Understanding post-pandemic market segmentation through perceived risk,behavioural intention,and emotional wellbeing of consumers

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered consumer behaviour, leading to varying levels of perceived risk for different products and services. Companies must reassess their market segmentation strategies and adapt them to take effective countermeasures to improve employee performance and achieve the desired results. Research on post-pandemic segmentation is lacking. Thus, this study aims to create consumer archetypes based on perceived risk and examine how they affect behaviour and emotions post-pandemic. Based on 1,140 survey responses from Taiwanese consumers, consumer segments are classified into three archetypes: Moderate, Aggressive, and Hesitant. The Hesitant group mainly comprised senior women who faced high physical and psychological risks. In contrast, the moderate archetype group had the lowest levels of perceived risk but showed less interest in shopping activities and personal hygiene than the other two groups. Aggressive shoppers prioritise quality and convenience, with fluctuating emotions during shopping, despite moderate concerns about the virus.     

Unveiling the influence of COVID-19 on the online retail market: A comprehensive exploration

The global economy has experienced significant disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, profoundly impacting production and consumption patterns. This paper examines the effect of the pandemic on consumer goods prices, focusing on a sample of hand sanitizers, soap, disinfectants, and baking yeasts. The selection of these products was motivated by multiple and comprehensive criteria, where we considered various factors such as changes in consumption patterns during the pandemic, the relevance of these products in household consumption, consumer behavior, availability of historical price data, their significance in daily domestic life, and their utility in the prevention of the disease. Employing a time-series analysis, the study investigates the relationship between product prices and the S&P 500 index, as well as the presence of structural breaks in the time series. The results reveal a significant correlation between all prices in the sample and the S&P 500 index, indicating the index's efficacy as an indicator of the overall economic state. Moreover, the study identifies a single structural break in each price time series, coinciding with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, hand sanitizers, soap, and disinfectants exhibit particularly substantial price jumps near the time of the break. These findings offer crucial insights into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer prices, which can guide policy decisions aimed at mitigating the pandemic's economic consequences.     

The effect of COVID-19 on consumer shopping behaviour: Generational cohort perspective

The purpose of this research is to contribute to an understanding of the trends and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer buying behaviour. The results document changes in consumer behaviour patterns that came to dominate at the start of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of the Czech Republic. The questionnaire survey using an online panel in a selected country was conducted to identify how consumers from the Baby Boomers, X and Y generations changed their shopping behaviour and which needs they gave preference to during the pandemic crisis in relation to their fears. Using a multiple regression analysis, we demonstrated that fear appeal (fears for health and economic fears) are associated with the changes in customer behaviour and influence traditional and online shopping related to COVID-19. The findings demonstrate significant differences as well as similarities in consumer behaviour between generations. Through empirical investigation, this research supports and expands generation cohort theory in relation to changes in consumer behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic from a Central European perspective, and provides useful information for researchers and practitioners, particularly for retailers and marketers, to implement appropriate strategies.     

The Influence of Negative Information on Purchase Behaviour

This was a longitudinal study that examined consumer reactions to hazardous product incidents. The purpose of this study was to examine consumer responses to product safety hazard incidents over time, and to identify demographic groups that are either most resistant or most affected by hazard incidents. The results suggest that in the first year after an incident, the crisis managers had only limited control over adverse effects to negative information. In the longer term, consumer reactions were still rather uniform and severe in most of the cases. The effects are examined in the context of key market segments for each product, and with regard to company responses to the incidents. Managers should expect strong negative reactions from some demographic subgroups over time and are advised to closely monitor the impact of hazardous incidents on their target markets.     

Consumer Reaction to a Risk/Benefit/Option Message about Agricultural Chemicals in the Food Supply

Audience segmentation and focus group methods were used to evaluate consumer reactions to a risk/benefit/option message about agricultural chemicals in the food supply. The approach was well-received and showed potential for raising consumers' concerns regarding health and environmental risks associated with pesticides, along with confidence in their ability to minimize exposure to residues. Concern and confidence increased most among consumers who already were concerned and who were most removed from agriculture.     

Italian consumer awareness of layer hens' welfare standards: a cluster analysis

Animal welfare has assumed in recent years an increasing significance for European consumers, becoming part of the Community Agricultural Policy strategy that encourages farmers to achieve higher standards of animal welfare. Undoubtedly, the superior social sensitivity towards animal welfare has produced over time notable changes within European Union (EU) Policy. However, while EU legislation has progressively focused on granting animals better possibilities to express their behavioural repertoire, recent analysis shows that consumer knowledge of animal welfare compulsory standards is still quite limited. Drawing on the results of a direct survey on 300 Italian food shoppers, our research analyses consumer knowledge of the welfare standards of laying hens. Our findings highlight important market opportunities and policy implications. Our research shows that, although the majority of the sample expressed concern on hen husbandry systems, most of respondents were unaware of the current mandatory labelling system for eggs. Through cluster analysis three segments were found: the inactive consumer cluster, the conflicted consumer cluster and the ethically competent consumer cluster. This segmentation is especially valuable for producers of ‘animal‐friendly’ eggs to identify market opportunities and formulate appropriate marketing strategies.     

Struggles in optimal labelling: how different consumers react to various labels for genetically modified foods

The labelling of genetically modified (GM) foods is an important policy issue, as consumers' attitudes towards these foods appear to be quite sensitive to information about their potential benefits and risks. Because it is difficult for labels to differ across consumers, differences in reactions to label information could lead to conflicts across consumer groups or to different market outcomes. Using factor and cluster analysis, we uncover three consumer segments with different attitudes to the risks and benefits of GM foods. Our segmentation‐based analysis on consumer reactions to information points out important differences across consumers. Not only did we find differences across segments in how they view the credibility of GM‐related information, we also find differences in how information influences segments' perceptions of the product, and in their likelihood to buy.     

What drives product involvement and satisfaction with OFDs amid COVID-19?

Online food delivery services (OFDs) have gained the attention of researchers due to the rapid growth of society. With COVID-19 wreaking havoc on markets worldwide, it compelled retailers and service providers to adjust their way of doing business drastically. OFD's emerged as an option either due to consumers' inability to cook, fear of exposure to Covid if they leave the house, monotony of eating home-cooked meals, and safety measures practiced by them. Hence, during this pandemic, the OFDs created a win-win situation for restaurant owners and consumers. However, the current literature does not clearly picture the factors influencing customers' behavioural intentions while using hospitality services in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary objective of our study is to understand the factors influencing customer satisfaction during the pandemic. In addition, explore the mediating role of consumer resilience and consumer attitude to strengthen the relationship between product involvement and customer satisfaction in the OFDs context. We have used the social cognitive theory as the theoretical framework for framing our hypotheses. The present study focuses on Indian consumers who have used OFDs during the pandemic. We employed a cross-sectional survey method to test the proposed research model. Two hundred forty valid questionnaires were collected to empirically test the research model using tools like confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using AMOS-28, direct and indirect relationships were tested using SPSS PROCESS macro. The results indicate that all the proposed hypotheses were supported. Theoretical and Practical implications of the study along with limitations are discussed.     

Consumer heterogeneity in the longer-term effects of price promotions

While a significant literature has emerged recently on the longer-term effects of price promotions, as inferred from persistence models, there is very little if any attention paid to whether such longer-term effects vary across different types of consumers. This paper takes a first step in that direction by exploring whether the adjustment, permanent, and total effects of price promotions, and the duration of the adjustment period, differ between consumers segmented based on their usage rates in a product category and their loyalty to a brand. We also investigate whether such consumer segmentation will improve the forecasting performance of persistence models at both product category and brand levels. Expectations are developed based on consumer behavior theory on various effects of price promotions, such as the post-deal trough, the mere purchase effect, the promotion usage effect, and responsiveness to competitor's reactions. Evidence from household-level supermarket scanner data on four product categories is provided. We find substantial differences between consumer segments and provide insights on how managers can increase the longer-term effectiveness of price promotions by targeting each consumer segment with a different promotion program. In addition, consumer segmentation is found to significantly improve the forecasting performance of the persistence model for two of the four product categories. For the other two product categories, consumer segmentation provides forecasting performance similar to that obtained from aggregate-level persistence models.     

Generation Y vs. Baby Boomers: Shopping behavior,buyer involvement and implications for retailing

This paper presents some significant empirical findings about generational cohorts and their shopping behavior. Marketing has long relied on the use of market segmentation. While birth age has been a useful way to create groups, it describes segments but does not help to understand segment motivations. However, environmental events experienced during one's coming of age create values that remain relatively unchanged throughout one's life. Such values provide a common bond for those in that age group, or generational cohort. Segmenting by ‘coming of age’ age provides a richer segmentation approach than birth age. This study compares two significant cohorts: Baby Boomers and Generation Y, with respect to their shopping behavior and purchase involvement for food, clothing and automobiles. For the three types of products, Baby Boomers value the retail experience and in-store service higher than Generation Y. For Baby Boomers, the purchase process starts with a retailer the consumer trusts, who gives advice for choosing the right product, while for Generation Y, the purchase process starts with choosing a product. This study presents implications for retail strategies that have an appeal to different generational cohorts and considers how retailers should deal with building customer relationships.     

Determinates of financial behavior: insights into consumer money attitudes and financial literacy

As consumer requirements for financial services permeate society, they link various financial institutions more closely together, developing divergent financial products. This research develops a conceptual framework for discussing consumer money attitudes, financial literacy regarding financial decisions, and financial behavior. Study findings suggest that consumers who have retention-planning and achievement-esteem attitudes toward money make high-risk financial decisions; anxiety toward money tends to exist mainly in low-risk investors. Financial literacy affects consumer financial behaviors, and demographic variables play segmentation roles. Theoretical contributions and management implications are provided in the study for related research, education departments and financial firms.     

Colston E. Warne Lecture: Is It Time for Another Round of Consumer Protection? The Lessons of Twentieth-Century U.S. History

The first year of Barack Obama's presidency has returned consumer issues to center stage, with several contentious struggles over consumer protection. This moment can be viewed as a fourth wave of the twentieth-century consumer movement, and a comparison with the first three waves (during the Progressive Era, the New Deal, and the 1960s–1970s) offers instructive insights. In particular, the contemporary battle over the Consumer Financial Protection Agency bears striking similarities to the failed campaign for a Consumer Protection Agency in the 1970s.     

Unusual purchasing behavior during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: The stimulus-organism-response approach

During the COVID-19 pandemic, unusual consumer behavior, such as hoarding toilet paper, was reported globally. We investigated this behavior when fears of consumer market disruptions started circulating, to capture human behavior in this unique situation. Based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework, we propose a structural model connecting exposure to online information sources (environmental stimuli) to two behavioral responses: unusual purchases and voluntary self-isolation. To test the proposed model, we collected data from 211 Finnish respondents via an online survey, and carried out analysis using PLS-SEM. We found a strong link between self-intention to self-isolate and intention to make unusual purchases, providing empirical evidence that the reported consumer behavior was directly linked to anticipated time spent in self-isolation. The results further revealed exposure to online information sources led to increased information overload and cyberchondria. Information overload was also a strong predictor of cyberchondria. Perceived severity of the situation and cyberchondria had significant impacts on people's intention to make unusual purchases and voluntarily self-isolate. Future research is needed to confirm the long-term effects of the pandemic on consumer and retail services.     

Changes in the Credit Repayment Performance of Low Income Consumers: An Exploratory Study

This paper examined the credit behavior during the second year of a two-year study of bank credit card use by a group of low income consumers who had had a consumer education course. It reports findings about factors affecting changes in repayment practices over the two-year period. Different variables were found to affect repayment behavior at different points in time with elements from traditional credit scoring schemes becoming important in the second year of study.     

Creating the Customer: The Influence of Advertising on Consumer Market Segments – Evidence and Ethics

For over half a century market segments have been considered objective groupings of individuals which marketers identify, understand, and target with advertising messages. The process of market segmentation has, therefore, occupied a position of moral neutrality. An increasingly popular method of segmentation is by consumer personality, with advertisers targeting messages to specific personality types. This paper explores personality segmentation, and presents empirical evidence to support the proposition that personality metrics that are used to assign individuals to segments may, in fact, be manipulable by advertising executions themselves. Quite apart from the implications that this has for the business efficacy of the segmentation process, the ethical implications – particularly as applied to children – are considerable.     

Revisiting the substantiality criterion: From ethnic marketing to market segmentation

This paper examines the meaning and application of the concept of substantiality for consumer market segmentation and target selection with a focus on ethnicity and minority ethnic groups. In contrast with interpretations of segment substance anchoring on some sufficient potential size to justify time and effort involved in planning, the objective is to consider key group dimensions to ascertain potential substantiality. Common criteria proposed to assess substance are essentially an exhortation to assess the value of the segmenting opportunity. An increase in producer surplus meets this requirement but this consideration is done post hoc. The challenge for market segmentation is to assess substantiality a priori. This paper presents a screening approach based on appraising minority ethnic group resources that enables such an assessment and has potential applicability to other consumer subcultures.     

Loving my local business as my neighbor: Religiosity's influence on local business support during a crisis

Many local businesses have and are continuing to struggle as a result of the pandemic crisis due in part to reduced consumer spending. However, the motives behind why some consumers are more supportive than others toward local businesses in such a crisis are not adequately understood. We address this gap in the literature through three experimental studies where we examine how the core consumer value of religiosity explains consumer response to the crisis as consumers seek to act in ways that align with their value system. Study 1 (257 adults from MTurk) shows a positive relationship between religiosity and support for local businesses but only during a pandemic. Study 2 (307 adults from MTurk) shows that this relationship is greatest for local (vs. non-local) businesses, and caring for one's neighbors mediates this effect. Finally, Study 3 (200 adults from MTurk) uses advertising to prime focus on one's neighbors, revealing that a neighbors-focused ad increases local business support to similar levels for consumers of all religiosity levels. Findings build on belief congruence theory with implications for marketing practitioners in the current pandemic crisis and other crises of medical, environmental, and other origins.     

The time-harried shopper: Exploring the differences between maximizers and satisficers

Schwartz and his colleagues have proposed individual differences in consumer decision goals. Maximizers are those who always strive to make the best possible decision, whereas satisficers are those who are usually willing to settle for a “good enough” option. In this study, we explore the influence of the maximizing trait in situations where consumers have to make quick purchase decisions. The context for our empirical study is online gift purchases made under a time constraint. The results support our predictions that maximizers (vs. satisficers) engage in more prepurchase browsing behavior and also perceive more decision time pressure. Furthermore, these effects are moderated by the size of the available choice assortment. The results also show that maximizers are more likely to change their initial time-constrained choices if given the opportunity to do so. We discuss the implications of the research for the study of individual differences in consumer behavior and also for customizing retail sales and Internet marketing tactics based on buyer segmentation.     

Consumer Preferences for ‘Localness’ and Organic Food Production

While organic food is based on well-defined production criteria, the criteria for ‘local’ food are less clear. This study investigates the preferences and trade-offs of distinct consumer segments relative to organic production and several dimensions of local food (sales channel, size of company, and geographical location of animals used in the production). The analysis is based on a quantitative survey of 505 Danish consumers and a choice experiment involving beef salami. Data were analyzed in a principal component and a latent class analysis. We identify five consumer segments whose preferences for organic and local product attributes differed substantially. Most respondents considered geographical proximity in the raising of cattle to be the most important attribute and a third of the consumers were willing to pay a premium for organic salami. The segmentation provides more detailed information about stated consumer behavior than what is typically elicited when considering only average consumer behavior.     

Timed intervention in COVID-19 and panic buying

In view of 2020 outbreak of the pandemic COVID-19, the paper examines the relationship between government measures for combating the pandemic and their side effects. Panic buying is identified as one such side effect. Among various models and measures undertaken by government to manage the pandemic, timed-intervention policy is commonly practiced by most countries. This paper examines the timing effect between government measures and panic buying. Three studies were undertaken to understand the timing effect and identify a connection between timed measures and consumer behaviours. Semantic analysis, secondary data search, and big data analytics were deployed to address the research aim. Although claiming a causal relationship is cautioned, the findings reveal a connection between timing of government measures and panic buying. These findings are discussed with the support of real-life evidence. Implications for researchers and practitioners conclude this paper.