COVID-19: Effect on the online purchasing behavior of Tunisian consumer

Abstract

Covid-19 is an infectious disease that has affected the whole world. This epidemic has had to change people's way of life, their consumption patterns and their purchasing behavior. This article aims to understand the factors that influence the online behavioral intention of Tunisian consumers during the pandemic. Therefore, the central question of this work is articulated as follows: what effect does the health crisis have on the determining variables of the online purchasing behavior of Tunisian consumers?

The interest of this article is twofold, where we will address the two facets of research, even theoretical and empirical. On the theoretical level, we will present an enriching conceptual framework highlighting the determining variables of online purchasing behavior. The fact that the purchasing behavior of the Tunisian consumer changes with the onset of the COVID-19 health crisis. The latter is oriented online during this period. The purchase criteria of the online shopper are changing in turn. As such, a segmentation of consumer profiles has been put forward allowing brands to adapt their marketing decisions and take advantage of this change.

On the empirical level, a quantitative study was conducted with 170 respondents. The data was collected via an electronic questionnaire. The chosen sampling method is the non-probability one using a convenience sample. In order to analyze the data collected, we opted for a principal component analysis followed by a bi-variate analysis. The results showed that online shopping confidence and attitude as well as perceived products risk influence online shopping behavior during the pandemic. The implication of this work is to reveal to brands the most determining variables influencing the online purchase intention of the Tunisian consumer in order to take them into consideration in the design of their sites and the creation of their content.

Keywords: COVID-19; trust, online shopping attitude; perceived risk; intent to purchase online.

JEL Classification : M39

Paper type : Empirical research