A Theoretical Framework for Online Grocery Shopping During the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.
Loading...
Authors
Woudberg, DH.
Issue Date
2023-02
Type
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
This exploratory study utilised the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to interpret
the attitudes and behaviour of consumers towards the adoption and
abandonment of online grocery shopping in South Africa during the 2020 COVID-
19 pandemic. The study also explored how consumer actions manifested as new
and sustained behaviour.
The qualitative approach utilised 12 in-depth individual interviews and two focus
groups of eight people each, with data collected from both online and non-online
shopping consumers in Johannesburg, South Africa.
While convenience and service quality remained considerations in online
shopping decisions, the pandemic and associated health risks surfaced as
important overriding triggers to shift shopping behaviour. The dynamic socio-
demographics and social inequities in South Africa also highlighted affordability
and financial concerns as essential determinants.
The prolonged state of emergency and recurrent infection waves encouraged
new habits in online grocery shopping; however, freshness concerns encouraged
the continued patronage of traditional brick-and-mortar stores, resulting in mixed
attitudes towards shopping methods. Because of the rapid disease spread
accompanied by almost immediate dramatic and punitive lockdowns, people did
not have time to plan their survival behaviour and entered the lockdown with
unplanned reactive behaviour. It was only later that grocery consumers could
rationalise and begin logically planning their choices. A minor TPB revision is
proposed to account for the impact of an external shock on the planning of
behaviour by individuals.