digital marketing and consumer behaviour research paper

Digital Consumer Behaviour and eCommerce Trends during the COVID-19 Crisis

• Research Note
• Published: 24 March 2021
• Volume 27 , pages 83–85, ( 2021 )

Cite this article

• Petra Jílková   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2884-5334 1 &
• Petra Králová   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1607-7243 1  

38k Accesses

43 Citations

17 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has rapidly changed e-commerce. With revenues of US $351.9 billion, Europe was the third largest e-commerce market in 2019. Annual growth (6.0%) is projected to lead to revenues of US $565.9 billion by 2025 in Europe. Overall, e-commerce revenues saw 10% additional growth in Europe in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis (Statista, https://www.statista.com/study/42335/ecommerce-report/2021 , 2021).

New e-commerce standards build on traditional marketing theories (Haan et al., Journal of Marketing , 2018; Sunder et al., Journal of Marketing Research , 2016; Verhoef, Journal of Marketing , 2017) with the added insight of understanding digital consumer behavioural characteristics, developing consumer insights and creating value propositions that offer consumers higher levels of satisfaction (Achrol and Kotler, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science , 2012; Eggert et al., Industrial Marketing Management , 2020; Payne and Frow, Journal of Services Marketing , 2020). During the COVID-19 crisis, consumer behaviour and purchasing habits fundamentally changed.

This paper examines the effect the COVID-19 crisis had on digital consumer behaviour and discusses factors affecting online shopping and the latest trends in e-commerce in the Czech Republic. Potential respondents were selected from different generational cohorts in two waves. Based on generation cohort theory (Igelhart, Princeton University Press, 1997), the current research defined respondent cohorts as follows: Generation Alpha (2011-present), Generation Z (1997–2010), Generation Y (Millennials) (1983–1996), Generation X (1965–1982), Baby Boomers (1946–1964), and the Silent Generation (1928–1945). This paper investigated factors influencing consumer behaviour among 200 respondents who participated in a survey created for this purpose. The first wave took place before the COVID-19 crisis between November 1, 2019 and December 1, 2019. The second wave took place during the COVID-19 crisis between April 1, 2020 and May 1, 2020. The online structured questionnaire consisted of 28 questions, including ten questions regarding socio-demographic identification. The questions used in the questionnaire were close-ended (multiple-choice) and open-ended. Completing the questionnaire took approximately 15 minutes. Potential respondents were selected through the authors´ social networks (personal database) (especially generation cohorts X and Z). To meet quota requirements (Online Supplemental Appendix Table 1 lists the generations), 700 individuals were contacted in each wave. Baby Boomers and the Silent generation were contacted again via the authors´ personal database. 100 questionnaires were finalized in each wave, and the response rate was 14% overall. The respondents were sent a follow-up message one week after first contact to obtain a higher response rate. 55 respondents also participated in the second wave. To fulfil the quota characteristics, 45 additional respondents were obtained via social networks and personal contacts.

Customer behaviour was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic itself as well as by government restrictions. Consumers from all generational cohorts reported digitally purchasing goods and services at a higher rate during the COVID-19 crisis, though Baby Boomers were important drivers of e-commerce growth. Overall, there was a considerable shift to digital spending because 43% of all respondents had shopped online since the COVID-19 crisis began in comparison with 12% before the crisis. Purchasing frequency increased as well. Weekly shopping via the Internet was reported by 25% of respondents compared to 9.8% of respondents before the COVID-19 crisis across all generational cohorts.

The results showed two main findings. First, increases were evident in consumption of food and non-alcoholic beverages, online educational services, and online content. As of May 1, 2020, 54.8% of respondents had started purchasing food and non-alcoholic beverages online instead of offline because of the pandemic. Between March 2020 and April 2020, there was a decrease in spending on non-food categories such as online booking of leisure activities, transport tickets, body care, and fashion clothing, footwear, and accessories. Spending on these categories decreased by over 40% from April 1, 2020 to May 1, 2020 compared to November 1, 2019 to December 1, 2019. Second, e-commerce was affected by a change in the primary devices used to access online shops and the payment method used. The personal computer became the most preferred device (52%) for searching and purchasing online during the second wave of this research compared to pre-crisis greater use of smartphones and tablets. Before COVID-19, only 47% used a personal computer. Nearly 65% of digital consumers used digital payment methods (online banking, online money transfer or mobile pay), over 20% more than before the pandemic. Interest in paying via Apple Pay and Google Pay grew when both tracked waves were compared. In the second wave during the pandemic, 13% of Generation Z used this method compared to 1% of Generations X and Y.

This research note provides an overview of digital consumer behaviour during both study periods and aims to present novel results. Based on the survey results, respondents prefer online shopping due to fear of the pandemic, a desire to feel safe at home, and global government restrictions. In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase in online transactions and changes in online searches, realized payments and methods of delivering goods and services. The profile of online customers changed. More consumers, mainly from the small Baby Boomer and Silent Generation samples, were attracted to online shopping during the COVID-19 crisis by necessity due to closed stores and infection risk. Most of these consumers reported that they planned to continue online purchasing. The new reality is that customer and shop interactions have increasingly moved online.

The current preliminary results will be used in designing a future in-depth analysis of leading e-commerce trends and the new post-COVID-19 pandemic reality. There are three main limitations. The first two are the small sample size in both waves and that the research was not done internationally. The third limitation is the time horizon. Future studies should be done longitudinally to explore the complexities of the impact of COVID-19 on digital consumer behaviour.

Acknowledgments

This academic text is dedicated to the University of Chemistry & Technology, Prague.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Economics and Management, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 16628, Prague 6, Czech Republic

Petra Jílková & Petra Králová

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Petra Jílková .

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

(DOCX 27 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Jílková, P., Králová, P. Digital Consumer Behaviour and eCommerce Trends during the COVID-19 Crisis. Int Adv Econ Res 27 , 83–85 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11294-021-09817-4

Download citation

Accepted : 09 March 2021

Published : 24 March 2021

Issue Date : February 2021

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11294-021-09817-4

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS ON EFFECT OF DIGITAL MARKETING ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR

Related Papers

Bhaskar Jha

The era of traditional marketing is slowing fading out owing to its high cost and low conversion ratio, and is being replaced by heavy investments in Digital Marketing by all firms alike. Digital Marketing uses various digital tools and technology to reach the target customers and performs data driven marketing of products and services. Identification of target customer is comparatively easy in digital media marketing and hence is more effective compared to traditional media marketing. This paper gives an insight on how by using digital marketing, the customer reach can be enhanced in a cost-effective way. It also gives a review of how the digital marketing landscape is changing. It emphases on how social media platforms can be leveraged for digital marketing and discussing the effectiveness of different platform. Besides this, various channels are available to make the digital marketing experience smoother. Tools like search engine optimization, influencer marketing, product placement etc. helps in increasing the visibility of the product significantly. Below the line activities such as e-mail marketing, content marketing, affiliate marketing helps you to connect with the customer directly. Various channels such as Pay per click marketing, Social Media Marketing, YouTube marketing and effectiveness of each channel has been discussed in this paper. The elements of a digital marketing program for attracting the customers, engaging them and retaining them and how to understand their preferences would be known after reading this paper. This will help to choose the best digital marketing channel based on products and services that you are offering. The final aim is to decide upon which channels and social media platforms to be used strategically and achieve the right mix and desired ROI. This research can provide a general framework for comparing different social media platforms and how the selection of particular channel and digital platform will influence the product or service communication. Also, the way forward and the need for organizations to go digital has been stressed upon. The shift towards a digital India will take place over a period of time. The internet penetration of urban India is close to 60% but that of rural India still stays at less than 20%, hence it will be a slow and steady process. The market is becoming very competitive and digital organizations need to update their marketing strategy in accordance with the consumer behaviour. Digital marketing allows marketers to come up with more innovative ideas to market their products. Latest technologies like 3D printing have also been discussed which may change the way marketing happens in future. It is now possible to create a 3D object from a digital model. This can be a viable marketing tactic for businesses in future. In future it will be possible for businesses to create accessories which can then be printed by customers who have 3D printers. This will result into elimination of unnecessary processes and also help in customization. The future of marketing is here, ready?

Mohan Khanal

Tabitha durai , Rachel King

Journal of Management Research and Analysis

Innovative Publication

In this highly competitive and innovation progression market the use of web has increased unexceptionally which have forced the market to move from traditional old form to new digital marketing. The recent expansion and advancement of web use or commitment of buyer and sellers have increased as the result of which consumers approach is changing and companies should have in depth examination of it. Therefore, this research studies is conducted to analyse the impact of digital marketing on the consumer’s buying behaviour in this cutthroat market. Digital marketing refers to the way through which one can display alludes to promotion depicted by using advanced channels like online entertainment, emails and portable applications. It give customer open doors to examine the product launched by companies and do comparison accordingly. Customer has access to products not only within the countries but throughout the world and all these has become possible only through digital marketing. Keywords: Digital Marketing, Satisfaction, Consumer Behaviour

Simona V. Pașcalău

HighTech and Innovation Journal

Fidan Qerimi

Objectives: This research aims to measure the impact of digital marketing vs. traditional marketing on consumer behavior by analyzing their motives and reasons related to the orientation and purchase of products or services through social media and identifying the differences in marketing strategies used depending on the demographics of respondents. Methods: The research was realized based on primary data. For the realization of the research objectives and questions, a quantitative method was used, where 400 citizens of Kosovo were a part of the research. Findings: Based on the ordinary least squares (OLS) model, it turned out that the two marketing types impact consumer buying behavior, but digital marketing turned out to be the indicator with the greatest impact on deciding to make purchases. Also, based on the t-test and ANOVA, there was no significant difference in using traditional and digital marketing types depending on demographic variables. Novelty/improvement:Through this ...

Nickenson Cauilan

Marketers are faced with new challenges and opportunities within this digital age. Digital marketing is the utilization of electronic media by the marketers to promote the products or services into the market. The main objective of digital marketing is attracting customers and allowing them to interact with the brand through digital media. This article focuses on the importance of digital marketing for both marketers and consumers. We examine the effect of digital marketing on the firms' sales. Additionally the differences between traditional marketing and digital marketing in this paper are presented. This study has described various forms of digital marketing, effectiveness of it and the impact it has on firm's sales. The examined sample consists of one hundred fifty firms and fifty executives which have been randomly selected to prove the effectiveness of digital marketing. Collected data has been analyzed with the help of various statistical tools and techniques.

Proceedings of the 6th Global Conference on Business, Management, and Entrepreneurship (GCBME 2021)

CroDiM : International Journal of Marketing Science

Sanja Bijakšić

George Micallef

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

RELATED PAPERS

International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering

Chrishankar Janathanan

Chief E D I T O R IJRISAT

Journal of Marketing

Nenad Peric

Journal of Database Marketing

Mehmed Kantardzic

Journal of Marketing Analytics

Tat Huei Cham

International Journal of Management, IT & Engineering

International Research journal of Management Science and Technology ISSN 2250 – 1959 (online) ISSN 2348 – 9367 (Print)

Pinaki Mandal

International Journal of Advanced Research (IJAR)

IJAR Indexing

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

Nitish Singh

International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews

Ashamayee Mishra

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

SELMAN GÖKÇE

International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development

Dr. Sudhakar D Bhoite

Jorge Remondes

Informatyka Ekonomiczna

iwona chomiak

Journal of Consumer Marketing

Ning Chris Chen

nika derecho

Irene Dickey

Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, Economics and Finance

Doç. Dr. Yakup DURMAZ

Pouria Firouzi

Virtual Economics

Rafis Abazov

Dr. S Sriranjani Mokshagundam

harshit gupta

anish gupta

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE

Dr.Subrahmanian Muthuraman

Amity University

Prof.Dr.Rashmi Gujrati

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

• Digital Marketing

A study on Digital marketing and its impact on Consumer Behavior

• September 2021
• PalArch s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt / Egyptology 18(09):78-85
• 18(09):78-85

• Seshadripuram First Grade College Yelahanka
• This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.

Discover the world's research

• 25+ million members
• 160+ million publication pages
• 2.3+ billion citations

• Dr. S. Kamalasaravanan
• Vignesh V L
• Dr. Rashmi Ranjan Mohapatra

• DR. A. PUNNAVANAM
• MRS. JASEENA. VP

• Recruit researchers
• Join for free
• Login Email Tip: Most researchers use their institutional email address as their ResearchGate login Password Forgot password? Keep me logged in Log in or Continue with Google Welcome back! Please log in. Email · Hint Tip: Most researchers use their institutional email address as their ResearchGate login Password Forgot password? Keep me logged in Log in or Continue with Google No account? Sign up