Changing Grocery Shopping Behaviours Among Chinese Consumers At The Outset Of The COVID-19 Outbreak

Junxiong Li; Alan G Hallsworth; J Andres Coca-Stefaniak

doi:10.1111/tesg.12420

Changing Grocery Shopping Behaviours Among Chinese Consumers At The Outset Of The COVID-19 Outbreak

Tijdschr Econ Soc Geogr. 2020 Jul;111(3):574-583. doi: 10.1111/tesg.12420. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

Authors

Junxiong Li¹, Alan G Hallsworth², J Andres Coca-Stefaniak¹

Affiliations

¹ University of Greenwich Marketing, Events and Tourism Department Business School Old Royal Naval College Park Row London SE10 9LS United Kingdom.
² University of Portsmouth Marketing Department School of Business and Law Richmond Building Portsmouth PO1 3DE United Kingdom.

Abstract

This study focuses on the embryonic stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, where most people affected opted to abide by the Chinese government's national self-quarantine campaign. This resulted in major disruptions to one of the most common market processes in retail: food retailing. The research adopts the theory of planned behaviour to provide early empirical insights into changes in consumer behaviour related to food purchases during the initial stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Data from the online survey carried out suggest that the outbreak triggered considerable levels of switching behaviours among customers, with farmers' markets losing most of their customers, while local small independent retailers experienced the highest levels of resilience in terms of customer retention. This study suggests avenues for further scholarly research and policy making related to the impact this behaviour may be having around the world on society's more vulnerable groups, particularly the elderly.

Keywords: COVID‐19; China; Retail; consumer behaviour; coronavirus; crisis response.