Panic buying research: A bibliometric review

Abstract

Background: Panic buying has been reported during a period of crisis when people buy an extra amount of essential commodities and hoard them anticipating their future utility. As a newer entity, a bibliometric analysis would reveal the research gaps for further studies. We aimed to do a bibliometric analysis of researches published on panic buying over the past two decades. Methods: A literature search was conducted in the SCOPUS database using the keyword “panic buying”. All published research in the English language between 1st January 2001 to 1st August 2021 was included in the analysis of this study. Results: We identified a total of 142 articles on panic buying published over the past two decades. There is an exponential increase in the publication on this topic during the COVID-19 pandemic (n=127). Majority of the articles were published from the United States (n=23), followed by the United Kingdom (n=20), and China (n=20). The Frontiers in Public Health and Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services published the highest number of articles (eight each). Arafat SMY published the highest number of publications as a single author (n=10) and Enam Medical College and Hospital, Bangladesh has the highest number of papers as an institution (n=10). Among all the publishers, Elsevier has published the maximum number of papers (n=38). Conclusion: There is an exponential growth of panic buying research during 2020-21. The global crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has been attributed to the recent rise in panic buying research.

Review on Panic Buying Behavior during Pandemics: Influencing Factors, Stockpiling, and Intervention Strategies

“…Various databases were utilized, including Business Source Premier, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Emerald Insight, Scopus, and Web of Science. The keywords that were employed were derived from bibliometric surveys [ 27 , 28 ]. They encompassed terms such as panic, panic buying, compulsive buying, hoarding, shop raiding, stockpiling, panic demand, disaster to panic, panic intervention, panic management, and panic mitigation.…”

“…To obtain a comprehensive understanding of panic, scholars have recommended adopting a holistic and systematic approach [ 26 ]. The existing literature shows that consumers’ process of panic buying can be divided into four distinct stages: being informed, raising desire, intention to purchase, and decision to buy [ 14 ].…”

“…However, these discussions frequently lack a comprehensive perspective that considers the interactive effects of crises, panic buying behavior, demand–supply relationships, and precise qualitative or quantitative solution approaches, as noted in Refs. [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. This emphasizes the necessity for more thorough discussions in the following areas: The relative impact of numerous factors on panic buying behavior, including the influence of neighbors' behavior, disaster-related news, and empty store shelves.…”

“…However, these discussions frequently lack a comprehensive perspective that considers the interactive effects of crises, panic buying behavior, demand-supply relationships, and precise qualitative or quantitative solution approaches, as noted in Refs. [25][26][27][28][29]. This emphasizes the necessity for more thorough discussions in the following areas:…”