IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/rom/bemann/v13y2023i4p47-60.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Shifts In Consumer Behavioural Trends During And Post The Covid-19 Pandemic: An Analysis Using The Theory Of Reasoned Action

Author

Listed:
  • Faith TINONETSANA

    (Durban University of Technology, South Africa)

  • Steve Kayambazinthu MSOSA

    (Mangosuthu University of Technology, Durban, South Africa)

Abstract

The COVID-19 epidemic has affected how consumers work, travel, communicate, and shop, among other things. This study examined significant shifts in consumer behaviour that were induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and assess whether these shifts persist in the post-Covid era or if consumers reverted to their previous behaviour. The study focused on consumer behaviour in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. The study used a qualitative approach. This study utilised purposive sampling to select 15 participants during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and an additional 12 participants after the pandemic. During the peak of COVID-19, online interviews were conducted, while face-to-face interviews took place in the post-pandemic phase. This methodological approach enabled a thorough investigation of consumer behavioural shifts during and after the pandemic. The findings reveal that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a substantial surge in online shopping, driven by health concerns and convenience, but post-COVID, participants reverted to their pre-pandemic shopping habits, emphasising a return to physical stores. Further, in the post-Covid era, consumer behaviour shifted towards greater loyalty and stability, with many individuals reducing the frequency of changing stores or brands compared to the pandemic's peak. The study also reveals a significant shift in consumer behaviour towards value-based buying during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting a change in consumer attitudes influenced by economic factors and pandemic experiences. The findings reflect changes in consumer attitudes and intentions, demonstrating the applicability of TRA to these shifts. Additionally, the findings highlight the alignment between consumers' attitudes and behaviour, indicating that TRA principles were evident in their shopping decisions. Retailers should adopt a robust omnichannel strategy that integrates both physical and online shopping experiences. Recognising that consumers value the convenience of online shopping but also seek the in-store experience, businesses should provide seamless options for customers to switch between channels. Retailers should adopt an omnichannel approach, seamlessly blending online and in-store shopping experiences. Marketers should focus on affordability, promotions, and trust-building to align with consumers' value-based buying preferences. Future research could investigate deeper into the long-term sustainability of the observed shifts in consumer behaviour towards physical stores, loyalty, stability, and value-based buying. Assess whether these changes persist or evolve over an extended period beyond the immediate post-pandemic era.

Suggested Citation

  • Faith TINONETSANA & Steve Kayambazinthu MSOSA, 2023. "Shifts In Consumer Behavioural Trends During And Post The Covid-19 Pandemic: An Analysis Using The Theory Of Reasoned Action," Business Excellence and Management, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 13(4), pages 47-60, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:rom:bemann:v:13:y:2023:i:4:p:47-60
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://beman.ase.ro/no134/4.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Van Kien Pham & Thu Ha Do Thi & Thu Hoai Ha Le, 2020. "A study on the COVID-19 awareness affecting the consumer perceived benefits of online shopping in Vietnam," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 1846882-184, January.
    2. Wang, Xiao-Wu & Cao, Yu-Mei & Park, Cheol, 2019. "The relationships among community experience, community commitment, brand attitude, and purchase intention in social media," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 475-488.
    3. Sheth, Jagdish, 2020. "Impact of Covid-19 on consumer behavior: Will the old habits return or die?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 280-283.
    4. Julia Koch & Britta Frommeyer & Gerhard Schewe, 2020. "Online Shopping Motives during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Lessons from the Crisis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-20, December.
    5. Eger, Ludvík & Komárková, Lenka & Egerová, Dana & MiÄ Ã­k, Michal, 2021. "The effect of COVID-19 on consumer shopping behaviour: Generational cohort perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Szwajca Danuta, 2022. "The Use of Digital Communication Channels by Polish Consumers – Changes Caused by the Pandemic," Foundations of Management, Sciendo, vol. 14(1), pages 37-50, January.
    2. Elshaer, Ibrahim A. & Alrawad, Mahmaod & Lutfi, Abdalwali & Azazz, Alaa M.S., 2024. "Social commerce and buying intention post COVID-19: Evidence from a hybrid approach based on SEM – fsQCA," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    3. Cruz-Cárdenas, Jorge & Zabelina, Ekaterina & Guadalupe-Lanas, Jorge & Palacio-Fierro, Andrés & Ramos-Galarza, Carlos, 2021. "COVID-19, consumer behavior, technology, and society: A literature review and bibliometric analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    4. Ashutosh Sarkar & Debadyuti Das & Arindam Debroy, 2024. "Panic Buying, Product Substitution and Channel-Shifting Behaviour During Pandemic," IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, , vol. 13(1), pages 25-43, January.
    5. Norzaidi Mohd Daud & Raja Nur Hannah Fatimah Raja Mohd Hashimb & Anis Irdina Yang Asri & Nurul Haslinda Mohd Azmaruza & Syed Amir Zakir Syed Azizi, 2023. "Information Commerce (i-Commerce) Usage and Purchase Decisions Among University Students During COVID-19," Tržište/Market, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, vol. 35(1), pages 77-92.
    6. Shunying Zhao & Qiang Yang & Hohjin Im & Baojuan Ye & Yadi Zeng & Zhinan Chen & Lu Liu & Dawu Huang, 2022. "The impulsive online shopper: effects of COVID-19 burnout, uncertainty, self-control, and online shopping trust," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-15, December.
    7. INOUE Hiroyasu & TODO Yasuyuki, 2022. "Has COVID-19 Permanently Changed Online Consumption Behavior?," Discussion papers 22018, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    8. Morimura, Fumikazu & Sakagawa, Yuji, 2023. "The intermediating role of big data analytics capability between responsive and proactive market orientations and firm performance in the retail industry," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    9. Eleonora Annunziata & Tommaso Pucci & Jacopo Cammeo & Lorenzo Zanni & Marco Frey, 2023. "The mediating role of exogenous shocks in green purchase intention: evidence from italian fashion industry in the Covid-19 era," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2023(1), pages 59-79, March.
    10. Zielke, Stephan & Komor, Marcin & Schlößer, Andrea, 2023. "Coping strategies and intended change of shopping habits after the Corona pandemic – Insights from two countries in Western and Eastern Europe," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    11. Pop, Rebeka-Anna & Hlédik, Erika & Dabija, Dan-Cristian, 2023. "Predicting consumers' purchase intention through fast fashion mobile apps: The mediating role of attitude and the moderating role of COVID-19," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PA).
    12. Tarek Ben Hassen & Hamid El Bilali & Mohammad S. Allahyari & Darjan Karabašević & Adriana Radosavac & Sinisa Berjan & Željko Vaško & Pavle Radanov & Ibrahim Obhođaš, 2021. "Food Behavior Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Statistical Analysis of Consumer Survey Data from Bosnia and Herzegovina," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-11, August.
    13. Alzaidi, Maram Saeed & Agag, Gomaa, 2022. "The role of trust and privacy concerns in using social media for e-retail services: The moderating role of COVID-19," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    14. Jui-Lung Chen & Siriwat Prommetta, 2022. "A Discussion on University Students’ Online Shopping Behaviors Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 12(3), pages 1-1.
    15. Grimmer, Louise, 2022. "Lessons from the COVID19 pandemic: The case of retail and consumer service firms," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    16. Carbó-Valverde, Santiago & Cuadros-Solas, Pedro J. & Rodríguez-Fernández, Francisco & Sánchez-Béjar, José Juan, 2023. "Mobility restrictions and payment choices: The case of the Covid-19 pandemic," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    17. Daniel, Christopher & Hernandez, Tony, 2024. "What retail apocalypse? A Delphi forecast of commercial space demand in the Toronto region," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    18. Veronika Harantová & Alica Kalašová & Simona Skřivánek Kubíková & Jaroslav Mazanec & Radomíra Jordová, 2022. "The Impact of Mobility on Shopping Preferences during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Evidence from the Slovak Republic," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-27, April.
    19. Sigitas Urbonavicius & Karina Adomaviciute – Sakalauske, 2023. "Learning from Pandemic Periods: Elements of the Theory of Behavioral Transformation," Tržište/Market, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, vol. 35(2), pages 251-266.
    20. Budziński, Wiktor & Daziano, Ricardo, 2023. "Preferences for online grocery shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic — the role of fear-related attitudes," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rom:bemann:v:13:y:2023:i:4:p:47-60. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Zamfir Andreea (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/mnasero.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.