Online consumption habits

before and during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic is already seen as the most transformative and challenging event in our memory. This atypical situation triggered new habits, forms of consumption and trends.

The present study aims to analyze the new online consumption habits resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. For this purpose, a quantitative methodology is proposed. A questionnaire focusing on new online shopping habits and trends arising from the Covid-19 pandemic was applied, with 618 responses being obtained.

The study shows that, in fact, during the pandemic, consumers changed their consumption habits in terms of proportion, amount spent on online purchases and payment methods. There were also changes in the purchasing behavior of certain categories of products during the Covid-19 pandemic and, it is also noted that some of the trends arising from the pandemic are strongly influenced by sociodemographic characteristics.

This study proves to be relevant, mainly due to the relevance of understanding how the pandemic context can influence the way people live, behave, buy and develop new habits, which may not end during the pandemic. The digital environment becomes even more important to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 crisis and, probably, we are witnessing the beginning of the digital era more pronounced than ever.