Covid consumer Decision making =
0,500+0,750-1,250+,500+,545
From the given hypotheses, the following was
selected:
H1 - Consumers bought less during
quarantine than before →ACCEPTED
HYPOTHESIS;
H2 - Consumers used internet shopping
more than before the pandemic because they
were restricted in movement → REJECTED
HYPOTHESIS;
H3 - Consumers bought more domestic
products than usual → REJECTED
HYPOTHESIS;
H4 - Consumers have turned to some form
of savings for fear of an impending crisis
→ ACCEPTED HYPOTHESIS;
The first and fourth out of the selected hypotheses
are affirmative hypotheses, while the second and
third were rejected. In the first hypothesis, it was
found that most respondents still bought less than
before, that they reduced going to the store and that
they were frustrated when buying. However,
considering the "story" placed by the media that
"store shelves are empty", the respondents stated
that they did not buy any more products than before.
However, hypothesis number two was rejected
because the majority of respondents stated that they
did not use internet shopping more than before.
Consumers however, prefer to go to the store and
buy what they see, rather than shopping online.
Likewise, hypothesis three was rejected because the
most respondents stated that do not care about the
brand or origin of the product, but are faithful to
products that they buy for a longer period of time
and which meet their needs. Hypothesis four was
confirmed because research approves that the
respondents are afraid of what the coming crisis
brings and to what extent they have started to save
more than they did before.
4 Conclusion
Considering the results and above provided
discussions, we concluded that consumer behavior
is a very important indicator for organizational
behavior experts on how and in what way to choose
the right marketing strategy. The goal of marketing
experts is to change the perception, attitude and
motives of consumers and attract consumers to buy
their product or service. Today's consumers are
faced with a wide range of products and services
that they can buy, as well as a wide range of places
where they can buy, but they usually decide to buy
based on issues that affect them when buying, and
these are, as already mentioned, social, personal and
psychological factors.
The conducted research leads to the conclusion that
at the time of quarantine, i.e., from March 19 to
May 11, situational factors (social) had the greatest
impact. Situational factors are related to a specific
situation, specific time and specific space and are
completely independent of the characteristics of the
consumer, the facility and the service being
purchased.
As defined, situational factors are related to a
specific situation, time, and space that has befallen
the entire world. Before the pandemic, consumers
sometimes went from boredom to shopping,
sometimes out of necessity, and sometimes just not
at home, while today consumers try to adjust to the
"new normal" and avoid shopping if it is not
necessary. Also, since the beginning of the
pandemic, it can be seen that mostly younger people
who are not in the risk groups of COVID-19 go
shopping steadily.
The last but not least, we may conclude that not
much is needed to fundamentally change the habits
and needs of consumers. Prior to the pandemic,
most consumers did not care to which store they
would enter, which product they would buy,
whether they would spend more money than they
anticipated, and how they would behave when
buying! Today, consumers are careful about how
much money they spend, whether they need the
product, and if not, they would rather not buy it.
Needs have also changed. Previously, no one
thought about disinfectants and face masks, while
today they are the most needed items, so both
manufacturers and stores are turning to their
production and sale. When entering every store, you
should wear face masks, which makes most
consumers uncomfortable and quickly make
purchases and "run away", which shows us that
consumers really make purchasing decisions based
on their own situational perception.
References:
[1] Zi-Xi.Zhang1, L. Wang1,2 Y.M. Wang, "An
Emergency Decision Making Method Based on
Prospect Theory for Different Emergency
Situations," nt J Disaster Risk Sci, no. 9, pp.
407-420, 2018.
[2] Sh. Du, H. Jiao, R.Huang, J.Zhu, "Emergency-
Dependent Supply Decisions with Risk
Perception and Price Control," Mathematical
WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on BUSINESS and ECONOMICS
DOI: 10.37394/23207.2022.19.77
Emin Neziraj, Driton Sylqa