Keywords

COVID-19, Outbreak, Consumers, Buying Behaviour, Consumers Attitude, Online Shopping, Online Payment

Introduction

Customer conduct is a considerable and mind perplexing system. It is predicated upon the purchaser's mental profile and socio cautious condition. Where on the one hand, the buying depth of the purchaser is an vital factor; it's miles additionally evident that during any occasion, while the buying strength isn't an trouble, there are distinct variables which play an wonderful and big process in the customer's buying behavior. Kumari & Godla (2020) the international confronted a completely unique task because of the COVID-19 pandemic. China was the primary country.To stand the mass unfold of novel Coronavirus (Meghna, 2021) The COVID-19 pandemic, the social measurement and staying at domestic, brought about adjustments in numerous regions, however, it become truly affected client conduct (Bakkar, 2020) The pandemic has made a great psychosocial effect on the behavior of the human beings toward their shopping for desires. The modifications inside the priorities were noticed in human beings’s buying alternatives due to the worry of the uncertainties caused by the disease. (Sharma & Mehta, 2021) The recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the lives of human beings, businesses, and additionally consumers. There has been a shift in customer buying behavior as nicely. This exchange in conduct is due to many underlying factors including a exchange in earnings, lockdown, disruption within the deliver chain, unavailability of a product, accessibility of the product.

Review of Literature

Ali (2020) with the growing penetration of the net, online shopping has become ubiquitous with payments and deliveries made smooth. Moreover, because of COVID-19, on line purchasing has turn out to be even extra appealing, thinking about the limited situations. This observes investigates the possible correlation of COVID-19 to purchaser shopping for behaviors of electronic durable items in Iraq with a selected consciousness on expertise purchaser diversifications to the related regulations. Pham, et al., (2020) The Covid-19 pandemic has promoted online buying activities of Vietnamese clients extra actively, which previously took a variety of effort of online businesses, however turned into now not effective. However, will this changing behavior be sustained after the Covid-19 pandemic? Therefore, the article goals to investigate how clients alternate for the duration of the Covid-19 outbreak based on perceived dangers and perceived benefits of customers in on line purchasing. These businesses of factors might be assessed at the side of the moderating role of the Covid-19 effect. In so doing, the paper investigated 427 online consumers at some stage in the Covid-19 outbreak from March to April 2020 in Vietnam (the period of social distancing). The accrued facts were analyzed by means of the hierarchical regression to determine how the Covid-19 played as a moderator that changed the perception of online clients in Vietnam.

Wijaya (2020) this newsletter describes the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on customer behavior in Indonesia. This article discusses the factors that shape panic shopping for conduct because of COVID-19 in Indonesia. The take a look at was carried out using exploratory studies on numerous folks that experienced panic buying in areas laid low with COVID-19 and experienced local regulations. Pantano, et al., (2020) The COVID-19 pandemic (that started out in early 2020) is causing several disruptions inside the quick- and mid-term, to which companies should adapt. Some outlets have reacted to the emergency straight away, showing a plethora of various intervention kinds. The author’s goal to synthesize the challenges that retailers are dealing with in the course of the COVID-19 emergency. We do this from the attitude of each customers and executives, with the goal of imparting guidelines on and examples of ways outlets can cope with this extraordinary state of affairs.

Debnath (2021) the findings provide that the independent variable (massive price upward push of merchandise and delayed online services) extraordinarily impacts the purchase behavior of consumers. The statistics reflects after assessment that the male respondents having month-to-month profits ranged from 0 to 30,000 with an age group starting from 25 to 35 exceptionally influences the patron buy behavior. Koirala (2021) In the COVID-19 pandemic length, on line shopping has accelerated in Nepal because of get right of entry to to the net at a low price. This is actual that COVID-19 is by hook or by crook reshaping patron shopping for conduct. The studies indicate that respondents are fairly high quality towards on line purchases too. However, the customer feels that there are still many problems and problems related to the net buy in Nepal i.E. Credibility of goods, first-class guarantee, emblem configuration, and so forth.

Objectives of the Study

This research aims to study following objectives

• To study the attention and information of customers towards COVID -19

• To take a look at the fee, availability and other problems on the COVID- 19 impact at the shopping for behavior

• To examine the purchaser's mindset in the direction of COVID -19 impact on the buying behavior.

Research Methodology

The primary data for the existing research has been amassed thru a Google shape for records collection. The secondary data had been accumulated from numerous reports, web sites, books, and magazines, Newspapers, SSRN, and Research Papers. The respondents of the look at are from Coimbatore City, Tamil Nadu. The researcher has adopted the Convenient Sampling Method. Approximately 620 respondents were contacted via the Google form to fill within the survey questionnaire. Despite the sincere efforts, a complete of 315 entire survey questionnaires was crammed in by using respondents. The statistics accumulated thru survey questionnaires have been analyzed with using SPSS Statistics model 23 software program. . For the motive of analysis appropriate statistical strategies which includes probabilities, mean, ANOVA and T-test a look at had been used to investigate and interpret the required facts.

Analysis of Data and Discussion of Results

Demographic Profile of Respondents

Table 1 Gender
Demographic variable		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Male	163	51.7	51.7	51.7
	Female	147	46.7	46.7	98.4
	Prefer not to say	5	1.6	1.6	100.0
	Total	315	100.0	100.0

Table 2Age (Years)
Demographic variable		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	21-30	97	30.8	30.8	30.8
	31-40	103	32.7	32.7	63.5
	Above 40	73	23.2	23.2	86.7
	Upto 20	42	13.3	13.3	100.0
	Total	315	100.0	100.0

Table 3 Education
Demographic variable		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Diploma/ITI	3	1.0	1.0	1.0
	UG	49	15.6	15.6	16.5
	PG and above	263	83.5	83.5	100.0
	Total	315	100.0	100.0

Table 4Occupation
Demographic variable		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Private Service	223	70.8	70.8	70.8
	Public Service	92	29.2	29.2	100.0
	Total	315	100.0	100.0

Table 5 Monthly Income (RS.)
Demographic variable		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Above Rs.60000	64	20.3	20.3	20.3
	Rs.20001 to 40000	60	19.0	19.0	39.4
	Rs.40001 to 60000	29	9.2	9.2	48.6
	Upto Rs.20000	162	51.4	51.4	100.0
	Total	315	100.0	100.0

Table 6 Marital Status
Demographic variable		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Un Married	145	46.0	46.0	46.0
	Married	170	54.0	54.0	100.0
	Total	315	100.0	100.0

Interpretation of Demographic Profile

The demographic profile of the respondents is given in Tables 1 to 6. (Table 1) 315 numbers of respondents, 51.7% of the respondents are male, and 46.7% of the respondents are women. (Table 2) The age organization of most of the respondents became 32.7% of the respondents 31-40 year’s age group. (Table 3) most of the respondents surveyed in our questionnaire possessed a submit-commencement and above qualification.83.5%. (Table 4) most of the respondents had been 58.7 % Private hired. (Table 5) 51.4 % of the majority of respondents are earnings Upto Rs.20000, (Table 6) There had been 54.0% of most of the people respondents are married.

Impact of Covid-19 on Consumption Pattern

Table 7 Covid-19 Impact On Your Buying Behavior
Demographic variable		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Strongly Disagree	18	5.7	5.7	5.7
	Disagree	22	7.0	7.0	12.7
	Neither agree nor disagree	47	14.9	14.9	27.6
	Agree	69	21.9	21.9	49.5
	Strongly Agree	159	50.5	50.5	100.0
	Total	315	100.0	100.0

Table 8 Spend Money on Only Essential Goods
Demographic variable		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Strongly Disagree	19	6.0	6.0	6.0
	Disagree	18	5.7	5.7	11.7
	Neither agree nor disagree	35	11.1	11.1	22.9
	Agree	78	24.8	24.8	47.6
	Strongly Agree	165	52.4	52.4	100.0
	Total	315	100.0	100.0

Table 9 Covid-19 Changed Your Brand Preference
Demographic variable		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Most Unlikely	33	10.5	10.5	10.5
	Unlikely	32	10.2	10.2	20.6
	May be	140	44.4	44.4	65.1
	Likely	64	20.3	20.3	85.4
	Most Likely	46	14.6	14.6	100.0
	Total	315	100.0	100.0

Table 10Purchase More Fruits and Vegetables During Covid -19
Demographic variable		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Strongly Disagree	21	6.7	6.7	6.7
	Disagree	39	12.4	12.4	19.0
	Neither agree nor disagree	58	18.4	18.4	37.5
	Agree	66	21.0	21.0	58.4
	Strongly Agree	131	41.6	41.6	100.0
	Total	315	100.0	100.0

Table 11 Covid-19 Changed Your Food Behavior
Demographic variable		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Strongly Disagree	21	6.7	6.7	6.7
	Disagree	27	8.6	8.6	15.2
	Neither agree nor disagree	55	17.5	17.5	32.7
	Agree	80	25.4	25.4	58.1
	Strongly Agree	132	41.9	41.9	100.0
	Total	315	100.0	100.0

Table 12 Use Online Payment for Purchasing
Demographic variable		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Strongly Disagree	47	14.9	14.9	14.9
	Disagree	30	9.5	9.5	24.4
	Neither agree nor disagree	48	15.2	15.2	39.7
	Agree	66	21.0	21.0	60.6
	Strongly Agree	124	39.4	39.4	100.0
	Total	315	100.0	100.0

Table 13 Lockdown Has Reduced Your Expenditure
Demographic variable		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Strongly Disagree	25	7.9	7.9	7.9
	Disagree	20	6.3	6.3	14.3
	Neither agree nor disagree	66	21.0	21.0	35.2
	Agree	78	24.8	24.8	60.0
	Strongly Agree	126	40.0	40.0	100.0
	Total	315	100.0	100.0

Table 14 Lockdown Has Saved Your Income
Demographic variable		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Strongly Disagree	63	20.0	20.0	20.0
	Disagree	39	12.4	12.4	32.4
	Neither agree nor disagree	55	17.5	17.5	49.8
	Agree	67	21.3	21.3	71.1
	Strongly Agree	91	28.9	28.9	100.0
	Total	315	100.0	100.0

Table 15 Covid-19 Changed Your Entire Life
Demographic variable		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Strongly Disagree	18	5.7	5.7	5.7
	Disagree	27	8.6	8.6	14.3
	Neither agree nor disagree	62	19.7	19.7	34.0
	Agree	79	25.1	25.1	59.0
	Strongly Agree	129	41.0	41.0	100.0
	Total	315	100.0	100.0

Interpretation

The Impact of COVID-19 at the Consumption Pattern of the respondents is given in Tables 7 to 15. (Table 7) 50.5% Majority of the respondents are strongly agreeing at the COVID-19 effect on shopping for behavior. (Table 8) There have been 52.4% Majority of the respondents are strongly agreeing the Spend cash on best crucial items. (Table 9) There have been 44.4 % Most of the respondents are perhaps that COVID-19 Changed brand Preference. (Table 10) From the above, it may be observed that 41.6 % strongly agreeing with the acquisition more culmination and veggies at some stage in COVID -19. (Table 11) From the above, it can be observed that 41.9 % strongly agreeing the COVID-19 changed your food behavior. (Table 12) There were 39.4 % strongly agreeing the COVID-19 changed the use of payment methods for purchasing. (Table 13) 40.0 % Majority of the respondents are strongly agreeing the COVID-19 lockdown has reduced your expenditure. (Table 14) From the above, it can be observed that 28.9 % strongly agreeing the COVID-19 lockdown has saved your income. (Table 15) There were 41.0 % strongly agreeing the COVID-19 changed entire life of the respondents.

One-Sample Statistics T-test

H₀: There is no significant relationship between COVID-19 impact and buying behavior of respondents

Table 16 One-Sample Statistics on Covid-19 Impact on Buying Behavior
Buying Behavior	N	Mean	Std. Deviation	Std. Error Mean	t value	P value	Rank
COVID-19 impact on your buying behavior	315	4.044	1.2043	0.0679	59.606	0.000	2
spend money on only essential goods	315	4.117	1.1819	0.0666	61.828	0.000	1
Covid-19 Changed Your Brand Preference	315	3.184	1.1305	0.0637	49.988	0.000	3

Interpretation

Table 16 since the significance value is 0.00. It is interpreted that there is no significance difference between two variables. Accept H0.

H₀: There is no significant relationship between COVID-19 impact and Food, fruits, vegetables Consumption behavior of respondents.

Table 17 One-Sample Statistics on Covid-19 Impact on Food, Fruits, Vegetables Consumption Behavior
Consumption Behavior	N	Mean	Std. Deviation	Std. Error Mean	t value	P value	Rank
Purchase more fruits and vegetables during COVID -19	315	3.784	1.2860	0.0725	52.224	0.000	2
COVID-19 changed your food behavior	315	3.873	1.2350	0.0696	55.659	0.000	1
Prefer to use online payment for purchasing	315	3.603	1.4557	0.0820	43.930	0.000	3

Interpretation

Table 17 since the significance value is 0.00. It is interpreted that there is no significance difference between two variables. Accept H0.

H₀: There is no significant relationship between COVID-19 impact and Income and Expenditure of respondents.

Table 18 One-Sample Statistics on Covid-19 Impact on Income and Expenditure
N	Mean	Std. Deviation	Std. Error Mean	t value	P value	Rank
Lockdown has reduced your expenditure	315	3.825	1.2459	0.0702	54.495	0.000	2
Lockdown has saved your income	315	3.267	1.4927	0.0841	38.842	0.000	3
COVID-19 changed your entire life	315	3.870	1.2046	0.0679	57.015	0.000	1

Interpretation

Table 18 since the significance value is 0.00. It is interpreted that there is no significance difference between two variables. Accept H0.

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)

Table 19 Anova For Gender of The Respondents Impact on Buying Behavior
		Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
COVID-19 impact on your buying behavior	Between Groups	7.604	2	3.802	2.649	0.072
	Within Groups	447.774	312	1.435
	Total	455.378	314
Spend money on only essential goods	Between Groups	2.596	2	1.298	0.929	0.396
	Within Groups	436.058	312	1.398
	Total	438.654	314
Covid-19 Changed Your Brand Preference	Between Groups	7.169	2	3.585	2.838	0.060
	Within Groups	394.151	312	1.263
	Total	401.321	314

Interpretation

From the above table 19 it is found that the gender of the respondents on COVID-19 impact on your buying behavior (F=2.649) Spend money on only essential goods (F=0.929) and Covid-19 Changed brand preference (F=2.838) this leads to mean comparison as shown in the descriptive table.

Table 20 Anova For Gender of The Respondents on Food, Fruits, Vegetables Consumption Behavior
		Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
Purchase more fruits and vegetables during COVID -19	Between Groups	4.698	2	2.349	1.424	0.242
	Within Groups	514.623	312	1.649
	Total	519.321	314
COVID-19 changed your food behavior	Between Groups	6.545	2	3.272	2.161	0.117
	Within Groups	472.376	312	1.514
	Total	478.921	314
Prefer to use online payment for purchasing	Between Groups	20.038	2	10.019	4.844	0.008
	Within Groups	645.359	312	2.068
	Total	665.397	314

Interpretation

From the above table 20 it is found that the gender of the respondents on COVID-19 impact on food, fruits, vegetables consumption behavior. Purchase more fruits and vegetables during COVID -19 (F=1.424) COVID-19 changed your food behavior (F=2.161) Prefer to use online payment for purchasing (F=4.844). This leads to mean comparison as shown in the descriptive table.

Table 21 Anova For Gender Of The Respondents On Covid-19 Impact On Income And Expenditure
		Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
Lockdown has reduced your expenditure	Between Groups	1.867	2	0.934	0.600	0.549
	Within Groups	485.530	312	1.556
	Total	487.397	314
Lockdown has saved your income	Between Groups	3.354	2	1.677	0.752	0.472
	Within Groups	696.246	312	2.232
	Total	699.600	314
COVID-19 changed your entire life	Between Groups	0.025	2	0.012	0.008	0.992
	Within Groups	455.639	312	1.460
	Total	455.663	314

Interpretation

From the above table 21 it is found that the gender of the respondents on COVID-19 impact on income and expenditure of respondents. Lockdown has reduced your expenditure (F=0.600) Lockdown has saved your income (F=0.752) COVID-19 changed your entire life (F=0.008) this leads to mean comparison as shown in the descriptive table.

Conclusion

In this article, we are primarily interested in how coronavirus spread and affect the consumer buying behavior of Coimbatore City, Tamil Nadu. Awareness of almost this topic can countersign better information in respondents and deliberation to how consumer buying behavior effected by COVID-19. The COVID-19 dimensioned via market shutdown and border closure relatively and jointly influenced the consumption pattern and consumer buying behavior of specific essential products like groceries, foods, fruits, vegetables, sanitizers, face masks, soap, etc. Based on the findings of this study, Most of the respondents strongly agreeing on the COVID-19 impact buying behavior spends money on only essential goods, Brand Preference, purchase more fruits and vegetables, changed food behavior, reduced expenditure, saved income, and changed the entire life of the respondents.

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