Introduction
Covid-19 has fundamentally changed the
dynamics of the consumer consumption. In other words, people are now buying,
living and thinking differently. Consumers are responding deeply to the impact
of the pandemic from an economic perspective. In the narrow sense, consumer
behavior is a salient and ongoing decision-making process confined to
deliverables that include but not limited to purchase, utilize, use and the
disposal of a product (Valaskova et al., 2015). Subsequently, all the consumer
behavior is dependent on the aspect of location and duration. Therefore, the
realm of consumer habits includes what to consume, time to consume, location to
consume. The macro consumer behavior is formulated by the social issues.
However, in order to attain the factors of micro consumer behavior, discreet
factors are deduced (Solomon et al., 2004). The economic approach aid in
explaining the consumer behavior based upon the basic knowledge of micro economy
that premise on consumers defining their requirements. Due to covid-19, new trends within the realm
of consumer behavior emerge. The most significance factors that model consumer
behavior are risk attitude and perception.
Norway
is among the countries across the world that implemented unprecedented non-pharmaceutical
interventions (NPIs) geared towards limiting the spread of the deadly diseases
that include cessation, lockdowns and quarantine. In effect the required
reduction in face-to face arrangement massively ballooned utilization of
digital platforms in the economy. While
most of the companies were losers during the pandemic, amongst the “winners” is
online food vendors. The online food vendors were experiencing the surge in the
demand and large boost in sales (Hillen, 2020). According to the research by Savills
Commercial Research (2021),
the online food and grocery sales in Norway increases from 16% in 2019 to 120%
in 2020 (see appendix A). It is associated with the fact that, consumers were
obliged to make a good number of purchases they would make in the in-store over
the internet. Arguably, crisis can create and push innovations as well its
diffusion in relation to the changing socio-cultural aspects (Archibugi, 2017). Thus, the pandemic has results to the sudden
increase of online food vendors.
Literature review
Consumer behavior
The theory confine to consumer behavior
implies the way in which the consumer, who is expected to be a rational person
takes the decision concerning to the purchasing of good. Consumer behavior
refers “to the buyers and clients of products
and services, as well as to persons who use these products and services”. According
to Cornescu and Adams (2015), consumer behavior refers to “is a way of acting,
which implies the decision-making process of the consumer (as an economic
agent), as well as all the activities he performs for being informed, being
able to purchase, use, evaluate, etc., some consumer goods.” Almaria et al.
(2012) in their research indicates that people have varying perception about a
situation with a negative effect like adverse effect on the economic.
Economic approach to consumer behavior
The
economic approach to consumer behavior view consumers to be highly rational and
enough involvement in economic undertakings in a positive manner for self interest
(Tyagi, 2004). Subsequently, the principle consumer rational behavior encompass
consumer having awareness of the alternative options and being well informed on
the cons and pros linked to each option (Kahle et al., 2006)
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