The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Antecedants for the Impulse Buying Behavior of US Citizens

Abstract

In an analysis based on the theory of Fear, this study examines impulse purchase patterns during the COVID-19 Pandemic across major US urban centers. Data from 889 US consumers were collected from leading US cities to evaluate impulse buying behavior fluctuations using SEM-based multivariate approaches to examine the survey statistics. We used COVID-19 as a moderating variable of this impulse purchase behavior. The results confirmed that Fear of a complete lockdown, peers buying, scarcity of essential products on shelves, US stimulus checks, the limited supply of essential goods, and panic buying have had a compelling and affirmative influence on the sharp swings of impulse buying patterns. The findings further confirm that Fear Appeal and social media fake news have had a strong positive impact on impulse buying as mediating factors. Finally, it was concluded that COVID-19 is a significant moderating factor influencing the impulse buying behavior of US citizens. The practical implications suggest that marketers and brand managers should devise novel strategies to enhance their brand’s market share to attain a competitive advantage in COVID-19 or similar panic situations in the future. These research findings are essential to comprehend the sharp fluctuations of impulse buying patterns in the current cutthroat competition environment across the US and other parts of the world.

Successful Management System by a Metalworking Mexican Company During Covid-19 Situation. Analysis Through a New Index (Case Study).

“…In Mexico as well as throughout the world the negative effects of the pandemic have affected many areas, even today, new affectations are being found in health as well as in the economy, environment and the daily life of human beings. An example is that in the U.S. and the rest of the world, the pandemic caused by COVID-19 affected the consumer's purchasing decision, and spending more time at home seemed to lead to an impulsive purchasing behavior (Ahmed et al, 2020). The inventory purchases for the study's company increased significantly, but not precisely because of panic shopping, instead of that, they were purchases to supply an inventory to meet market demands, thus the domestic manufactured products increased.…”

Perceived Impact of Social Media on Panic Buying: An Online Cross-Sectional Survey in Iraqi Kurdistan

“…Hypothetically, it can increase fear by disseminating pictures of the empty shelves and rumors of a shortage of supply (4,10,11,15). Previous studies revealed that mass media and social media have a role in disseminating fear and rumors, which in turn increases erratic behavior like PB (10,12,18,19). Furthermore, it has been reported that fake news on social media demonstrated a strong positive impact on impulse buying (18)(19)(20).…”

“…Previous studies revealed that mass media and social media have a role in disseminating fear and rumors, which in turn increases erratic behavior like PB (10,12,18,19). Furthermore, it has been reported that fake news on social media demonstrated a strong positive impact on impulse buying (18)(19)(20). In contrast, mass media and social media can minimize PB by reducing public tension and threat and assuring the public that there is a sufficient supply of good.…”

Propagation Model of Panic Buying Under the Sudden Epidemic

“…Pochea et al ( 23) used quantile regression analysis as an estimation method, and found evidence of herding behavior in all central and Eastern European countries, except Poland and Romania: when the market rises, investors will follow each other in buying transactions, but when the market turns down, investors will not follow each other. Ahmed et al (24) used the multivariate method based on the structural equation model to study the data of 889 consumers and found that peer purchase and other factors had an important impact on the impulsive purchase mode. Zheng et al (25) pointed out that consumers tend to imitate others, and social media posts can play an important role in the diffusion of imitation and purchase behavior.…”