Degree Level

B.B.A

Abstract

It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered consumer shopping habits. However, these changes are novel and not yet understood. Since the onset of the pandemic, we have experienced restrictions on businesses, quarantines, and public unease. Online shopping became more of a focus for many businesses. It could appeal to people who were apprehensive about the virus along with those who enjoy its convenience. This paper examines consumer perceptions of online shopping before vs. after the pandemic, as well as the characteristics of online shoppers with an emphasis on concerns about safety and losing the in-person shopping experience. Qualtrics, a professional survey website, was used to create and conduct the questionnaire. A sample of 211 respondents answered the survey. The survey contained 25 questions and used a Likert scale structure. The data was assessed using regression analysis with a p-value of 0.05 or less denoting a significant correlation. It was found that people were more likely to shop online when perceived security of offline shopping was low and less likely to shop online when the perceived security was high for beauty, grocery, and restaurant products. The value of the offline shopping experience was not significant under any conditions. Individuals who were more concerned about the safety of online purchases were less likely to buy online. Those who were likely to shop online before COVID-19 were even more likely to shop online after COVID-19.

Publication Date

Spring 5-5-2022

Document Type

Thesis

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Included in

E-Commerce Commons

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