An International Analysis of Consumers’ Consciousness During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Slovakia and Hungary

Research background: Due to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus and its pernicious effects on the economy, a great change can be observed in consumer attitudes towards shopping. Needless to say, the demand for necessities comes to the fore, and consumers need to face a lot of hindrances when it comes to the decision-making process. It should be emphasised that consumers have responsibilities and rights. One can legitimately raise the question. Are they familiar with either of the aforementioned facts? Purpose: The main objective of the research is to analyse whether an increasing level of educational attainment affects consumer awareness in Hungary and Slovakia. Moreover, the paper investigates whether there are any significant differences in age groups regarding consumer awareness. Finally, the paper investigates whether there are any statistically significant interactions between the respondents’ gender, employment status and conscious saving attitudes. Research methodology: Kendall’s tau-b correlation, the rank-based nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis H test, and the Loglinear analysis were used to examine the formulated hypotheses. Results: It can be declared for both countries that an increasing level of educational attainment strongly affects consumers’ awareness. Furthermore, three major differences can be noticed in various age groups in the case of Hungary. Novelty: Education and age affect consumers’ awareness, whilst gender and employment status affect saving attitudes.