AN ANALYTICAL VIEW OF CONSUMERS' PURCHASING BEHAVIOUR IN TERMS OF E-COMMERCE DURING COVID-19

Due to its numerous advantages, and largely also because of the COVID-19 pandemic, online shopping has become the easiest and most convenient way for consumers to shop. The main goal of the paper is to analyze the current state of online shopping behaviour of consumers in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data was collected using a questionnaire. The questionnaire examined selected factors affecting online shopping during the pandemic. A total of 546 respondents took part in the questionnaire survey. The results showed that respondents shopped online more often during the pandemic than they did before the pandemic. The findings also pointed to significant gender differences in terms of selected factors, specifically in the aspect of health, security, speed and time. It was found that women pay more attention to the aspects of health, speed and time, while for men, the security aspect proved to be the most important. The knowledge gained hereunder may help businesses determine marketing and business management strategies that could be implemented not only during the pandemic but also after the pandemic ends. © 2022, Czestochowa University of Technology. All rights reserved.

An Analytical View of Online Consumers’ Behavior in the Visegrad Group Countries: Social Status Perspective

Online shopping has been growing in importance recently, also due to the pandemic caused by COVID-19. The paper’s main goal was to evaluate and compare the development of online shopping in the Visegrad Group countries (Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary) in the years 2015 to 2020 and to point out significant differences based on the social status of consumers. The paper outlines the theoretical basis of online shopping, describes the current situation in the Visegrad Group countries and current trends in online shopping due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on data from the Eurostat database, the paper outlines the development of online shopping in monitored years and compares the results for individual countries. The results were compared on the basis of the social status of consumers (employed, unemployed, student, pensioner). In all countries in the period under review, there has been recorded an increase in online shopping, with the exception of Slovakia, which recorded a year-on-year decline in 2020. The largest increase compared to 2015 was found in the Czech Republic. A growing share of employed and unemployed online consumers, students and pensioners, was recorded with the highest share in all categories found in the Czech Republic. It could be assumed that online shopping will continue to grow in the future, not only due to the pandemic but also due to its undeniable advantages. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.