At the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in Wuhan, which quickly became a major public health emergency with the fastest spread, the broadest range of infection, and the most difficult to control in the history of modern China. During the outbreak, 1.4 billion Chinese people suspended almost all social activities and stay at home. Although the prevention of the pandemic seems effective, China's consumer economy suffered a heavy blow in the first quarter of 2020. With the COVID-19 outbreak gradually controlled in China, many retail businesses are pinning their hopes on the rebound in consumption after the end of the pandemic. This study discusses the psychological mechanism of the consumption rebound and the possible duration of this rebound with the theory of psychological arousal. Based on the results of structural equation modeling of 1464 Chinese people, this study found that during the COVID-19 outbreak, the perceived severity of the pandemic caused an insufficient level of psychological arousal and lead to a higher tendency of sensation seeking, and this will increase people's willingness to spend after the end of the pandemic. The results revealed that it might lead to a rebound in consumption after the end of the pandemic, but this rebound is concentrated and short-lived. This study suggests that retail businesses need to realize that the rebound in consumption after the end of the pandemic is not due to a sudden increase in social spending power, but because consumers urgently need to restore the normal level of psychological arousal through the sensory stimulation brought by consumption. Therefore, retail businesses should not only pay attention to deal with the rapid rebound in consumption after the end of the pandemic, but also prepare plans for the normalization of consumption after the rebound weakens.

The IM may enable health behavior researchers to design effective interventions to promote ACS.