MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

UEH UNIVERSITY

REPORT OF BUSINESS RESEARCH METHOD

TOPIC: THE EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON

CONSUMER SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR:
GENERATIONAL COHORT PERSPECTIVE

SUPERVISOR: LE NHAT HANH

Group 3:

Name Participation
1. Lê Minh Hoa 100%
2. Nguyễn Lê Trà My 100%
3. Vũ Nguyễn Thiên Phúc 100%
4. Hồ Phạm Uyên Phương 100%
5. Nguyễn Lê Phương Vy 100%
6. Nguyễn Thị Tường Vy 100%
 Table of contents
Abstract
CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION............................................................................................2
1.1. Research background and statement of the problem....................................................................2
1.2. Research objectives.......................................................................................................................2
1.3. Subject and scope of research.......................................................................................................3
1.4. Research Method:.........................................................................................................................3
1.5. Research Contribution:.................................................................................................................3
1.6. Research Structure:.......................................................................................................................4
CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT...................5
2.1 Definitions.....................................................................................................................................5
2.3 Prior relevant studies.....................................................................................................................6
2.3.1 Fear appeal and the change in consumer behaviour.........................................................6
2.3.2 Generation differences and shopping behaviour..............................................................8
2.3.3 Generation X (1965–1982)...........................................................................................8
2.3.4 Generation Y (1983–2000)...........................................................................................9
2.4 Research framework and hypothesis development......................................................................11
CHAPTER 03: RESEARCH METHOD..................................................................................13
3.1 Research process..........................................................................................................................13
3.2 Measurement Scales....................................................................................................................13
3.3 Questionnaire design....................................................................................................................13
3.4 Sample and data collection..........................................................................................................20
REFERENCES
 The effect of COVID-19 on consumer shopping behaviour: Generational cohort
perspective

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic, along with lockdowns and social distancing duties,
have disrupted consumers' shopping and shopping habits. This study examines the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer behavior and changes in their
shopping habits. Understanding consumer buying behavior in the face of this
pandemic and beyond is critically important for retailers and marketers as well as
business and public policymakers to make Implement strategies and tactics to retain
existing consumers and attract new ones. This research intends to contribute to the
analysis of consumer behavior in the situation when the second wave of the COVID-
19 pandemic in the Czech Republic begins. Besides, a questionnaire survey using an
online panel in a selected country was conducted to determine how Baby Boomers, X
and Y consumers are changing their shopping behavior and the needs that they
preferred during the pandemic crisis related to their fears. Using multiple regression
analysis, we demonstrated that fear attractiveness (health and economic fear) is
associated with changes in customer behavior and influences purchase. online and
traditional shopping related to COVID-19. As a result, the findings show significant
differences as well as similarities in consumption behavior between generations.

Key words: Consumer behaviour, Generational perspective, COVID-19 pandemic,

Theory of fear .

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 CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

1.1. Research background and statement of the problem

The global pandemic called Covid-19 has affected every single aspect of life including
societies and economics around the world. It not only changed how businesses act but
also how consumers behave. During the Covid-19, consumers' shopping behavior
generally depends on fear. Some consumers who never considered online shopping,
cashless payment or home-deliveries before have had to move to these kinds of
shopping because of fear for health, which was considered as the foremost reason in
choosing new items. Retail managers and marketers need to observe the changes in
consumers’ shopping behavior and habits during Covid-19 in order to have the ability
to know which changes they need to adopt in strategies.

Stated by McKinney et al. (2004), marketing segmentation is a crucial component to

understand shopping behavior. In the report of Parment (2013), generational cohort is
a helpful segmentation approach to base on, because of the relative similitude in
generations, and at the same time of the heterogeneousness across generations.
Members of the generational cohort share homogenous values that affect attitudes,
shopping behavior and habits (Marjanen et al., 2019). Another report from Chaney et
al. (2017) insists that generational cohorts’ experiences, attitudes, as well as core
values, beliefs, and preferences shape their behaviors and demand. Therefore, this
research is different from the previous surveys in that it applies the generational
cohort theory as a framework to check out changes in consumers’ shopping behavior.
Particularly, this research will select data from three specific cohorts which include
Baby Boomers (1945-1964), Generation X (1965-1982) and Generation Y (1983-
2000) and compare them.

The purpose of this research is to show how pandemic Covid-19 has affected and
changed customers’ behavior as well as their habits on shopping. According to this
research, retailers, marketers as well as business and public policy makers can have a
basis to carry out not only tactics but also strategies to keep subsisting consumers and
captivate new ones.

1.2. Research objectives

In particular, this empirical study attempts to:

(1) Show the level of fears for health, job loss and economic situation by generation.

(2) Selected generational differences in fears related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2
(3) Examine changes in shopping behavior by generation.

(4) Examine changes in the purchase of selected items in brick-and-mortar stores as

well as online shops by generation.

(5) Selected main three needs in times of crises related to fears in relation to the
COVID-19 and generation.

1.3. Subject and scope of research

The subject of this research is customers in Czech Republic. There are three specific
cohorts including Baby Boomers (1945-1964), Generation X (1965-1982) and
Generation Y (1983-2000). They were asked through the online dashboard in a chosen
country. The questionnaire was carried out to point out how consumers from these
three cohorts changed their shopping behavior and which needs they gave preference
to during the Covid-19 crisis related to their fears.

1.4 Research Method:

At the time conducting this research, many EU countries, especially Czech Republic
have put some parts of their economy to a standstill in the hope of reducing a death
toll to a large extent but with significant negative consequences in terms of damage to
the national economy, businesses, and individual employment.( Pantano et al., 2020)

In the form of a questionnaire survey, quantitative research was carried out during the
first days of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic at the
end of September 2020. Moreover, primary data was collected using an online
dashboard at the end of September 2020.

Statistical analysis was performed in statistical software R version 4.0.3 (R Core

Team, 2020). First, the questionnaire data were evaluated using descriptive statistics,
namely sample means and frequencies.Second, formal statistical methods were used to
verify the other five hypotheses. While in the case of testing the partial effects of fear
and formation on need (H6), multiple logistic regressions are selected for binary
response. In both types of regression analysis, multiple comparisons for the generation
variable were performed using the method of Hothorn et al.,

1.5 Research Contribution:

This research contributes to the understanding of trends and impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic on consumer purchasing behavior. The results document the changes in
consumer behavior patterns that dominated at the start of the second wave of the

3
COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic context. Moreover, through empirical
investigation, this research can support and extend the generational cohort theory
regarding changes in consumer behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic from a
Central European perspective, and provides useful information for researchers and
practitioners, especially for retailers and marketers, to implement appropriate
strategies.

1.6 Research Structure:

After Chapter 1: Introduction, the current thesis includes four themed chapters:

Chapter 2: Literature Review and Hypothesis Development: This chapter defines the
variables used, present the model for the research project and the associated
hypotheses.

Chapter 3: Research Method: This chapter deals with the methodology used for the
present study, including the research process, scales, questionnaire design, sample and
data collection, as well as sample characteristics.

Chapter 4: Data analysis and results: This chapter is used to analyze the data of
research that is collected from responders.

Chapter 5: Discussion and conclusion: The final chapter not only summarizes the
important results of the current thesis and provides useful insights for today's
companies or businesses, but also outlines the limitations of the study and
recommendations for further studies in the future.

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 CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESIS
DEVELOPMENT

2.1 Definitions

Fear Appeal: used in academic research in recent times. It is applied in marketing and
advertising campaigns, especially in health insurance, life insurance, and product
safety features. According to Addo et al. (2020), and Wegmann et al. (2017), fear
grew as an instrument to safeguard from situations in which life is endangered. Lai et
al. (2016) state that Fear Appeal comprises three significant conceptions: perceived
efficacy, threat, and fear. According to Wegmann et al. (2017) Fear Appeal can be
categorized into fear control and danger control, where fear control revolves around
emotional reactions caused by risk and danger control directs the adaptive behaviour
of customers to avoid it (Accenture, 2020; Addo et al., 2020). Similarly, Addo et al.
(2020) argue that danger control guides adaptive behaviour to deal with or avoid
danger while fear control guides emotional responses resulting from risk. Several
studies suggested that Fear Appeal is an important mediating variable during impulse
purchase behaviour (Ahmed et al., 2020; Addo et al., 2020; Iyer et al., 2020).

Shopping Behaviour:

Recent literature has shown that a perceived scarcity of products can significantly
affect consumer choices (Hamilton et al., 2019; Laato et al., 2020; Pantano et al.,
2020). Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak (early 2020), consumers have
displayed stockpiling behaviours that significantly deviate from their usual shopping
behaviour. A further consequence of the lower accessibility of store premises,
combined with consumers' greater health concerns, has been an immediate increase in
demand for alternative distribution channels. Unexpected regulations imposing social
distancing are further having a vast impact on consumers’ favoured channel for
shopping. For example, while online grocery shopping has witnessed stable though
limited growth in the last decade (Harris et al., 2017), it has significantly increased
during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis (Pantano et al., 2020). Also, older and less

5
digitally-savvy consumers have started discovering and enjoying online shopping,
welcoming the safety offered by technology.

2.3 Prior relevant studies

2.3.1 Fear appeal and the change in consumer behaviour

According to recent research, hedonic (emotional) and utilitarian (practical) impulses

drive most conscious (planned) and subconscious (impulsive) buying habits (Ahmed
et al., 2020; Leverin and Liljander, 2006). Several research (Addo et al., 2020;
Chinazzi et al., 2020; Kim, 2020; Wiranata and Hananto, 2020) found that impulse
buying has increased dramatically over the world as a result of the fear-inducing
COVID-19 phenomena. As a result, the Fear Appeal theory was also used in this
study. It is an almost forgotten theory, according to Ahmed et al. (2020).

The theory of Fear Appeal has not been frequently used in academic research in recent
times. It is applied in marketing and advertising campaigns, especially in health
insurance, life insurance, and product safety features. According to Addo et al. (2020),
and Wegmann et al. (2017), fear grew as an instrument to safeguard from situations in
which life is endangered. Lai et al. (2016) state that Fear Appeal comprises three
significant conceptions: perceived efficacy, threat, and fear. According to Wegmann
et al. (2017) Fear Appeal can be categorized into fear control and danger control,
where fear control revolves around emotional reactions caused by risk and danger
control directs the adaptive behaviour of customers to avoid it (Accenture, 2020;
Addo et al., 2020). Similarly, Addo et al. (2020) claim that fear control leads
emotional responses to risk whereas danger control guides adaptive behavior to deal
with or avoid danger. Fear Appeal appears to be a crucial mediating element during
impulse purchase behavior, according to several studies (Ahmed et al., 2020; Addo et
al., 2020; Iyer et al., 2020).

The development of the COVID-19 epidemic in the world is currently being

monitored. (e.g. WHO, 2021). The findings of meta-analysis by Levin et al. (2020)
show an exponential relationship between age and infection fatality rate for COVID-
19. Studies show that COVID-19 and its consequences has led to fears, worries and
anxiety and has become one

of the major factors impacting the health and wellbeing of individuals worldwide
(Reznik et al., 2020; Ahorsu et al., 2020). Furthermore, some studies argue that
occurrence of symptoms of fear among the population is associated with age (Chen,
2020; Sljivo et al., 2020).

6
Generally, purchase decisions and consumer choices are the results of scrutiny of the
pros and cons, and further are influenced by affective and sensitive aspects of selected
products. Products that are perceived to overcome a specific risk or danger, fomenting
fear, and could be successful in reducing perceptions of danger, attract greater
purchases (Addo et al., 2020; McDaniel and Zeithaml, 1984). Similar to Addo et al.
(2020), this research is also based on the above assumption and predicts that, in the
wake of the continuing spread of COVID-19, Fear Appeal will have a positive
relationship with the purchase of selected products.

The following research hypotheses were developed based on the literature above
related to the Fear Appeal theory:

H1. The level of health fears influences the change in customer shopping behaviour
during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

H2. The level of economic fears influences the change in customer shopping
behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

The conducted research concentrates on a purchase assessment of essential items, such

as buying out of utilitarian (necessity) and hedonism (fear) stimuli (Ahmed et al.,
2020; Wegmann et al., 2017). There are many aspects that influence how people buy
things, but consumer needs might be considered the initial step in the buying process
(Maslow, 1970; Solomon, 2002). The first physiological need, according to Maslow's
hierarchy of needs, occurs during a period of dread, suffering, or deprivation, such as
the COVID-19 epidemic. The certain basic human needs serve as motivation for
consumers to take action, including buying action (Seeley, 1992). The basic human
necessities resulted in a massive surge in demand, with many establishments running
out of critical items and many non-essential items being overlooked during pandemic
purchasing behavior (cf. Accenture, 2020; Deloitte, 2020).

Fears of COVID-19 and total lockdown have had a significant influence on residents
in the chosen country in autumn 2020. The Czech Republic was deemed the country
with the worst growth in COVID 19 per hundred thousand population at the start of
the second wave in Europe. People were prone to impulse purchases as a result of bad
information in the mass media, new media (particularly social media), peer word of
mouth, and studying their neighbors' and peers' purchasing habits. We believe that the
COVID-19 epidemic has resulted in increased health and employment difficulties, as
well as a lack of resources to meet fundamental human requirements. As a result,
based on the literature and the specific situation in the chosen country, the following
hypothesis is formulated:

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H3. Consumers, during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, are focused more on basic
needs than self-fulfilment needs.

2.3.2 Generation differences and shopping behaviour

Every generation cohort, according to generation cohort theory, differs in some

manner from the others due to various experiences occurring at different eras (Ignatius
and Hechanova, 2014). According to the hypothesis, generational disparities are
driven less by an individual's age and more by a generation's shared influences and
experiences (Jones et al., 2018). As a result, groups of people born during the same
time period and growing up through similar circumstances will share similar values,
attitudes, beliefs, and expectations that will remain constant throughout their lives,
forming a generational identity (Carpenter et al., 2012; Schewe and Meredith, 2004).
Generational identity has a considerable impact on purchase patterns and shopping
behavior in the consumer setting (Lissitsa and Kol, 2016; Parment, 2013).

Each generation in the context of the presented research is briefly defined in the
following text.

2.3.3 Generation X (1965–1982)

People from Generation X grew up in the information age when ICT had started to
develop, during the emergence of computers and the introduction of mobile phones
(consider some delay in the implementation of ICT for Central and Eastern European
countries). Members of Generation X are more competent and comfortable with
computer mediated communication. But they tend to ignore advertising aimed at them
and reject any form of segmentation and marketing technique (Lissitsa and Kol,
2016). They prefer to interact via mobile phones, online forums, Facebook, and other
social media platforms, but they are less comfortable with face-to-face communication
than earlier generations were, and they dislike written communication such as formal
letters. They place a premium on direct, clear, and succinct communication, which has
an impact on their purchasing patterns. On the other hand, I have no qualms in
questioning these individuals. They are intelligent consumers in terms of products and
shopping (Brosdahl and Carpenter, 2011), and they require items and messaging that
are specifically tailored to their duties, as well as customer convenience and
community relations. This generation is price conscious and sensitive to price changes
(Williams and Page 2011).

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2.3.4 Generation Y (1983–2000)

Generation Y is also known as the Internet Generation or digital natives. Members of

this generation are typically self-assured, ambitious, and goal-oriented. They speak
multiple languages and are multilingual. They are well-informed about all of the latest
news and are constantly on the lookout for changes and developments, and they
typically make purchasing selections after conducting prior study on the subject
(Lissitsa and Kol, 2016). When they go shopping, they don't go to the same stores
their parents did. They prefer online shopping because it provides them with a number
of advantages over traditional stores, including easy ordering and delivery as well as
affordable prices. They desire things that are a good fit for their personality and way
of life. Consumers from this generation tend to devote their spending more to personal
or digital services than to apparel, suffer higher levels of debt, and earn less on
average than previous generations. In their communication social media like Facebook
plays an important role, they use different kinds of mobile resources and platforms (cf.
Lewy et al., 2019). They are more likely to seek out a specific brand. They prefer
speedy shopping in a lot of situations, as opposed to Baby Boomers.

Every generation has a different relationship with companies, and they have different
goals when it comes to shopping and purchasing. Regardless of their differences, each
generation seeks payment security, simple brand interactions, and clear marketing
(National Retail Federation, 2020). Of course, for all consumers, excellent customer
service is always the most crucial factor. Consumers of all generations are
increasingly using the internet and cellphones to make purchases. Loyalty and rewards
programs appeal to all generations (Lewy et al., 2019).

In the light of the characteristics of the generations and the Fear Appeal theory
described above, the following hypotheses relating to the customer behaviour were
posed:

H4. The level of fears about health (own and others) and fears about the economic
situation (job loss and economic situation in society) differs between the selected
generations.

H5. There are differences in purchasing of selected items during the COVID-19
pandemic in relation to fears of the selected generations in brick-and-mortar shops and
online shops.

It is not news that the cohort generation is made up of people who share key historical
events that influence psychological traits, especially consumer behavior (Zwanka and
Buff, 2021). Using European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, Jindrova'
and Labudova' (2020) found that some socio-economic determinants between old and

9
new members of the EU-28 were not particularly great in 2018, but variable Age had
the most significant impact on self-perceived health. This result confirms Parment's
(2013) suggestion that examining the purchase behavior of generational cohorts could
be extremely valuable. As a result, based on the literature, the following hypothesis is
formulated:

H6. There are generational differences in the needs that influence consumer shopping
of the selected generations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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2.4 Research framework and hypothesis development

H1. The level of health fears influences the change in customer shopping behaviour
during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

H2. The level of economic fears influences the change in customer shopping
behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

H3. Consumers, during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, are focused more on basic
needs than self-fulfilment needs.

H4. The level of fears about health (own and others) and fears about the economic
situation (job loss and economic situation in society) differs between the selected
generations.

11
H5. There are differences in purchasing of selected items during the COVID-19
pandemic in relation to fears of the selected generations in brick-and-mortar shops and
online shops.

H6. There are generational differences in the needs that influence consumer shopping
of the selected generations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 CHAPTER 03: RESEARCH METHOD

3.1 Research process

At the time of conducting this research, the Czech Republic and many EU countries
had placed some parts of their economies in lockdown in the hope of reducing deaths
by an order of magnitude but with substantial negative consequences in terms of
damage to national economies, businesses and individual jobs (cf. Pantano et al.,
2020). The quantitative research in the form of questionnaire survey was carried out in
the first days of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic at
the end of September 2020. That means that the respondents had experience from the
time of the first wave (March–May 2020) and a short summer period without strict
restrictions on social distance in this country. The primary data were collected at the
end of September 2020 by using an online panel which has a size of approximately 80
thousand people aged 15+. The data were collected by both a self-administered
questionnaire (CAWI) and computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI).

3.2 Measurement Scales

Likert Scales do not expect a simple yes / no answer from the respondent, but rather
allow for degrees of opinion, and even no opinion at all. Therefore, quantitative data is
obtained, which means that the data can be analyzed with relative ease. Offering
anonymity on self-administered questionnaires should further reduce social pressure,
and thus may likewise reduce social desirability bias. They use a universal method of
collecting data, which means it is easy to understand them. Working with quantitative
data, it is easy to draw conclusions, reports, results and graphs from the responses.
Furthermore, because Likert Scale questions use a scale, people can be neutral instead
of being forced to express an either-or opinion. Once all responses have been
received, it is very easy to analyze them.

3.3 Questionnaire design

Main survey

Question 1: Please indicate the level of agreement with the statement.

In connection with Strongly agree – Strongly

the COVID-19 disagree
pandemic,…

I am fearful for my

13
 own health.

I am fearful for the

health of others.

I am worried about
the impact on my
personal job
security.

I am worried about
the impact on the
economy.

Question 2: How has your shopping behaviour changed in connection with

the pandemic? - Please indicate the level of agreement with the statement.

Strongly agree- Strongly disagree

I bought more
products with a
focus on health.

I preferred basic
product selection.

I thought more about

my purchases.

I bought more than

before from local
retailers.

On the contrary, I
didn't care so much
where I shopped.

I only bought brands

I know.

I searched for and

14
evaluated product
brands before I
bought them.

During the main

crisis, I made fewer
purchases overall.

I was rather making

a big purchase at
once.

I also shopped more

for others.

I bought cheaper
products to save
money.

I tried to minimize
food waste.

Overall, I think I
have changed my
shopping as a result
of the crisis.

Question 3: Changes in the purchase of selected items in brick-and-mortar

stores by generations. Please indicate how you purchased the items below:

More frequently than before-

More inferquently than before

Food

Drugstore and
Hygiene

Clothing and
Footwear

15
 Electronics

Home Appliances

Sporting Goods

Hobbies outside
Sport

Medicines, etc.

Question 4: Changes in the purchase of selected items in online stores

entities by generation. Please indicate how you purchased the items below:

More frequently than before-More

inferquently than before

Food

Drugstore and
Hygiene

Clothing and
Footwear

Electronics

Home Appliances

Sporting Goods

Hobbies outside
Sport

Internet
Entertainment

Medicines, etc.

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Question 5: During the covid epidemic, what new items do you tend to
consume?

List of The highest priority

items

Food supplement

Medical masks

Herbal essential
oil

Antiseptic alcohol

Question 6: Reasons for Choosing New Shopping Items. Choose by priority

three highest reasons why you purchased new brands (products).

List of The highest priority

items

Value of brand

Availability

Quality

Health-hygiene

Purpose driven

Value of brand

Availability

Quality

Health-hygiene

Purpose driven

Value of brand

17
 Availability

Quality

Health-hygiene

Purpose driven

Question 7: Consumer Needs in Times of Crisis. Proportion of consumers

that rank needs as top 1/top 3 priority. What needs did you focus on the
most during the biggest crisis?

Lists of needs The highest priority

Personal
accomplishment

Job satisfaction

Community belonging

Hobbies

Entertainment

Education

Friendships

Health of friends and

family

Financial security

Food and medicine

safety

Personal health

Personal
accomplishment

Job satisfaction

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 Community belonging

Hobbies

Entertainment

Education

Friendships

Health of friends and

family

Financial security

Food and medicine

safety

Personal health

3.4 Sample and data collection

Sample:

The respondents for the questionnaire survey were adult consumers (aged 18+) living
in the Czech Republic. The sample size was set at 1000 respondents, which is the
usual size for surveys within the Czech population (cf. CVVM, 2021). Due to the
collection via the Talk Online Panel and using the quota sampling (cf. Burs et al.,
2017), it was possible to ensure an adequate distribution of respondents in the sample
according to the basic demographic characteristics of the population, such as gender
and age, but also the region. Therefore, the sample could be considered as
representative of the Czech Internet population. In addition, in 2020 89% Czechs used
the Internet (Eurostat, 2021). However, the sample contains only 36 participants from
Generation Z and 47 from the Silent Generation. These two groups of participants
were therefore excluded from analysis, which means that the final sample consists of
917 participants (Baby Boomers =302, Generation X =323, Generation Y =292).

Data collection:

Fears about health and Economic Situation

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It was 37% of respondents expressed fears about their health, specifically, 45% of
respondents from generation B, 38% from Generation X and 27% from generation Y.

56% of respondents agreed with the fear of others’ health.

It was a total of 31% of respondents expressed fears of losing their jobs, where
respondents from Generation Y (38%) had the greatest fears, followed by Generation
X (35%) and Generation B (20%).

The overall proportion was 80% related to the fear of economic situation and the
distribution between the generations is quite similar (B 78%, X 80%, Y 83%).

Health and economic fears and changes in shopping behaviour

The basic results of this part of the questionnaire in the form of summary statistics are
presented in Table 3. Most of the respondents (almost two- thirds) tried to minimize
waste food.

The findings in Table 4 show, consumer behaviour during shop-ping generally

depends on fear; the greater the fear, the greater the change in behaviour. The
exception is item 5 (“it didn’t matter where I shopped”), which did not depend on
health fears, and, moreover, depends on economic fears in the opposite direction. The
highest sensitivity to the health fears was for items 1 (“I bought more health
products”) and 13 (“overall, I think I changed my shopping as a result of the crisis”)
with slope estimates 0.36 and 0.37, while in terms of economic fears, it was for item
11 (“I bought cheaper products to save money”) with slope estimate 0.26.

Changes in shopping in brick-and-mortar compared to online shops

Online shopping, a specific Internet entertainment item was added. Medicines (21.2%,
20.2%), drugstores (14.7%, 17.2%) and food (11.6%, 12.3%) were bought more both
in brick-and mortar shops and online shops.

Due to economic fears, there was a decrease in purchases for two items, namely 4 –
electronics and 5 – household equipment related to brick-and-mortar shopping. The
influence of generation was found for five items (all except food, drugstore and
hygiene, medicines and medical devices), where Generation B significantly reduced
the purchase of these items compared to the other two generations.

Due to fears of the economic situation, there was a significant change in the purchase
of three items: electronics (p =0.004), sports equipment (p =0.036) and paid online
entertainment (0.014) with the negative correlations (the greater the fear, the lower the

20
frequency) related to online shopping. In addition, Generation X, compared to
Generation Y, limited purchases of clothing and entertainment on the Internet.

Reasons for choosing new shopping items

The reasons for the new purchase were mainly the quality (top 1: 41%, top 3: 79%),
then the availability (top 1: 18%, top 3: 72%) and convenience of the purchase (top 1:
15%, top 3: 57%).

Consumer needs in times of crisis

Consumer needs were identified in a similar way as for the reasons for new items of
purchase. The ranking of needs was based on the conducted research as follows: 1.
Health of family and friends (top 1: 48%, top 3: 77%), 2. Personal health (top 1: 14%,
top 3: 48%), 3. Food security and health care (top 1: 8%, top 3: 45%)

21
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