A Phenomenological Analysis Of Consumers' Behavioral Responses During The Covid-19 Pandemic

Aim and Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes in various aspects of people's lives around the world. The outbreak of Covid-19 is a reminder that epidemics, like other disasters and rare events, have occurred in the past and will occur in the future. Even if we cannot prevent the creation of dangerous viruses, we must be prepared to reduce their effects on so-ciety. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has impacted the entire world, has brought about changes globally and in various aspects of life. These changes have affected consumer behavior and continue to do so. Although past societies have been affected by several epidemics and pandemics, it is difficult to estimate their long-term economic, behavioral, or social impacts. These aspects have not been studied in the past. There are few studies that demonstrate the consequences of major historical pandemics on consumer behavior in recent years. In addition, scientists suggest that new pandemics continue to pose a risk in the future. Therefore, understanding consumer behavior in the context of this widespread disease and beyond is crucial for marketers, business planners, and policymakers. These changes have also affected consumer behavior. The purpose of this study is to explain consumer behavioral responses during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a focus on food consumption.
Methodology: To address the main research question, an in-depth interview was conducted, and the interview protocol was designed based on the literature re-view. By employing the purposeful sampling method, 40 interviews were con-ducted with consumers in Tehran and analyzed using MAXQDA software. In this research, Cohen's kappa index was used to measure the reliability of inter-view coding.
Based on the data analysis, consumers respond to the existing crisis in three stages: reacting, coping, and adapting during the outbreak of COVID-19. To analyze the data, the interviews were transcribed and then read multiple times. In the next step, coding started.
Finding: After data analysis and applying open, axial, and selective coding, 23 codes were identified. These codes were then categorized into three groups: reac-tion (postponing purchases, reducing consumption, replacing items, online shop-ping, telephone shopping, increasing purchases, decreasing purchases, increasing sensitivity to the shopping environment, complying with health protocols, visiting physical stores less frequently, visiting small local stores, and using virtual stores more), coping (engaging in DIY activities and trying new products or brands), and adapting (adopting a healthy diet, increasing consumption of dairy products and healthy foods, consuming more organic products and vegetables, changing lifestyles, being more health and hygiene conscious, reducing consumption of prepared and frozen foods, using disinfectants, paying more attention to hand hygiene, online shopping, cooking at home, and being more aware of the shopping environment). Finally, the results of the analysis were presented in the conceptual model.
Discussion and Conclusion: Combining and integrating the research, a compre-hensive model has been presented regarding consumer behavioral responses dur-ing the outbreak of Covid-19. The obtained results were presented in the form of a conceptual model. The results showed that at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, people reacted by visiting physical stores less, postponing purchases, and shifting towards online and phone shopping to reduce their expo-sure to infection. After some time, individuals have coped with Covid-19 by en-gaging in activities such as cooking independently. Long-term adjustments like maintaining a healthy diet, being mindful of the shopping environment, making lifestyle changes, and utilizing online shopping have become essential. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about changes in consumer behavior. The re-sults of this research showed that during the Covid-19 period, consumers tended to purchase from supermarkets and stores located near their residences. They al-so indicated their intention to continue visiting these establishments after the pandemic, in the post-Covid-19 period. Therefore, small and local retailers can seize this opportunity to offer products and services. During the pandemic, con-sumers turned to online shopping and phone orders to reduce their exposure to the virus. As a result, retailers, stores, and even small supermarkets should con-sider offering home delivery services to meet this demand. There is also the pos-sibility of subsequent epidemics. Therefore, marketers and stores, both large and small retailers, must acquire the necessary infrastructure preparation to mitigate its effects. Businesses must design new models to meet the changing or evolving needs of consumers in the post-COVID-19 era.