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In this study, we employ a choice experiment to analyze New York City residents' preferences for online grocery shopping at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. We employ a latent class specification to identify three market segments and estimate consumers' willingness to pay for a variety of attributes of online grocery services related to the quality of the stock, delivery characteristics, and the cost of the online order. We characterize consumers in each segment by their observed characteristics as well as fear-related latent variables. On the one hand, we find that individuals who are actively protecting themselves against COVID-19 have a higher willingness to pay for almost all attributes. On the other hand, consumers who avoid crowds have a lower willingness to pay, but they assign relatively higher importance to no-contact delivery.
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This study investigates the antecedents of the intention to switch to e-grocery shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is critical in recommending that e-grocery shopping service providers improve their competitiveness by responding to customer expectations. This study proposes a push–pull–mooring framework to describe the influence of dissatisfaction on the physical market, the attractiveness of e-grocery, and switching costs as factors that drive switching intentions. This study surveyed 252 Indonesians aware of the existence of an e-grocery mobile application, and applied structural equation modeling as an analytical method to explain causal relationships between variables thought to influence switching intentions to e-grocery shopping. The results showed that the attractiveness of e-grocery had a significant effect on switching intention. Likewise, switching costs ultimately drive customer intention to switch to e-grocery shopping. However, dissatisfaction is not a driving factor directly affecting switching costs and intentions. Finally, e-grocery services cannot replace the local tradition of Indonesian people who prefer to shop for groceries in physical markets. Nevertheless, these findings provide theoretical and practical contributions to retail grocery businesses that have integrated conventional and digital services as a future strategy that drives business sustainability. © 2023 by the authors.
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This study aims to understand the mechanisms of consumers' online grocery shopping (OGS) acceptance in the current COVID-19 pandemic. Through this perspective, an extended technology acceptance model is employed by including the fear of COVID-19 factor to reveal the extent of the Turkish consumers' acceptance of OGS. We have tested the proposed research model on 455 survey participants living in various cities of Turkey. Structural equation modeling is employed to test the eleven research hypotheses. The results indicate that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and attitude are valid predictors of OGS acceptance. Besides, the fear of COVID-19 negatively moderates these relationships. By revealing these empirical results, this study provides some useful insights into our understanding of the acceptance mechanisms of OGS processes in a pandemic situation. We hope to pinpoint the underlying reasons for the vast expansion of OGS among Turkish customers in pandemic times. © 2022 The authors.
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Purpose: Virtual grocery shopping (VGS), or online grocery shopping, traditionally has seen slow adoption in Canada;however, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced consumers to seek safer ways to shop. Retailers have invested in building new infrastructure to meet the current consumer demands for VGS. However, the main driver for VGS behaviour has not been yet clearly identified. Additionally, it is also not unknown whether the shopping modalities will continue VGS after the pandemic. This study provides insights into consumer intentions to use VGS by extending the model of goal-directed behaviour (MGB) to incorporate consumer technological readiness. Design/methodology/approach: The study collected 935 valid survey responses from an online survey panel of Canadian consumers. A two-step approach was applied to analyse the data, comprising confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM). The data quality and model fit were tested before testing the proposed relationships among the constructs: attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, positive and negative anticipated emotions, as well as technological readiness, desire and behaviour intentions. The mediation role of desire between frequency of past online grocery shopping behaviours and the future behavioural intention was also tested using SPSS PROCESS. Findings: The study results showed that attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, positive and negative emotions, technological readiness and frequency of past VGS have a major impact on consumers' desire to embrace VGS in the future. Consumer desire also played a significant mediating role between frequency of past VGS behaviours and future shopping intention online. In addition, the frequency of past VGS showed an even stronger impact on behavioural intention among female consumers than among male consumers. Originality/value: The findings of this study provide an original insight into the social, cultural and psychological factors that impact consumers' use of VGS, particularly the impacts of gender. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.
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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.
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COVID-19 pandemic resulted in upsurge of online shopping and especially convenience goods. Online grocery companies witnessed tremendous increase in their customer base during that period. It is important for e-retailers and marketers to understand what different factors influenced the intention of customers to do online shopping from specific online shopping sites during pandemic. This study investigates the influence of Health Risk and Pre-Purchase Trust on Online Grocery Shopping during COVID-19 pandemic. Primary data is used for the study collected through online survey conducted during the period of July 2020 to October 2020 from 260 online customers in the Punjab region of India. It is found that during COVID-19 pandemic, health risk and pre-purchase trust are the most important factors that influence the purchase intention of customers for grocery shopping on the Online platform. The results of the study provide implications with factors, applications, and the opportunities that can be useful for supply chain and online retailers of grocery items for attracting more and more customers. © 2022 IEEE.
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The objective of this study was to explore perceptions of online grocery shopping and the online United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Electronic Benefit Transfer card (EBT) program among Head Start caregivers. Three focus groups were conducted between December 2019 and January 2020. Most participants hadn't tried online grocery shopping. Concerns included others choosing perishables, receiving wrong items, and inappropriate substitutes. Perceived benefits included saving time, preventing impulse buys, and eating healthier. Results have broad applicability in the current COVID-19 pandemic where online grocery shopping and the online SNAP EBT program have rapidly expanded across the United States.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Caregivers , Commerce , Food Assistance , Food Supply , Internet , Humans , COVID-19/epidemiology , Pandemics , Poverty , United States , Supermarkets , Early Intervention, Educational , Focus GroupsABSTRACT
People express opinions, make connections, and disseminate information on social media platforms. We considered grocery-related tweets as a proxy for grocery shopping behaviors or intentions. We collected data from January 2019 to January 2022, representing three typical times of the normal period before the COVID-19 pandemic, the outbreak period, and the widespread period. We obtained grocery-related geotagged tweets using a search term index based on the top 10 grocery chains in the US and compiled Google Trends online grocery shopping data. We performed a topic modeling analysis using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), and verified that most of the collected tweets were related to grocery-shopping demands or experiences. Temporal and geographical analyses were applied to investigate when and where people talked more about groceries, and how COVID-19 affected them. The results show that the pandemic has been gradually changing people's daily shopping concerns and behaviors, which have become more spread throughout the week since the pandemic began. Under the causal impact of COVID-19, people first experienced panic buying groceries followed by pandemic fatigue a year later. The normalized tweet counts show a decrease of 40% since the pandemic began, and the negative causal effect can be considered statistically significant (p-value = 0.001). The variation in the quantity of grocery-related tweets also reflects geographic diversity in grocery concerns. We found that people in non-farm areas with less population and relatively lower levels of educational attainment tend to act more sensitively to the evolution of the pandemic. Utilizing the COVID-19 death cases and consumer price index (CPI) for food at home as background information, we proposed an understanding of the pandemic's impact on online grocery shopping by assembling, geovisualizing, and analyzing the evolution of online grocery behaviors and discussion on social media before and during the pandemic.
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The evolution of online shopping started when big players like Amazon began selling all types of merchandise. Customers understood the ease of shopping online, so the trend grew even stronger. It is therefore essential to conduct a study of online shopping usage and the perception of customers during COVID-19, especially in the grocery sector. In this study, approximately 28 respondents from 50 specifically targeted groups were surveyed, and data collection was undertaken through a structured questionnaire. The regression method was conducted to analyze the collected data. Additionally, 5 interviews were conducted to validate and support the findings. Customers definitely preferred online grocery shopping (OGS) services during COVID-19 due to safety, convenience, and government restrictions. The influential factors were very important in this case, like delivery times, good discounts, and the quality of products. Secondly, OGS services were more stable and alert during the pandemic situation, following the government's rules and restrictions. Customers were extremely satisfied with the safety precautions during COVID-19, the assistance provided through helplines for support, and the increased customer reach to make groceries as accessible as other reputable online departments.
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Purpose: The paper attempts to understand and analyze the factors that influence different types of end consumer's behavior while shopping for groceries both online and offline, considering the Covid-19 pandemic situations. Design/ Method/ Approach: A sample size of 145 members of age varying from 18 to 60 were surveyed through a digital form of a questionnaire. Few factors which generally impact the customer's shopping behavior were categorized into six different factors: Purchase, Personal, Behavioral, Operational, Customer Engagement, and Pandemic factors. The respondents were asked to rank the elements according to their preferences. Findings: Factors like Quality of the Product, Hygiene practices followed by the delivery person, representation of products on website/application, Accessibility and Availability of the products were given priority amid pandemic, over other factors which influence customers shopping behavior. We have also found that FMCG advertisements that promise hygiene and safety during product delivery convinced the respondents, convinced the respondents. Practical Implications: The study gives an understanding of the factors influencing the retail customers amid the pandemic. This study can develop marketing strategies to target the middle-class and age group of 18-45.Originality/ Value: Factors influencing the customer's decision to buy groceries online amid the Covid-19 pandemic induced consumer shopping behavior and preferences. Furthermore, the results show how the respondents were affected by the Hygiene promotions made by FMCG companies during the lockdown.
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Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about several changes in the regular life of consumers. One such field is eGrocery, where a surge in online grocery orders were seen when the nation was on lockdown. The purpose of this study is to study the impact of COVID-19 on eGrocery and to find a relation between consumer's demographic characteristics and the satisfaction level of ordering groceries online. Design/methodology/approach: The author has conducted primary research by doing a survey online. One hundred sixty diverse responses were received, which were further analyzed using SPSS software and visually represented through Tableau. Findings: The paper finds that demographic variables, especially gender and age, affect consumers' behavior while making online grocery purchases. Findings also reveal there is a difference among the five recognized attributes, Convenient Delivery Slots, Better Deals/Discounts, Cash free transactions, Return policy, and social distancing, before and during the lockdown. We also find that respondents leaned towards brick and mortar stores for their grocery shopping before the outbreak and more towards eGrocery platforms such as BigBasket (45%), Zomato (25%) during the pandemic. Originality/value: The main contribution of this paper is to analyze the behavior of consumers during the pandemic of 2020. Currently, not many relevant papers are there for reference. This paper can serve as a reference for the students who opt for a similar topic, want to study, and write on the COVID-19 outbreak.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is changing future trends in retailing and e-commerce immensely. Recent research revealed a considerable increase in online grocery shopping (OGS) since the COVID-19 pandemic started. In addition, current statistics indicate a steady increase in OGS over the coming years. Despite this, less is known about whether consumers' behavior is evolving to a 'new normal' or returning to 'old habits' after pandemic restrictions are withdrawn. To address this research gap, we operationalize and empirically analyze offline and online purchasing behavior before, during, and after pandemic restrictions. To this end, we use an extensive household panel dataset of 17,766 households reporting their purchases before, during and after the first lockdown in Germany in 2020. Our findings on offline purchase patterns show that while more than 10% of the consumers avoided brick-and-mortar retail during the lockdown, almost all of them returned afterwards. Looking at online purchase patterns, we find high volatility in OGS for both separate and combined purchase patterns. The combined analysis of purchase patterns (online and offline), reveal that households that avoided brick-and-mortar stores during the lockdown did not switch (completely) to the online channel. Based on our findings that consumers are still in reach of brick-and-mortar retailers we suggest offline retailers act now to retain their customers, e.g., by offering competitive benefits in their stores. OGS operators should urgently analyze the customer churn revealed in this analysis and derive measures to retain them. They do not seem to have succeeded in retaining their customers and keeping them loyal to the online channel during the entire observation period. Even worse, they also failed to convince consumers to use OGS who stayed at home due to the lockdown. The fact that a total of 96.75% of the observed consumers did not practice OGS at all shows that OGS in Germany was in 2020 still in its infancy. However, as current statistics forecast a further substantial increase in OGS over the coming years, our results are increasingly relevant for brand managers, brick-and-mortar retailers and OGS providers in Germany and beyond.
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Adoption of online shopping for groceries has remained low compared to other retail domains but has accelerated due to the long-term impact of COVID-19. This study aims to assess the psychological factors that influence consumers' actual online grocery purchases under the new normal by combining purchase panel data and survey data. This study confirms that online grocery purchase amount is affected by traditional utilitarian channel choice factors including perceived risk, search cost, price-consciousness, and quality-consciousness. In addition, under the new normal, the results reveal that staying at home (especially during weekdays) and having more time leads consumers to purchase more online. Further, consumers with higher anxiety about COVID-19 are more likely to purchase online. The insights from this paper help retailers and marketers develop customer strategies. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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The purpose of this study is to determine the factors that influence the intention to adopt e-grocery shopping service of Vietnamese consumers during Covid-19 Pandemic. The sample size includes 235 responses collected from e-grocery shoppers in Vietnam. The research methodology includes Cronbach's Alpha analysis, EFA analysis and multiple regression analysis. Data is analysed in SPSS 20 software. The results have identified four factors that directly affect the intention to adopt e-grocery shopping service which are social influence, perceived ease of use, brand image and perceived usefulness. Social influence is the most significant factor that impacting the intention to adopt e-grocery shopping service among consumers during Covid-19 Pandemic in Vietnam. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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This paper aims to examine the main challenges encountered by mobile grocery-shopping applications’ (MGSAs) users, wherein the analysis is based on the review comments for three popular MGSAs deployed by main grocery retailers in Europe. The research methodology used was qualitative in the form of a cross-sectional inductive approach, allowing for the identification of the main issues encountered by users and their classification into four categories for a more straightforward presentation. The research findings indicate that despite the below-average level of digital literacy, customers are trying to use MGSAs efficiently and are proposing different areas of improvement, such as the design, the general functionality of the applications, and other factors regarding the specific functionalities of MGSAs. The findings may be leveraged by grocery retailers to exploit this market efficiently in a post-pandemic context;moreover, the study’s results could provide meaningful knowledge to the mobile retail industry, as the detailed insights offer adequate support for enhancing mobile-shopping (m-shopping) applications.
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To understand how COVID-19 changed grocery shopping and explore implications for transportation and environmental justice, we surveyed in May 2021 California members of KnowledgePanel®, the largest and oldest U.S. probability-based panel. We asked how frequently Californians grocery shopped before and during the pandemic, and how they may grocery shop afterward in-store, online with home delivery (“e-grocery”), or online with store/curbside pick-up (“click-and-pick”). We found that most Californians continued to grocery shop in-person during the pandemic, although less frequently than before. Many relied more on e-grocery (+8.9 %) and click-and-pick (+13.3 %), although older generations remained attached to in-store shopping. African American households grocery shopped in-store less than Whites pre-pandemic;post-pandemic, they may compensate with more e-grocery and click-and-pick. While higher levels of environmental injustice (based on CalEnviroScreen) were associated with less in-store shopping, we found no association with e-grocery or click-and-pick. Our results have implications for travel, food logistics, and parking management.
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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.828550.].
ABSTRACT
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. © 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Online grocery shopping has expanded rapidly in the U.S., yet little is known about the retailer's perceptions of online grocery services, which can aid in the expansion of services. Furthermore, many barriers to online grocery utilization persist across geographic areas, especially among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-authorized retailers. This study captured perceived barriers and facilitators of online grocery shopping for managers of SNAP-authorized retailers. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers (n = 23) of grocery stores/supermarkets in urban and rural areas across four different states: TN, KY, NC, and NY. Grocery store managers offering online ordering (n = 15) and managers from brick-and-mortar stores without online services (n = 8) participated in the interviews. Three primary themes emerged among managers offering online ordering: (1) order fulfillment challenges, (2) perceived customer barriers, and (3) perceived customer benefits. Among managers at brick-and-mortar locations without online services, four major themes emerged: (1) thoughts on implementing online shopping, (2) COVID-19 pandemic impacts, (3) competition with other stores, and (4) benefits of maintaining brick-and-mortar shopping. This study provides a deeper understanding of retailers' experience and perceptions of online grocery services among stores authorized to accept SNAP benefits. This perspective is necessary to inform policies and enhance the evolving virtual food marketplace for SNAP customers.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Food Assistance , Commerce , Food Supply , Humans , Pandemics , SupermarketsABSTRACT
COVID-19 has drastically altered the daily lives of many people, forcing them to spend more time at home. This shift significantly increased online grocery shopping and ordering for food while restrictions and social distancing measures were in place. As re-opening begins, little is known about the way virtual and in-person shopping/eating activities will evolve after the pandemic. This study adopts a multivariate ordered probit model to investigate individuals' preferences toward the following activities after the pandemic: online grocery shopping, in-store grocery shopping, online ordering of food, and eating-out at restaurants. The model retained statistically significant error correlations among the activities, confirming the need for joint modeling. Model results suggested that individuals with lower income and with children are likely to perform grocery shopping and eating-out activities in person. Individuals owning a vehicle and a driver's license have a higher likelihood of less frequent online shopping and more frequent in-store grocery shopping. Individuals with transit passes prefer to order groceries online and engage in eat-out activities frequently. Individuals residing in mixed land use areas prefer frequent in-store grocery shopping whereas suburban dwellers prefer it less frequently. The model confirms complementarity and substitution effects. For instance, online food ordering revealed a complementary effect on eating-out activities whereas online grocery shopping confirmed a substitution effect on in-store grocery shopping. These findings provide important behavioral insights into travel activity patterns in the post-pandemic era, which will help in understanding the inter-relationships between online and in-person shopping/eating activities, and accommodating such inter-dependencies within the travel demand forecasting models for effective policy-making.