Consumers in the Pandemic: Contented or Discontented

Abstract

This chapter investigates pandemic impact in a variety of industries, including food, travel, education and pharmaceuticals, considering elements such as isolation, emotions and social influences, which can lead to panic buying. The goal of this research is to ascertain how COVID-19 influences the buying decisions of customers. Additionally, the study aims to identify consumer consumption trends for a spectrum of products and services, including fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs), entertainment, pharmaceuticals, travel and tourism. A comprehensive review of different research papers is done to conclude. The papers considered are from 2020 to 2022. Different keywords are used to search the relevant papers such as ‘pandemic’, ‘COVID-19’, ‘behaviour’, ‘impulsive’, etc. TCCM framework has been applied while reviewing the articles. During the isolation, consumer behaviour moved to panic buying and stockpiling, favouring organic basics, and encouraging e-commerce, as well as economic nationalism favouring made-in-India products. This study helps in knowing the reasons for change in consumers' behaviour for different products and services due to unforeseeable situations like COVID-19 and can find possible ways to deal with them. Business owners learn about changing consumer purchasing behaviours and how to modify products. The government can change policies to improve medical tourism and social protection.

Citation

Arya, K. and Chauhan, R. (2024), "Consumers in the Pandemic: Contented or Discontented", Singh, N., Kansra, P. and Gupta, S.L. (Ed.) Navigating the Digital Landscape, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 181-216. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83549-272-720241011