychology in different
countries. Also, studying a naïve topic is an adventure in itself, however, as COVID-19 is a life-
threatening situation, studying it is not an adventure, rather it is positive to study in terms of
finding some solutions to the problem at a global level. In spite of the fact that the topic is new, a
lot has been researched on the topic, therefore, it becomes easy to access data and the work of
other people. This ease of availability of data and contributions of others is yet another reason of
carrying out the research. This implies that authentic, valid, and genuine information can be
gathered. Not only this, comparing information would also be helped by the collected
information.
45

CONTRIBUTIONS
The study is going to contribute to the literature in the field of Coronavirus pandemic by
making comparisons among different countries regarding how the consumers behaved in
response to the pandemic. The knowledge of their behaviors is going to help to understand the
extent of impact of such a pandemic on individuals as customers and undoubtedly, can help in
taking initiatives accordingly for the present scenario. Not only this, the knowledge possessed
can prove lucrative when such circumstances arise in the future as there would be awareness of
the responses of people as consumers and the concerned ones (especially, the governments) can
enact wisely because those responses serve as guidelines.
DATA AND METHODOLOGY
In the selected context that is the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the methods which
have been proved to be suitable and valid for examining consumer behavior include transaction
data. One of the quite obvious reasons is that the transaction data is easily available from
different sources, which are public in nature. Out of the 5 papers, namely Anderson, Hansen,
Johannesen, and Sheridan (12 May, 2020), Andersen, Hansen, Johannesen, and Sheridan (25
May, 2020), Baker, Farrokhnia, Meyer, Pagel, and Yannelis (2020), Chen, Qian, and Wen
(2020), and Coibion, Gorodnichenko, and Weber (2020), the one used by Baker, Farrokhnia,
Meyer, Pagel, and Yannelis (2020) used de-identified transaction-level from a non-profit Fintech
company. The data included Transaction Data, Gallup Daily Tracker Data and Social Distancing
Data. Out of all these data types, Transaction Data is easily available but Gallup Daily Tracker
Data and Social Distancing Data are not easily accessible.
Another paper that used the transaction data was by Chen, Qian, and Wen (2020) in which
the data obtained from China Union Pay Merchant Services Corporation was made use of
consisting of daily city-level offline consumption dataset. The problem associated with the use of
such data is that the dataset does not include the data from POS machines and QR scanners that
are not operated by China. This implies that there can be a measurement error in the main
46

conclusion when the distribution and use of POS machines and QR scanners change
considerably.
Andersen, Hansen, Johannesen, and Sheridan (25 May, 2020) used transaction-level data
they obtained from the largest bank of Denmark. Andersen, Hansen, Johannesen, and Sheridan
(12 May, 2020) used bank account data to study consumer spending for Danish and Swedish
economies. In both the cases, there is easy availability of data and easy accessibility to data but
the latter paper is better than the former paper in few aspects, which will be discussed in the
forthcoming paragraphs.
However, Coibion, Gorodnichenko, and Weber (2020) employed the use of customized
surveys, which is not an appropriate method to collect data in the case of the impact of COVID-
19 on consumer behavior as conducting surveys in person would be unsafe bearing in mind the
ongoing pandemic. On the top of that, it would be impractical to conduct surveys in person in the
different countries selected owing to the present scenario of the Coronavirus and associated
restrictions. Not only that, conducting surveys online would not bear any fruitful results if the
potential respondents are not offered any price for that. This means that a financial constraint is
involved because funding would be required. Apart from that, designing surveys is a time-
consuming process.
From the above discussion, it can be said that the best dataset is that of Andersen, Hansen,
Johannesen, and Sheridan (12 May, 2020). There are many reasons behind that. The first reason
is that the information on spending and key demographics of a large sample of individuals has
been used. This means that rich and reliable data has been made use of. Second reason is that the
total consumer spending has been studied. Obviously, it is good as it suits the research to be
done. Moreover, the use of offline card transactions has been made and this kind of data is easily
available.
According to Andersen, Hansen, Johannesen, and Sheridan (12 May, 2020), talking about the
variables, daily total consumer spending is the key outcome variable. Here, the total consumer
spending is the sum of credit card and debit card transactions, mobile wallet payments, cash
47

withdrawals, and electronic invoice payments (These are a common mode of payment in case of
online Swedish merchants) associated with online shopping (From card payments, transactions
that are identified as tax repayments or financial services, such as money transfers to other
persons or debt repayments have been excluded). Adding to this, in order to measure the impact
of shutdown owing to COVID-19 pandemic on spending behavior, the data has been divided into
4 categories namely, social spending, personal care services, public transport, and high street and
mall shopping. Social spending is inclusive of payments at such venues, where high social
proximity exists (It is either because a lot of socializing takes place over there or prolonged
indoor exposure to other is involved.) Examples of this are payments on food and drink away
from home that is in cinemas, museums, and galleries, theatres, and sports clubs. Personal care
services are characterized by one-on-one physical contact. In this case, the services included are
that of hairdressers and beauticians. Also, medical services such as that of dentists and opticians
are included. Public transport includes purchases of bus, train, and metro transportation (All
these are potentially high social proximity venues). High street and mall shopping include
clothes and electronic stores, and professional services, for example, auto repair, and dry
cleaning (Here, the involvement of some proximity to merchants and other individuals is there.)
The dataset comprises of customers of bank every month for a particular time period.
There is a declaration from these customers that the accounts being used are the primary
accounts for tax purposes. Moreover, monthly spending at a minimum level is a requirement.
Also, the household spending is equally divided into two members even if one member of the
household spends on behalf of the other. The key demographics of every consumer are age,
gender, and permanent income (This is the average monthly spending in total over a period of
two years and provides details about how much access do individuals have to economic
resources.)
DATA ANALYSIS
48

The main aim of the analysis is to estimate the change in consumer spending owing to the
COVID-19 pandemic. For this, daily data has been used and this means that sharp changes can
be noticed. For each person in the sample and for each day of analysis, the difference between
spending on the day itself and spending on the reference day of the year before has been
calculated. An individual-specific measure of excess spending on a given day is given by a
fraction of the normal spending level per person in the country and is obtained by scaling the
average daily spending per person in the individual’s country over a long period before the
window of analysis. The equation is given as follows:
Where is spending on day t for individual i living in country c, and
is average daily spending per person in that country for all days in 2019.
The individual-level spending change over the COVID-19 crisis is measured as the difference
between average excess spending in the post-shutdown period and average excess spending in
the early pre-shutdown period. The equation is given below:
| tϵ post] - [ ]
Where the first part expresses the average excess spending post-shutdown and the second part
expresses the average excess spending pre-shutdown.
The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in country c is calculated by averaging over individuals in
the sample from that country. The equation for that is given as follows:
49

= [∆ ]
Since excess spending is measured relative to average daily spending for all the individuals,
measures the impact on aggregate spending relative to the 2019 baseline. With the
help of this, the excess spending in the pre-shutdown period is used effectively as a
counterfactual for excess spending in the post-shutdown period in every country. There is an
assumption that year-over-year spending growth between 2019 and 2020 would have been the
same as before the epidemic and the associated shutdown. A period of almost a month has been
excluded from the pre-shutdown period as restrictions along with the anticipation of the potential
crisis may have had an impact on the spending prior to the shutdown. Moreover, the differences
in the average spending changes in different countries may have been noticed owing to the socio-
demographic composition of the sample of bank customers across the countries. In order for the
results to remain unaffected due to such differences, the following regression model has been
used:
= + …… 1
This is for each individual i. Each variable has been represented discretely by a set of one or
more than one dummy. All the interactions between these dummies and the different coefficients
have been included. This implies that the model is fully saturated.
50

To estimate the impact of shutdown on people dependent on their health risk, measures of the
decline in spending within age groups has also been taken into account. These are country-wide
measures. The adjusted measures have been estimated using the following equation:
= + + ….2
Where and
LIMITATIONS
In spite of the fact that few assumptions have been made so that the model works efficiently
and effectively and rich data is collected, still, some drawbacks are there as these assumptions
may have altered the final results. Moreover, the choice of countries has been done randomly and
on the basis that data is available for those countries and scholars have contributed in the field of
COVID-19 and its impact on consumer behavior in different countries. However, the selection of
countries could have been on the basis of the level of impact on the countries. In other words, top
four countries affected by Coronavirus pandemic could have been chosen for more effectiveness
of the research. Apart from that, the fact that the customers of bank in this research use an
account for tax purposes does not mean that they do not have accounts in other banks. This
implies that some important data is missing and can have a significant effect on the results.
CONCLUSION
As is known worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a great impact on the lives of
people. More of that impact was witnessed when shutdown (lockdown) was announced in
different countries. Along with that, problems arose when restrictions such as social distancing,
and limit on buying products were imposed. All these conditions had affected everyone and
people as consumers in particular. Therefore, this research is intended to compare how customers
51

in different countries behaved during the pandemic. Moreover, some expectation is there
regarding the potential results. The first expectation is that some trends can be identified in the
form of positive response or negative response or both depending on whether it was all normal,
before shutdown was there or after the shutdown.
There is another expectation that neutral responses in some cases may be noticed depending on
the severity of the pandemic in different countries and the impact of that on people as consumers.
The panic buying among consumers would be there for sure as people were scared of the
situation and were worried about the future. Thus, stockpiling must have been noticed leading to
the fact that oftentimes, the shelves of necessary items were empty and many customers could
not even buy 1 item of the products but some were having ample of those items. This led to
situation of all for some but not some for all. The former situation existed in the earlier stages of
shutdown (In this case, people were buying loads of milk bottles, toilet papers, hygiene masks,
gloves, handwashes, and hand sanitizers), however, later on, the latter situation was ensured by
the respective governments by imposing the restrictions on the number of products a single
customer could buy. This really helped the staff in different stores where essential items were
sold and at the same time, it gave a sigh of relief to the consumers, who were not at all deprived
of buying the essential items. Later on, one person per trolley rule was started with even more
strictness afterwards that only one person from one household could go for shopping to stores.
At last, it can be said that if the governments of different nations had taken the initiative of the
shutdown along with other restrictions that were imposed later on, the situation could have been
a lot better. This implies that panic among people in general and panic buying behavior could not
have happened. Nevertheless, this is a precious lesson for the governments worldwide to enact
on time as this step is in the welfare of all. More and more research can be done on the topic of
COVID-19 and its impact not only on people as customers but on other aspects such as Gross
Domestic Product, employment status and so on. Methods and data types may vary and may be
able to churn out different results for different countries. The study can even be extended to
inter-continental study, or could be in-depth as in city-wise for even more knowledge of the
impact. Still, it can be asserted that this paper does best in explaining the impact of COVID-19
on consumers in different countries with data available. Further, the data has been used
52

effectively and efficiently to devise tables, charts, and graphs in order to clearly explain the
trends in the form of neutral, or positive, or negative responses to the current situation of
COVID-29 pandemic. The best methodology of regression has been used for best results good
for interpretation by all the people.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Andersen, A.L., Hansen, E.T., Johannesen, N., and Sheridan, A. (2020). Consumer responses to
the COVID-19 crisis: evidence from bank account transaction data. CEBI Working Paper
Series. May 25, 2020. 1-31. Available at SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3609814.
Date accessed: 31-05-2020.
Andersen, A.L., Hansen, E.T., Johannesen, N., and Sheridan, A. (2020). Pandemic, shutdown,
and consumer spending: lessons from Scandinavian policy responses to COVID-19. arXiv:
2005.04630. May 12, 2020. 1-34. Available at: 2005.04630.pdf. Date accessed: 01-06-2020
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