Rizal Technological University

M. Eusebio Ave., Brgy. San Miguel, Pasig City

Effects of COVID-19 on Consumer’s Behavior in Amidst Pandemic

S.Y. 2020-2021

A Research Proposal
Presented to the Faculty of Rizal Technological University
Maybunga, San Miguel, Pasig City

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Subject Understanding the Self

by;

Secopito, Dianna Rose P.

Talisayon, Meilah Joyce C.
Tarras, Laurence I.
Young, Mae Ann L.

Submitted to:
Prof. Maria Teresa Beloy

June 2021

Table of Contents

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M. Eusebio Ave., Brgy. San Miguel, Pasig City

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Introduction……………………………...………………………………… 3

Background of the Study…………………………………….… ..... 3

Statement of the Problem …………………………….…………….6

General Objectives ………………………………………….….....…6

Specific Objectives ………………..……………..…….………6

Significance of the Study …………………………..………..….…..7

The Scope and Delimitation ……………………………..…………7

Review of Literature …………………………………………….…….……8

Methodology…………………………………………………….…………...10

Reference ……………….……………………………………..….………..12

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

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M. Eusebio Ave., Brgy. San Miguel, Pasig City

The COVID-19 pandemic is a virus that infects people and causes disease and, in the
worst-case scenario, death. As a result of the epidemic, many measures that have disrupted
consumer purchasing have been adopted, such as social separation, wearing masks and face
shields, age limits for going outside, curfews, and so on. A consumer is a person who, after
identifying a need or desire, purchases a product and engages in the consuming process.
However, consumers nowadays are impacted by the present circumstance while making purchase
decisions, and varied consequences arise on consumer behavior as a result of the epidemic.

Nowadays it’s more easy and secure to purchase online rather than going outside, which
leads to significantly disrupted of consumer behavior and all usage is limited. Consumers have
learned to adapt in new and novel ways in the face of time flexibility but geographic rigidity
opportunity for a recent notable surge in online shopping. The consumers are likely to adopt
newer technology that makes work, education, and consumption more convenient as they adjust
to house imprisonment for an extended length of time. Accepting digital technology is likely to
cause established behaviors to change as well as public policy that enforce new consumption
patterns, particularly in public venues like airports, concerts, and parks.

In early March, the impact on buying behavior increased in tandem with the pandemic
itself. When Numerator began fielding our poll the week of March 10, just one in every three
customers said the impending COVID-19 epidemic had an influence on their shopping habits. In
terms of a particular implementation, because scarcity is a major psychological motivator for
panic purchasing, minimizing perceived scarcity may be a successful crisis management
technique. As a result, in order to minimize undue market harm while battling the epidemic, the
government must advise people about which items can help them deal with the virus and which
ones are unneeded at this time. It can also drive the construction of cloud platforms for
manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing in order to implement digital management and
material support more effectively through real-time data exchange. The media should remove
negative shortage stories and replace them with healthy and good information. To debunk rumors
and lessen worry about shortages, business associations or organizations could work with the
media to disclose information on production and supply; stores can implement quotas but should

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avoid advertising particularly conspicuous “restricted purchases” and “sold out” phrases. The
thesis provides additional testable hypotheses for future study to understand customer feelings or
requirements in buying ‘what is enough' within the marketing environment and how it may be
reinforced post-COVID crisis to ensure the survival of business models.

Intervention in the psychological mechanisms of limited consumption, on the other hand,

can relieve panic purchasing. The findings demonstrated that policies or actions based on the
approach of lowering materialism and promoting the urge to belong are effective.
Encouragement to increase physical activity joins in anti-pandemic subject discussions, or
interact online with family or friends may aid in shifting people's focus from the material to the
spiritual. Public health managers should fully utilize the community's involvement in
disseminating information, organizing events, and distributing anti-epidemic materials in order to
foster a sense of solidarity. For example, the community may set up an information platform to
allow people to communicate ideas while also releasing tangible information. Furthermore, it can
inspire people to participate in rewarding community check-in activities such as volunteer
services and bring supplies to people who are alone at home on a regular basis.

New consumer behaviors affect all aspects of our lives, from how we work to how we buy to
how we relax. These fast transitions have significant ramifications for retailers and consumer
packaged products firms. Many of the longer-term shifts in consumer behavior are still taking
shape, offering businesses the chance to assist build the future normal.

A critical crisis causes human behavior to shift in unexpected directions, with some parts
of conduct irreversible. The COVID-19 pandemic is not a typical crisis, and numerous methods
were implemented to restrict disease transmission, including total and then partial lockdown. All
aspects of the economy are inextricably interconnected with public health measures and
lockdown, this produced economic instability in the nations, indicating a change in market
dynamics. Consumers are the drivers of market competitiveness, growth, and economic
integration in any market. Consumer behavior is changing as a result of economic insecurity,
albeit how much of the transition observed during the crisis will last is unknown. This article
examines consumer behavior during the COVID-19 crisis and the accompanying lockdown

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period, during which the world came to a halt for more than a quarter of a year. Furthermore, the
article attempts to thread its way through the maze of material available concerning customer
behavior in normal and crisis situations, and it is bolstered by fast evaluation reports pulled out
by several consulting groups during the lockdown phase, substantiates the same with first-hand
recounting and repeating of experiences by consumers and marketing experts to develop a
hypothesis of the pandemic causing a paradigm shift from consumer materialism to consumer
spiritualism. It would also be interesting to investigate the correlations of this forced customer
behavior with other factors such as learning from crises, changing requirements, personality,
nationality, culture, new market segment, and age in order to construct new models of consumer
behavior.

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of our study is to get detailed knowledge about the effects of Covid-19 on
consumer’s behavior amidst the pandemic. In which we are trying to know what are the things
that they have done just to surpass the difficulties they are experiencing in the middle of this
pandemic that gives a lot of rigors and hardships to every one.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. Does Covid-19 take a lot of privileges on us as a consumer?

2. How Covid-19 affects you as a consumer?
3. Is it to handle the situation of consuming goods amidst a pandemic?

In this scenario our study aims to know the real situation of the consumers, what are the things
that they have done, the solutions they have made, their way of coping up in amidst dilemma and
their key to keep on going while experiencing that said issue in the pandemic. This study might
become an eye opener for all the consumers dealing the same problems as others, it can be their
guide in getting the same solutions that the other would have done just to surpass the problem.

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General Objective:

To assess the knowledge and behavior of the student as a consumer with regards to the
effects of COVID-19 to consumer choice in buying a product..

Specific Objectives:

 To assess the knowledge regarding the effects of COVID-19 on the consumer behavior in
amidst of pandemic
 To evaluate the effects on how individual purchase an item due to today's pandemic
 To show the various factors that can affects and influenced the consumer behavior

Significance of the Study

The findings of the study will be beneficial to the following:

STUDENTS. The results will provide the students with knowledge on the different
factors and the effects on consumer’s behavior in the amidst of a pandemic.

PROFESSORS. This study will benefit to the professors when making purchasing
decisions. The professors will inform the students that the consumer behavior can be influenced
by a variety of factors specially in today's pandemic.

SOCIETY. This will help the society to be aware and knowledgeable on the positive and
negative impacts of COVID-19 to their daily living.

HOUSEHOLDS. This study will help to determine their needs and wants. It will also
help to identify the necessary things which must be prioritize.

FUTURE RESEARCHERS. The outcome of the study will serve as a basis for the future
researchers that will give them an overview. The findings of this study may be used as reference
data in conducting new researches related on the effects of COVID-19 on consumer behavior in
amidst of pandemic.

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SCOPE and DELIMITATION

This study is primarily focused on assessment of the behavior of the consumer amidst a
pandemic. This study will also focus on the factors involved that affects the consumer's behavior.
The researchers yearn to identify and describe how the respondent response to the current
situation as a consumer. This study will conduct on Rizal Technological University- Pasig
Campus, but with the current situation because of COVID-19 we will only send the
questionnaires through google forms. The study includes in its scope those people at legal age
and currently studying in RTU-Campus.
This study will conduct with limited respondents and time framework.

Review of Literature
Consumer Behavior
According to Bhalerao,A. (2017) consumer behavior is a study of behavioral patterns of
the customers. These behavioral patterns are leading to the customers’ buying preferences and
attitude. As stated in the book of Consumer Behavior authored by Hawkins, Best, Coney and
Mokherjee, several factors affecting consumer behavior for buying are social influences and
demographic. The book explained the types of consumer decisions, purchase involvement, and
product involvement.

In the article of “The Impact of Salesperson’s Behavior on Consumer’s Purchase

Decision: An Empirical Study, states that the salesperson’s behavioral traits such as ethical
behavior, listening ability, relational skills and emotional intelligence have been made an impact
or influence in purchasing behavior of the consumers.

Consumer Behavior Before COVID-19

According to Christopher (1989) consumer behaviors are unpredictable and changing
continuously. (Schiffiman and Kanuk, 1997) These are factors that affect consumers before
during and after a purchase, for example, the feedbacks of the products from the other

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consumers, packaging, advertising, the price, and the appearance of the product. (Papanastassiu
and Rohani, 2006) The behavior of the customers and their buying decisions are measured by the
marketers or sellers. In result, Organizations these days are consuming their resources to
researches. Some research is about; how the customer makes their buying decision, what they
buy how much they buy, etc.

According to Chaudhuri (2006) different theories and researches claimed that when the
companies or organizations meet the customer’s preference or needs their probability increases
and it also enables them to develop a strategy to set the consumer trends. (Schiffman, 2004) The
most challenging concept in marketing deals are the understanding why buyers do what they do,
what methods are they using to evaluate the product after the transactions, and what might be the
effect on future transaction.

Consumer Behavior During COVID-19

According to the study by Sheth (2020, June), The change of consumer behavior
significantly conceived a disturbance as a result of continuous lockdown and social distancing
over a while. Due to the combat to COVID-19, the consumer has restricted time, location and
following the new adjustment, the consumers learn to adapt, think creatively, and improvise
ways of surviving the pandemic. The new habits emerge, while utilizing high-tech marketing,
there is an easier way to cope with the work, leisure, and educational barrier.
As the community is transitioning and shifting to a more restricted place to live in,
consumer behavior has consistently changed which causes uproar in the marketplace. According
to Numerator Insights Data (2020) the percentage of shoppers, who placed an order between
March and December 2020 has risen up to 87%, while the pickup and in-store orders were only
51%. This shows that the concern regarding the fear of infection has become a social implication
where the people have been feared for themselves and others greatly contribute to the current
change in the community.
Methodology

The researchers will conduct the research in Rizal Technological University- Pasig
Campus, with ethics approval from the professor, department head, administration department,

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M. Eusebio Ave., Brgy. San Miguel, Pasig City

and university’s president. Then the student would help us to determine the effect of COVID-
19 on them as respondent and as consumer. A class representative in every section will conduct
the surveys, and collect the assessment data.

Access and Sampling

The researchers will used nonprobability sampling to get respondents who were currently
studying in university during the year of data collection. Out of students who were randomly
selected, we will use the 2:1 ratio depending on how many male students to female students
will pass on the criteria.

In the end, the researchers will analyze the data for the questionnaire, which will be
obtained from the questionnaires through a google form.

The Survey Instrument

The researchers will develop a quantitative questionnaire to use as the survey instrument.
The first set of questions asked primarily for demographic information: gender, parents’
education, residency, age, and spoken language(s). The other sections of the questionnaire used
Likert-scale questions to ask about students’ behavior such as current choice of product,
preference in buying a product, how they spend 100 pesos, daily expenses, and factors that
affect their choices. Some of the questions either reinforced or countered each other so that we
could check the students’ answers for consistency. For example, A designer bag went on sale
and that was the bag that you want to buy, but you need to pay for the rent at home. What
would you do? and If a designer bag went on sale and that was the bag that you dream off to
buy. What would you do?

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References:

Bhalerao, A. (2017, August). Consumer Behaviour: A Literature Review.

http://www.ijetsr.com/images/short_pdf/1503858014_1095-1103-mccia968_ijetsr.pdF
Kaveh Peighambari, Setayesh Sattari, et al.(April 26, 2016). Consumer Behavior Research: A
Synthesis of the Recent Literature. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244016645638
John (2011, October 20). CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR THEORIES.
https://writepass.com/journal/2011/10/free-consumer-behaviour-literature-review/
2020 Jun 4. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.059

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Jaqdish Sheth (2020, June).IMPACT OF COVID -19 ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR: WILL

THE OLD HABITS RETURN OR DIE?
Impact of Covid-19 on consumer behavior: Will the old habits return or die? (nih.gov)
Numerator Intelligence (2021, January). THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Consumer Behavior | Numerator
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0972063420940834
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/how-covid-19-is-changing-consumer-
behavior-now-and-forever
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.617166/full
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7269931/

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