Leveraging COVID-19 Outbreak for Shaping a More Sustainable Consumer Behavior

Abstract

Consumption has lately been under the microscope facing pressure from all stakeholders as principles of sustainability have gained more popularity. In this context, a new sustainable consumer model was born, referring to major shifts in buying and consumption habits. Nevertheless, these shifts were lagging as consumers resisted change in the comfort of old habits. This comfort was shaken up by the COVID-19 outbreak that forced us to rethink every aspect of our lives. Therefore, this crisis context seems the perfect opportunity to shift towards the sustainable consumer model. People’s openness towards embracing new consumption habits was evaluated in a quantitative study where data was collected in two different moments: May 2020 and December 2020. Major results of our research show that people’s lives were dominated in 2020 by uncertainty, especially when referring to their financial situation. Further on, consumers have already started to bring major shifts in their consumption habits because of this uncertainty. Among the most important shifts, there were more prudent purchase decisions, rising interest for discounted prices, increased likelihood of buying local and enhanced preference in buy fresh products instead of processed or semi-processed ones.

Sustainable Consumption in Consumer Behavior in the Time of COVID-19: Topic Modeling on Twitter Data Using LDA

“…The first topic emerging from the analysis concerns organic food consumption, i.e., food that is produced through environmentally friendly agricultural methods, without fertilizers and synthetic chemicals [96]. This result is not surprising given that the concern for health, including healthy eating, is gaining importance among consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic [18,24]. It is confirmed that if consumers are health-conscious, organic food is their first choice [97][98][99].…”

“…[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. Although it is impossible to identify all of them, due to the growing interest in health issues during the pandemic, consumer behavior is evolving towards healthier and more sustainable patterns [3,18]. Among these publications, studies on the impact of the pandemic on sustainable consumption have a large share [19][20][21][22][23].…”

“…Among these publications, studies on the impact of the pandemic on sustainable consumption have a large share [19][20][21][22][23]. In various publications, different aspects of such behavior are analyzed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, for example: eating a healthier diet [18,24], buying local [18], environmental awareness [20,25], or negative emotions [21].…”

Consumer Knowledge Sharing Behavior and Consumer Purchase Behavior: Evidence from E-Commerce and Online Retail in Hungary

“…Accordingly, the appearance of new sustainable consumers obliged a change in buying and consuming intentions and processes. To reach long-term growth, therefore, companies and consumers should overlook the traditional forms of production and consumption and orientate themselves toward sustainable economies that respecting corporate values, business ethics, and corporate governance to face the current environmental and social challenges [29]. Nowadays, customers are more likely to be influenced and motivated not only by family and friends' perceptions but also by the amount of the shared information or knowledge through social media, including advertisements and other people's experiences, which considerably influence their purchasing behaviors.…”

Water, Energy, Food, Waste Nexus: Between Synergy and Trade-Offs in Romania Based on Entrepreneurship and Economic Performance

“…Efficient adaptation to shocks, the emergence of change, and embracing it with proper managerial techniques and resilience, which all require coordinated and concentrated efforts to maximize intersectoral synergies and minimize trade-offs [51] as well as proper management of the use of water, energy, land and other crucial resources, does not only encompass an environmental perspective, but an economic perspective as well [52]. This is a major challenge, especially for developing countries, which are still facing issues in achieving food, water, and energy security, which is directly correlated to climate change issues [53,54].…”