A STUDY ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC TOWARDS E-COMMERCE WITH REFERENCE TO INDIA
Rahul Choudhary
Assistant Professor at Government Degree College Hatta (Damoh-MP)
Abstract - Human behaviour is pushed in many directions by a critical situation, with certain aspects of behaviour being irreversible. Because the COVID-19 pandemic is not a typical crisis, several methods were implemented to restrict the disease's spread, including complete and then partial lockdown. It has also had an impact on enterprises of all kinds around the world, as well as consumer behaviour, which has evolved in an undefined and unpredictable manner. The current study intends to look at the impact of the corona virus pandemic on e-commerce business activities as well as their impressions of changes in consumer behaviour during this time. This research paper will help business houses in gaining a better grasp of this new environment, which will enable them to take specific steps and adaptation in order to keep their firms afloat during these hard times. The result shows Covid-19 has a moderating effect on consumer behaviour and awareness, which encourages buyers to shop online.
Keywords: Consumer Behaviour, e-Commerce, Online Shopping, Covid-19, Pandemic, Corona.
1 INTRODUCTION
It is clearly revealed that, due to strong internet penetration, online shopping has become a popular modern channel for Indian consumers in recent years. Indian people are currently spending more time online and doing more online purchasing.
Up to 68 percent of internet users have purchased their goods through online marketplaces (Nielsen Survey, 2020).The COVID-19 pandemic is more than just a health emergency. It is referred to as a human crisis. This catastrophe is wreaking havoc on societies on a fundamental level. This COVID-19 disease has a very high mortality rate. More than 200 countries and areas have been affected by the epidemic's uncontrollable effects, making it the world's largest pandemic. As a result of the international problem, the WHO declared a it is Pandemic on the 30th of January, 2020.
WHO further encouraged all countries to collaborate and assist in the rapid prevention of COVID-19 spread as part of the global response to this serious health crisis (Celik et al., 2020).
During the COVID-19 epidemic, e- commerce was king, and retailers devoted a lot of work into creating, improving, and promoting their online storefronts. Some small shops that did not have online stores prior to the shutdown devised interim methods to sell their products online, such as posting things on social media sites and offering pick-up or delivery services. Others have created
social media promotion efforts and offered discounts for their web outlets. Some businesses, such as restaurants, tourism operators, and movie theatres, have been forced to shut down completely due to this pandemic crisis. Furthermore, there has been a considerable drop in demand for consumer goods as a result of customers' incapacity to visit stores or a lack of cash needed for purchases, forcing businesses to adjust their business strategies. Similarly, due to a supply shortage, internet businesses have been having difficulty meeting customer demands. This study will show how the coronavirus epidemic has affected businesses and consumer purchasing behaviour.
Consumers' online buying behaviour has been studied in a number of previous studies. However, because the majority of previous studies were conducted prior to the outbreak of Covid- 19, it is still unclear how this pandemic would affect consumer behaviour when it comes to online buying. Furthermore, the authors intend to use this study to investigate the situation in the context of Indian consumers. Because of this, the author includes the Covid-19 variable as a moderator variable in the research model to account for its impact on online consumer behaviour in India.
Governments first allowed e-commerce businesses to start because they required the least amount of face-to-face
interaction and were easy to avoid any form of gathering. This decreased the possibilities of a pandemic spreading.
Workers must maintain the social distance policy at their own workplaces even today. Because of the social distance created by the epidemic, as well as other effects, purchasers' perspectives on purchasing items have shifted.
Businesses are viewed as critical components in assisting communities in recovering from the economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic, with innovations facilitating society's prosperity following the current pandemic. The simulation revealed glaring gaps in pandemic preparedness and response across the system and as stakeholders began to apply what they had learned from the simulation, COVID- 19 struck, resulting in an exponential spike in the number of cases across countries (ReliefWeb, 2020).
2 REVIEW OF LITEREATURE
According to Nielsen research conducted in March 2020, when Covid-19 occurred, more than 55% of customers reduced their frequency of visiting physical stores, 78% reduced their out-of-home consumption situations, and 38%
purchased more frequently via online shopping channels. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, the kind of commodities sought and purchased have changed dramatically, with 76 percent of searches focusing on hygiene items, 63 percent on travel plans although most of were cancelled and home-cooking and eating becoming more popular almost 63 percent.
There has been a trend toward digitalization in recent years, which has been dramatically accelerated by the epidemic. New technological advancements have altered old procedures in practically every industry, as well as customer attitudes and behaviours. Technology is more important than ever in enabling that all types of activity can continue (Ryandono et al., 2021). Looking at the growth of FMCG companies demonstrates this expansion.
General and cosmetics stores, like the food industry, were booming. The expansion of this industry has been confirmed by reports over the years.
People preferred to purchase their
everyday necessities at this market. The e-commerce business sector was booming, and other industries were following suit. Every business has advantages and disadvantages, and every firm can make money. Everything hinges on customer behaviour. Everything was based on the market's ups and downs prior to COVID-19. COVID-19 and lockout had a significant impact on the market, particularly on consumer purchasing behaviour (Praveen, M.K, 2020).
In their study, Amalia et al. (2012) stated that people are not all the same, and that not everyone has the same impression of a situation with negative consequences, such as an economic or other crisis. New consumption patterns emerge during times of crises. Risk attitude and risk perception are the most critical characteristics that model consumer behaviour in a crisis. The consumer's risk attitude shows his or her judgment of the risk content and how much he or she dislikes it. The consumer's impression of the risk of being exposed to the risk material is reflected in risk perception.
The enormous adverse impact of the present pandemic has resulted in specific government regulations and actions that people must observe and act upon as customers. Customers' conduct, in this way, has a substantial impact on the demand for corporate activities. On the other side, the shutdown of enterprises around the world has an impact on purchasing behaviour, resulting in product and service shortages. As a result, clients will mostly rely on online platforms to meet their needs (Hasanat et al., 2020).
When unanticipated changes occurred in customer demand and sales volumes, such as during the COVID-19 crisis, fashion companies swiftly succumb to overstock. Overstocked items may swiftly go out of style and hence become unavailable for purchase. As a result, it's critical for clothes makers to predict consumer behaviour. Other reasons for unusual purchases could include social pressure, as ―people feared they would be left without necessary products unless they purchased them immediately‖ as a result of the large increase in food purchases (Goodwin et al., 2009), as well as the environment, which has a
significant impact on consumer behaviour (Joshi & Rahman, 2015). Furthermore, consumers' perceived risk relates to their decision-making behaviours as a result of ambiguity that has negative repercussions.
The three groups of consumer behaviour that the approach explains are as follows: Consumer behaviour is influenced by a psychological approach that is based on the relationship between the psyche and consumer behaviour; in different situations, the reaction of consumers is influenced by a sociological approach or it can also be influenced by various social leaders, social occasions that influence the behaviour; consumer requirements are influenced by an economic approach that is based on basic knowledge. Furthermore, the market is exchanged and confronted based on consumer interest. (Valaskova, 2015) 3 RESEARCH METHODLOGY
The participants in this study were male and female online shoppers across the India. A total of 350people responded to an online poll, which was used to call participants. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of coronavirus on e-commerce using a simple random methodology. The questionnaire consists of 9 questions separated into two demographic questions about age, gender, and other factors, as well as some questions about the study measurements.
The questionnaire was examined by some academic experts in the relevant subject
to ensure the validity of the study questions, and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to test the reliability of measurement scales. It was calculated using the R function Cronbach's alpha (data), which yielded a value of 0.78, which is acceptable because it is higher than 0.70. The total number of observations in the sample for analysis was 350. Participants answered to issues on a 5-point Likert scale, with 1 indicating complete disagreement and 5 indicating complete agreement.
3.1 Objectives of Study:
This research paper comprises three main objectives:
1. To analyze the current status of e- commerce in India.
2. To examine the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on e- commerce businesses.
3. To explore the impact of the covid- 19 pandemic on consumer behaviour.
3.2 Hypothesis:
On the basis of above objectives, following null hypotheses are formulated:
1. H01: There is no significant relation between age and purchase frequency of consumers.
2. H02: There is no significant relation between Income and purchase frequency of consumers.
3. H04: There is no significant relation between benefit aspects of online shopping and purchase frequency of consumers.
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 1 Demographic profile of respondents
Parameter Variables Number of respondents Percentage
Gender Male 188 53.72
Female 162 46.28
Age
15-25 Years 112 32.00
25-45 Years 190 54.29
45-60 Years 48 13.71
Monthly Income
₹ 10000-25000 73 20.86
₹ 25000-50000 119 34.00
Above ₹ 50000 158 45.14
Frequency of Online Shopping
Once in a week 23 6.57
Once in Month 56 16.00
Once in 3 Months 124 35.42
Once in 6 Months 147 42.00
Total 350 100.00
Our sample is composed of 350 consumers from India. Table 1 summarizes the respondents’
demographic profiles. The majority are men (54%), which means that the gender ratio differs slightly from the target
population. The ages of the participants range from 15 to 60. Thus, the sample represents well the target group of generations Y and Z investigated in previous studies. The mean age of the respondents is 25-45 years. 50% have a lower to medium level of income, namely, around less than ₹50,000 per month. The majority (58%) participants purchase products online within 3 months.
1. Testing of Hypothesis
H01: There is no significant relation between age and buying frequency of consumers.
The independent sample chi-square test was applied to access whether buying frequency of respondents for online shopping is independent of age or not.
The p value of Pearson chi-square test is found as 0.012 that is smaller than 0.05 hence, null hypothesis is rejected. Thus result indicates that buying frequency of respondents vary with age. Participants with different age show different buying frequency.
Chi-Square Tests
Value df
Asymptotic Significance (2-sided) Pearson Chi-
Square 30.239
a 12 .012
N of Valid
Cases 350
The null hypothesis is rejected (p=.012) The result clearly shows that respondents with lower age group first move with smaller expenditures on online shopping and then move forward. They first intend to try at lower level and when trust increases they moves upward.
2. Testing of Hypothesis
H02: There is no significant relation between Income and buying frequency of consumers.
Independent sample chi-square test is applied to access whether buying frequency of respondents varies with monthly income or not. The p value of Pearson chi-square test is found as 0.029 that is smaller than 0.05 hence, null hypothesis is rejected. Difference in buying frequency of the respondents with respect to their monthly income is found significant. Result shows that purchasing frequency vary with monthly income.
Participants show different purchasing
frequency towards online shopping with respect to their different monthly income.
Chi-Square Tests
Value df Asymptotic Significance (2-sided) Pearson Chi-
Square 16.752a 12 .029 N of Valid
Cases 350
The null hypothesis is rejected (p=0.029)
The result reveals that there is positive relationship between Purchasing frequency and monthly income. As the income grows the frequency of online purchasing also increases. The results are quite obvious with the fact that purchasing capacity increases with income.
3. Testing of Hypothesis
H03: There is no significant relation between benefit aspects of online shopping and purchase frequency of consumers.
Independent sample chi-square test is applied to access whether buying frequency of respondents varies with benefit aspects or not. The p value of Pearson chi-square test is found as 0.028 that is smaller than 0.05 hence, null hypothesis is rejected. Result shows that buying frequency vary due to benefits given by online merchants.
The null hypothesis is rejected (p=0.028)
The result indicates that consumers prefer online shopping over brick and mortar shop due to benefits aspects like Home delivery, Time saving, Convenient and Affordable price etc. To retain their existing consumers and getting new consumers online merchants should not only taking care security related issues but also benefit aspects.
5 CONCLUSION
It can be concluded on the basis of study that online shopping is gaining popularity among the youth of India.COVID-19 has had a significant impact on customer
Chi-Square Tests
Value df Asymptotic Significance (2-sided) Pearson Chi-
Square 132.143
a 126 .028
N of Valid
Cases 350
perceptions. Consumer purchasing habits have evolved significantly from local establishments to online shopping.
Because the virus is still spreading, people want to keep their social distance for a longer period of time. Consumer purchasing behaviour will not be the same as it was before the outbreak and business houses need to change to their strategy according. E-business, it is widely assumed, are pioneering the way in giving solutions and chances for a transition of old business practises in an increasingly digitalized environment, particularly during COVID-19.
Irrespective of Gender, Income and education level people are use to go e- commerce websites/apps and make purchase online. There are several factors such as Home delivery, Time saving, Quality of products, Affordable prices etc.
are affect positive buying behaviour of online buyers while on other hand Security, Privacy of Information and Guinness of product affects negatively. So the e-Commerce company must look after these factors to be successful and expand their business.
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