Exploring Consumer Responses to COVID-19: Meaning Making, Cohort Effects, and Consumer Rebound

The COVID-19 pandemic affected a variety of consumer needs, preferences, and behaviors but with considerable heterogeneity. This article develops a conceptual framework that focuses on (1) how consumers responded to the pandemic, (2) drivers of heterogeneity, and (3) effects that may persist in a post-pandemic world. Grounded in meaning-making theory, the framework derives four categories of consumer meaning making in light of COVID-19. Then, the framework draws on life course research to theorize that the pandemic driven by the perceived severity of its impact on certain consumer segments can elicit turning point and cohort effects (e.g., decreased control and increased risk perceived by consumers). In parallel, the framework predicts that certain other consumers will rebound and return to normality relatively quickly. Our process model offers meaningful implications for future consumer and marketing research.

Inequality, Stress, and Obesity: Socioeconomic Disparities in the Short- and Long-Term Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic

In a longitudinal study of a large sample of Americans, we found that people with a low socioeconomic status (SES) gained more weight during the COVID-19 pandemic, further exacerbating their vulnerability to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The association between SES and weight gain was mediated by stress, but not by the other environmental or psychological factors suggested by prior research (e.g., temporal focus). A serial mediation model demonstrated that stress both decreased energy expenditures (through reduced physical activity) and increased energy intake (through higher and less healthy food intake). A follow-up study revealed that the early effects of the pandemic on weight and behavioral changes persisted 20 months later. Furthermore, stress levels decreased among people with a higher SES but remained high for those with a lower SES. These findings demonstrate how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated health inequalities and provides insights for market-based and government solutions.

The influence of personal and public health and smart applications on biking behavior in South Korea

Bicycling is an important form of active transport that contributes to sustainability mobility as a result of its role in personal and public health and emissions reduction. The significance of which has grown since the COVID‐19 pandemic outbreak. However, biking studies have neglected, in theoretical terms, developing an understanding of why consumers bike. Therefore, this research designs and verifies an extended theory of planned behavior adding personal and public health and a moderator of perceived smart application usage to help explain such consumer behavior. This study is based on a digital survey of South Koreans who biked for leisure, tourism, and/or work, utilizing partial least squares‐structural equation modeling with multi‐group analysis and Fuzzy‐set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Results revealed that personal health is most important to cyclists, followed by public health, attitude, and subjective norm. Interestingly, people with perceived high usage of smart applications for biking show stronger relationships between public health and attitude and perceived behavioral control and behavioral intention than low users. In contrast, individuals with perceived low usage of smart applications for biking reveal a stronger relationship between attitude and behavioral intention than high users. The high and low user groups of smart applications also distinctively differ in levels of cycling behavior. Consequently, this work offers several theoretical and managerial implications for research and practice.

The Pursuit of the Solitary

Physical distancing and masking due to COVID-19 were initially thought to magnify isolation and loneliness. Instead, pursuits of the solitary have become socially recognized, valued, and positively appraised as engaging experiences of intense concentration. Solitude that is fostered by direct personal agency, individual choice, and commitment includes a diverse range of repetitive, self-regulating, and goal directed activities. These are theorized to constitute disciplined practices that are importantly connected to periods of cognitive and emotional self-development. These spawn positive emotions that function as ethical safeguards to the hazards of conformity.

Covid Time: How Quarantine Affects Feelings of Elapsed Time

The lockdowns imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly upended people's lives and daily structure. In this survey of 1,506 Americans conducted in June 2020, we test how quarantine affects feelings of elapsed time (the subjective temporal distance from an event). We find that feelings of elapsed time are determined either by how people spent their time in quarantine or by how much time since an event was spent in quarantine, depending on whether people are still in quarantine at the time of evaluation. Specifically, whether people quarantined alone and the extent to which they maintained a temporal structure affect feelings of elapsed time while people are in quarantine;once people leave quarantine, feelings of elapsed time depend on how much of the time following an event was spent in quarantine, rather than on how they spent their time in it.

Millennials' changing mobility preferences: A telecommuting case in Istanbul

Daily mobility behaviors, especially in cities with high traffic density, are among the most fundamental drivers of quality of life. Obligatory commuting necessitates individuals sacrificing their time, money, and geographic freedom to ensure their mobility. The personal cost of fatigue, stress, and environmental cost of carbon emissions is likewise substantial. The COVID‐19 pandemic led to a widespread shift to telecommuting. The pandemic has permitted an unprecedented opportunity to study Millennials' attitudes towards commuting and telecommuting. A semi‐structured interview method was used with Millennial (now the largest percentage of the workforce) white‐collar (disproportionately able to do their work remotely) workers living in the megacity of Istanbul to understand how telecommuting has altered consumer commuting habits, values, preferences, and well‐being. The results of this study show that Millennial white‐collar workers in Istanbul see compulsory commuting as a waste of time, a stress factor, and an unwanted task. The shift towards telecommuting lowered the Millennials' tolerance for traffic and long commutes and reveals willingness for immobility at peak hours and appreciation of spatial independence as a lifestyle that increases quality of life. The need for understanding transport decisions has never been more pressing with the growth of megacities and the climate change crisis. This research has important implications for white‐collar employees and their employers, as well as academics and public policy makers, who seek to understand mobility preferences and lifestyles of different generations and the environmental implications in a dynamic environment.

Friends Interrupted: How Reunions after Social Separation Motivate Physically Transformative Consumer Behavior

The COVID-19 pandemic forced large-scale social separation in a way not previously seen in modern societies. Though painful for many, this experience offers us the opportunity to learn about the way that consumption changes in the face of such social separation. In this article, we report three studies revealing that the greater the length of social separation, the more likely people are to perceive their reunion as an opportunity to refresh the impressions that others hold of them. In turn, the likelihood to engage in physically visible transformative behavior increases. Not only does this research help us to better understand the direct effects of COVID-19-related separation, but it also highlights an undocumented effect of lengthy social separation in general, implying the need to learn more about such experiences. Furthermore, results identify a new trigger for "fresh start” effects, showing their potential to play a role in interpersonal relationships.

Ending Hunger: How COVID-19 Revealed a Path to Food Access for All

This article explores how a devastating hunger crisis, which seemed destined to accompany the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, was thwarted by historic federal emergency food policy interventions. We outline the vital public policy innovations in food access launched during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the nonprofit emergency food network programs designed to implement and accompany these policies. In particular, we focus on innovations that addressed hunger for two vulnerable groups, children and the elderly, and we describe how these innovations increased food access. Finally, we advocate for the continuation of COVID-19 anti-hunger pandemic policies in the "next normal” because they reveal a path to end hunger that preserves people's dignity and provides healthy and affordable food access for all.

Consumer Pandemic Coping: A Stage Model of COVID-19 Response

The current article presents a descriptive analysis of marketplace data from an online freelance platform in the early months of COVID-19. We investigate changes in the behavioral patterns of buyers and sellers on the platform to study consumer coping responses during the pandemic. We draw from the literature on coping with loss and personal adversity to present a consumer pandemic coping model derived from a synthesis of existing stage theories of coping and adaptation. The model presented can explain the aggregate changes in marketplace activity (e.g., traffic, sentiment, adoption, transaction patterns) we observe during the first several months of the pandemic. Our findings suggest that temporal coping processes can drive market behavior. This article provides insights about consumer coping to researchers and policy makers, as well as to firms who aim to be more prepared in the face of future crises.

What beliefs underlie decisions to buy groceries online?

Online grocery shopping has become increasingly popular in many countries due to Covid‐19. Although there is plenty of research on consumer adoption and use of online grocery shopping, only a few studies focus on understanding the underlying beliefs of experienced buyers. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour and following its recommendations, the present study set out to explore the actual beliefs that underlie attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control to buy groceries online among those who have been doing it regularly for a longer time. A structured qualitative approach, in this case an elicitation study, was applied to uncover the shared ideas, modal salient beliefs, among a group of experienced buyers (n = 14). The study found that time‐saving and convenience, which for many meant avoiding the discomfort of in‐store shopping, combined with assisted meal planning and simultaneous ordering were considered important for experienced online shoppers. This suggests that further assistance in the planning to order process may be welcome, including more proactive prompts and suggestions. The quality of perishable goods was still a concern after months of online shopping, along with a limited product range, which for some had meant less variation in meals. Suboptimal user interface and delivery‐related inflexibility caused some concern. Retailers in the grocery business stand before major capital expenditure if they wish to expand their online offerings and services. The study at hand provides valuable initial insight into what drives consumer behaviour in this respect.

Online shopping cart abandonment: A review and research agenda

The COVID‐19 pandemic has put online shopping at the forefront of retailing;however, the issue related to shopping cart abandonment remains an eternal nemesis of e‐retailers. To understand extant research on online shopping cart abandonment (OSCA), a framework‐based systematic literature review was conducted with the purpose of gaining more insights into existing studies in this context. Specifically, this review examined the literature related to OSCA in terms of theory, context, characteristics, and methods to provide (i) a comprehensive review of the current state of research and (ii) constructive future research agenda in the area. Using scientific procedures, a total of 52 research articles were retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science databases published during the period 2003–2022. The results revealed that most research was founded by the stimulus‐organism‐response (S‐O‐R) model and the buyer behavior theory, focused in the context of the United States and China, and appeared to use quantitative methods. As a result, this review is expected to assist researchers in better understanding the OSCA context, thus paving the way for further research and development in the area. In addition, providing practitioners with a better panorama to address the issue by expanding the literature review and highlighting the inhibiting factors of OSCA.

Platform urbanism in a pandemic: Dark stores, ghost kitchens, and the logistical-urban frontier

As demand for e-commerce surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, investors began pouring billions into start-ups promising to accelerate digitization and automation in small-margin, winner-take-all sectors, such as retail, grocery, and dining. I examine two business models that feature prominently in this swell of financial optimism: dark stores and ghost kitchens. Both sacrifice consumer-facing real estate to create logistical spaces for online order fulfillment, and both are predicted to become permanent fixtures of the post-pandemic economic landscape. However, few have commented on the consequences of this future-in-the-making or who is likely to suffer them. The essay therefore anticipates how "going dark” may impact consumers, workers, and urban geographies. I argue that going dark represents a new threshold in the spatial materialities and financial imaginary of platform urbanism, what I call the logistical-urban frontier. I theorize how this frontier threatens historically disenfranchised urban communities, and I conclude the essay with a reflection on the conflicted temporalities of logistical speculation.

Consumers under pandemic anxiety: Suppressors, intensifiers, and resilients

COVID‐19 turned the lives of all people across the world upside down. Everyone faced the threat of catching the virus and denial of access to the physical marketplace. For many, it also brought the threat of partial or full unemployment. This trinity of upheaval produced heightened anxiety. The purpose of this article is to understand how consumers coped with anxiety during the pandemic and lockdown periods. We hypothesized that consumers coped with such anxiety by engaging in diverse creative and productive activities, which served as anxiety suppressors. In addition, we hypothesized that one's enduring mind positivity provided resilience and helped consumers mitigate their anxiety. In survey data from a random sample of 550 consumers in the United States, we found support for these hypotheses. Consumers who engaged in voluntary productive activities suffered less anxiety. And consumers with higher resilience levels also felt lower levels of anxiety. In addition, we found that enjoyment of shopping intensified the experience of COVID‐19‐induced anxiety. The research framework linking this specific set of antecedents to COVID‐induced anxiety and its affirmation in this study are new to the literature and therefore offer a notable contribution to it. These findings show two pathways to marketers: Organize and promote voluntary productive activities and offer means for consumers to cultivate personal resilience, on for‐profit and not‐for‐profit platforms. Also, we suggest a future consumer research agenda for when fate again brings us face‐to‐face with similar or even lesser catastrophes, which, according to scientific forecasters, it sadly but surely will.

Predicting the antecedents of consumers' intention toward purchase of mutual funds: A hybrid PLS‐SEM‐neural network approach

The current study intends to identify the behavioural antecedents of investors' attitude and investment intention toward mutual funds using a robust SEM‐ANN approach. It focuses on novel factors in the purview of the COVID‐19 pandemic, increasing digitalization and social media usage. The research outcome indicates that attitude (ATB), awareness (AW) and investment decision involvement (IDI) have a significant positive relation with investment intention (BI). In contrast, perceived barrier (PBR) negatively relates to investment intention. Herd behaviour (HB) and social media influence (SMI) do not influence investment intention toward mutual funds. Moreover, all the tested predictors share direct relation with the attitude toward mutual fund investment, barring perceived risk (PR), which has an inverse relationship. As per the outcome of ANN sensitivity analysis, attitude is the most crucial determinant of investment intention. It is followed by awareness (AW), perceived barriers (PBR) and investment decision involvement (IDI). Among the significant determinants of attitude, self‐efficacy (SE) is the most important determinant, followed by perceived usefulness (PU), perceived emergency (PEMER), subjective norms (SN) and perceived risk (PR).

The effect of utilitarian and hedonic motivations on mobile shopping outcomes. A cross‐cultural analysis

Mobile devices are ubiquitous in the lives of modern consumers, who use them for information‐seeking and purchasing activities, fostering the emergence of m‐commerce. This trend has been exacerbated by the COVID‐19 pandemic, which has boosted m‐commerce growth in both developed and developing countries. Hence, there is a need for cross‐cultural research concerning the factors affecting behavioural intentions. Drawing upon the hedonic information systems model, we measure the impact of utilitarian factors on satisfaction, repurchase intention, and eWOM through the mediation of enjoyment across two countries characterized by different stages of m‐commerce readiness and culture: China and Italy. Findings suggest that the impact of utilitarian factors on satisfaction is stronger among Italian users than Chinese users. On the contrary, for Chinese users, who use their mobile phones as a primary device to shop online, the mediation effect of enjoyment on satisfaction and eWOM is stronger. With this study, we contribute to cross‐cultural research in m‐commerce and provide guidelines to mobile retailers operating in diverse international markets.

Student Relationships in Hybrid Consumer Affairs Courses During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The family and consumer sciences (FCS) discipline focuses on developing knowledge and skills that help individuals make informed decisions about their well-being and relationships (American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences, n.d.). FCS content areas include consumer affairs (e.g., personal and family finance), nutrition, hospitality management, and child development among others. These content areas are the focus of many undergraduate degree programs. This article describes students' relationships with instructors and peers in hybrid undergraduate consumer affairs courses in Fall 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic at South Dakota State University

The BOK As a Lens for Understanding Current Student Experiences

Amidst the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the collective social movements against systemic racism, an interesting opportunity presented itself for educators in family and consumer sciences (FCS). These two significant and complex scenarios have proven to be relevant avenues for understanding student experiences since the onset of the pandemic and for introducing and teaching the core concepts, integrative elements, and cross-cutting themes of the Family and Consumer Sciences Body of Knowledge (FCS-BOK). With these themes now connected to numerous societal occurrences—and with individual experiences still occurring in real-time—tying the FCS-BOK to the pandemic and social movement presents a significant opportunity for educators to gain insights into student experiences and connect them to the FCS-BOK.

Exploring Small Fashion Retailers' Green Efforts in Supply Chain Management and Coping Strategies During COVID-19

Few studies have investigated the engagement of America's small businesses in sustainability. The purpose of this study was to explore the current business model of small fashion retailers, target customers, product distribution channels, sources of revenue, and green efforts in supply chain management based on the Six-R framework. This study also investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small fashion businesses. Qualitative data were gathered through in-depth interviews of owners/employees of four small fashion retailers. Interview findings revealed that small fashion retailers implemented green supply chain practices through recycling, reusing, and reducing. Findings indicated that cost and limited resources challenged the retailers in making green efforts. The results suggest small fashion retailers can improve sustainability engagement by re-designing, recovering, and remanufacturing products in the operational and manufacturing processes. COVID-19 pushed the retailers to deal with their problems in new and creative ways.

Implementation of the National Diabetes Prevention Program in FCS Extension During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Participant Experiences, Lessons Learned

This study explores the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on (a) National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) delivery by Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Extension agents and (b) participant perceptions of the NDPP and its impact on health. Semi-structured interviews with 12 FCS agents and 12 focus groups (n = 57) were thematically analyzed. Agents reported both positive and negative effects of transitioning to virtual delivery of the NDPP during COVID-19, including reduced session preparation time, improved communication, and data collection challenges. Although participants preferred in-person delivery, the virtual NDPP provided social support for physical and mental health during the pandemic.