Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Consumer Behavior During Adverse Events
Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Consumer Behavior During Adverse Events

Author(s): Lenka Veselovská
Subject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: Udruženje ekonomista i menadžera Balkana
Keywords: Consumer behavior; Adverse events; Risk management; COVID-19 pandemic; Factors influencing consumer behavior; Consumer age
Summary/Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic created unique conditions in societies with various implications for the future. A research study based on empirical research conducted on a sample of 1172 consumers explores the consumer behavior changes that occurred during the pandemic. It was discovered that the consumers in the age group 30 – 39 years old living alone to the greatest extent decreased the amount of products they bought during the pandemic. In 2021, the most significant impact of the shop availability factor was recorded, from the point of view of consumers aged 50 to 59. Consumers aged 40-49 were most likely to be influenced by expert information in their purchasing decisions and they were the ones who most trusted the official government information on pandemic development. Fear was an important factor that influenced consumer behavior during the pandemic. The fear of job loss manifested itself in higher savings among consumers in the 40-59 age group. On the contrary, lower age categories of consumers were more concerned about the health of their loved ones, which was mainly reflected in the tendency to shop in brick-and-mortar stores unaccompanied. Guidelines were formulated based on these findings in order to predict how the consumers will adapt their behavior during the next adverse event that may occur in the future. By explaining in detail what changes occurred and why they occurred it is possible to predict consumer behavior during adverse events in the near future.

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