ABSTRACT
BecausetheCoronaVirusDiseaseof2019(COVID-19),whichaffectedourlifeineveryarea,willberememberedinhistory,2020willberecalled.BeforeCOVID-19, theeconomywouldneverbethesame.StartingonMarch23,ournationwasputontotallockdown.Forthemajorityofservicesandfactories,thelockdownbeganon March23.Thedifficultyanddangerofofflinebuyinghaveincreased.Customerswillbeencouragedtoshoponlineinordertobenefitfrominternettechnologies. Thereisaneedtocomprehendhowthisepidemichasaffectedcustomers'onlinepurchasingbehaviour Thereisaneedtocomprehendhowthisepidemichasaffected customers'onlinepurchasingbehaviour AnalyzingtheeffectofCOVID-19onthesalesofafewIndianFMCGfirmsisthesecondgoalofthisessay Thestudy'starget population of 1000 Gujarat-based consumers was chosen, and the companies HULand Dabur Limited were chosen to analyse secondary data. Based on the data analysis,ithasbeendeterminedthatthereisnorelationshipbetweenconsumers'perceptionsofonlineshoppingduringtheCovid-19pandemicandtheirdemographic profiles.Additionally,thereisnodiscernibledifferencebetweenthesalesofthecompaniesbeforeandaftertheCovid-19pandemic,indicatingthatthepandemic's effectsonthesalesofthechosencompaniesarealsounimportant.
KEYWORDS:Consumers,BuyingBehaviour,OnlineShopping,Covid-19.
INTRODUCTION:
Massivelosseshavebeenincurredandarestillbeingincurredbytheglobaleconomyingeneralandinternationaltradeinparticularasaresultofthecoronavirus epidemic.Manyvariablesservetoexacerbatetheuncertaintyinwhichcorporations and end users found themselves. These include, to name a few, a fall in income,limitsoninternationaltravel,changedconsumerdemand,andshifting market actor behaviour Consumers are being advised to spend more on online marketplaces due to the global lockdown, social isolation, and other measures putinplacetostoptheCOVID-19epidemic.Becauseofthis,thecorporateenvironment underwent quick changes throughout the quarantine. In the end, the CoronaCrisisspedupthegrowthofdigitaltrade.Globally,anew,morediscerning, financially struggling customer who is engrossed with digital technology hasevolved.
Lossesinrevenue,constrainedtransportationoptions,andpandemicmitigation strategiesthatreducedsupplieractivityhavecompelledB2Bmanufacturersand sellers to lower production and marketing costs, recruit new suppliers both domesticallyandoverseas,andhasteneddecision-making.Nationalbusinesses hadthechancetobroadentheirproductlinesinordertoreplaceimportedgoods andofferotherbusinessesandinternationalenterpriseswiththeresourcesthey need. B2C sectors, on the other hand, saw a reduction in consumer spending power and international mobility In addition, customers continued to favour cheapgoodsandserviceswhileshiftingtheirprioritiestowardhealthandsafety Productsthatenhanceasenseofcosinessandcomfortinalivingareaattracted more attention than usual. Overall, consumers delayed some of their demands duetotheunpredictabilityandambiguityofthesituation.Boththeindustrialand consumermarketsneededtospeedupdigitizationandmakeitsimpletobrowse andbuyproductsonline.
Online sales increased dramatically as a result of the pandemic. Customers turned to online shopping as physical store visits were limited and many were strappedforcash;thisledtoanincreaseinonlinesales.Evenbeforetheoutbreak, customers were generally cautious.As a result, several buying categories, like experiences, were steadily lowered in importance on their priority lists, and COVID-19spedupthisprocess.
Manypeople'sgoalsandwayoflifehavealteredasaresultoftheCOVID-19epidemic,whichhasalsoinfluencedhowtheybehavewhenmakingpurchases.The goalofthecurrentstudyistoevaluatethesechanges.Inordertoaccomplishthis, thestudyassessedhowthepandemicaffectede-commerceacrossbusinessesin ordertodiscovertheprioritiesofonlineshoppers.Asthepandemicprogressed,it also determined the key elements impacting online shoppers' purchasing decisionsviaamulti-stagesurvey Thedirectionoftheiralterationsagainstthebackdrop of the pandemic was analysed based on the presence of correlations betweenthestudiedelementsandthecomplexindicatorofactivationofonline consumeractivity
E-COMMERCEANDCOVID-19:
The internet has been widely used across many different industries, countries, and business sectors, especially in the e-commerce sector for the sale and purchase of goods and services. The expansion of m-commerce applications, e-
commerceportals,andotheronlineplatformsfortheexchangeofproductsand serviceshasaidedinthisrise.Whenpeopleseeanonlinegoodtheyareinterested in,theygoofflineandbuyit,whichisknownase-commerce.Theoppositealso occurs Online shopping and product purchases have been significantly impactedbye-commerceplatforms,amongotherprocesses.Globalmanufacturingandconsumercommunicationhaveundergoneradicalchangeasaresultof the development and widespread adoption of e-commerce technology and websites.Thephrase"Amazonecommercebusiness"describesaretailwebsite thatallowsforsimpleandefficientonlinesalesaswellasofflinedistributionof goodsandservices.Overtheyears,boththenumberofpeopleusinge-commerce websitesandthemoneythosecompaniesgeneratehaveincreasedsteadily 380 billiondollarswillbeAmazon'srevenuein2020,accordingtoaForbes2020estimate,upfrom280.5billiondollarsin2019.(Kohan,2020).Onetrilliondollars arepredictedtobetheturnoverby2025.AccordingtotheWorldHealthOrganization, there have been an estimated 5 million cases of COVID-19 since May 2020, and the virus has increased and spread globally (Sullivan, 2020). Nearly 106millionoccurrenceswerereportedasofFebruary2021,andthereweremore than 2.32 million fatalities (NetIndian, 2021). Since the COVID-19 disaster, manypreventativeprogrammeshavebeenputintoplaceinothernations.Some techniques employed to prevent physical contact between individuals include wearingmasks,maintainingsocialdistance,andself-isolation.Toguaranteethat the COVID-19 dissemination was kept to a minimum, several measures were taken.
Online shopping and the use of the internet for ecommerce for the purchase of goodsandserviceshavegrowninpopularitytoavoiddirecthumancontact.Consumer usage and transaction habits have expanded with the switch from traditionalcashtodigitalservices.
Indiahas100millionAmazonusers,accordingtoastudyintheEconomicTimes (J,2017).Therehavebeennewprogrammes,websites,andotherservicesdevelopedasaresultofIndia'sincreasingadoptionofonlineshoppinganddigitalpayment methods.The factors influencing customers' ongoing use of e-commerce platforms following the COVID-19 pandemics must be understood by all parties. Social media, product content, refund and exchange policies, product descriptions,vendorstatistics,deliverydates,shippingprices,webseriesormovies,productprice,andconventionalpromotionareallfactorsthatinfluencethe acceptability and use of e-commerce. Only a small number of studies have looked at the subject during the COVID 19 pandemic in India, despite the fact thatmanyhavebeenconductedtoevaluateonlineconsumerpurchasingintentto utilisee-commerce.Becauseofthis,thestudyintendstocloseanygapsbydeterminingthefactorsthataffectconsumers'decisionstouseonlinepurchasingduringtheCOVIDpandemic.
Prior to the CoronaVirus, market research was conducted, and it revealed that India's market for electronic commerce is expanding more quickly (approximately200U.S.dollarsbytheyear2026).Recentdevelopmentssincetheoutbreakshowthatthegoalcanbereachedconsiderablymorequicklythanpreviously anticipated, encouraged by a rise in consumers seeking online delivery despiteworriesaboutpossibleillnessesiftheyleavetheirhomes.Numerouspeoplearoundtheworldhavebeeninfectedwiththenewcoronavirus,whichisthe cause of the extremely serious corona virus disease (COVID-19). The main methodthevirusspreadsisbycontactwithacoronapositiveperson,thusthebest approachtoprotectyourselffromitistostayathomewhenyoucomeintocontactwithanareathathasthevirusonit.Asaresult,consumere-commercehas grown.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the suggested method for analysing onlineshoppers'spendingpatternsinordertohelpidentifytrendsandpatterns. Asaresult,itcanbeapartofacomprehensivetoolsetutilisedbybothstatesand individualbusinessestocreatetheire-commercestrategies.
LITERATUREREVIEW:
Bhattietal.(2020)mentionedinthestudythattheCoronavirushasanimpacton all global internet commerce. This epidemic has altered how business is conducted.Morethan50%ofconsumersareavoidingbusyareasandofflineshopping,perthereport.
Onlineshopping,oftenknownasE-buying,isatypeofelectroniccompanythat enablescustomerstobuyproductsorservicesdirectlyfromanonlinemerchant utilising Internet technology and a web browser, according to Charumathi and RANI(2017).Theyhavediscoveredthattheinternetiscrucialtothemanycapabilitiesprovidedbyelectroniccommerce.Theservicestaketheformofinteractions, transactions, and activities involving the delivery of goods and services. Whendevelopingefficientmarketingplansorpoliciestoraiseawarenessofdifferentproductsandservices,mobileapplicationsandwebsitesarecrucialcomponents.Onlineshoppingisthepractiseofpurchasinggoodsandservicesusinga computerormobiledevice.
According to Saravanan and Devi (2015), as internet usage grows, consumers' shopping habits are changing and they are becoming more and more drawn to online shopping. The number of online buyers has significantly increased as a resultofchangesinthepurchasingandsellingofgoodsandservices.Dueofthe risky corona virus, electronic shopping has recently grown in popularity The effectsofthisterroronpeople'slivescanbeseeninavarietyofareas,including employment,shopping,communication,spendingpatterns,behaviour,andproductpreferences.
AccordingtoSaravananandDevi(2015),astheInternethasadvanced,sohasthe technologyforonlinepurchases.Itisapracticalmethodofpurchasinggoodsand services that gives customers options for a wide range of goods. Customers engageininternetpurchasingbehaviourwhentheybrowsewebsitesorappsto find,choose,andpurchasegoodsandservicestosatisfytheirneedsandwants.
In his study, Rastogi (2010) discovered that consumers may now buy anything theywantfromanywheretheywanttoshopwithconvenientandsecurepayment choices.Tomakesmarterpurchases,customerscancomparevariousproductsas wellaswebsitesormobileapps.Onlineshoppingispopularforanumberofreasons,includingthewidevarietyofproducts,easypurchasing,affordablecosts, andseveralpaymentchoices.
NegerandUddin(2020)notedintheirstudythatlesstime-consumingpayment methods,organisationalvariables,andotherfactorshaveanimpactonconsumers'onlineshoppingbehaviour However,thereareanumberofadditionalvariables or forces that encourage customers to shop online after COVID-19. The keyfactorsdrivingonlineshoppingafterCOVID-19areconvenience,timesavings, and the digital transformation of neighbourhood kirana shops.These factorsincludelimitedhumanmovement,COVID-19 fear, therapidexpansionof mobiledevices,andalackofmerchandiseinphysicalstores.
AccordingtoHashem(2020),e-commercethroughvariouswebsitesormobile
appsisincreasinglyimportanttomostcustomersworldwide.Customersareespecially interested in online food shopping and other necessities in the month of April.
Electronic shopping is also influenced by consumers' desire to avoid wasting theirtimeandenergytravellingtostorestomakepurchases.E-retailersofferthe option of home delivery of goods or services. In the coming years, consumers wouldprefermakingpurchasesonlinetothosemadeinstoresorotherofflinevenues.Ontheotherhand,quarantineisanotherjustificationforpurchasingitems online.Therehavebeensomanyvariousissuesthroughoutthistime.Dueoftheir fearofcomingintocontactwithacoronapositiveindividual,peopledonotwillingtoleavetheirhomestogoshopping.ConsumersarethelifebloodofKirana's shops. Due of the Corona virus, people are looking for different options today, buttheydonotwanttointeractwithanyotherpeople.Customersnowfinditsimplertopurchasetheirfavouritegoodsandservicesintheshortestamountoftime thankstothekiranashops'andonlinedeliveryservices'rapiddevelopmentindigitalization. They also offer goods sanitization and contactless deliveries. ConsumersandbusinesseshaveprofitedfromthelocalKiranashops'digitalrevolution.
RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY:
ResearchObjective:
1. To evaluate consumer attitudes concerning internet purchases during COVID-19
2. ToevaluateCovid-19'seffectsonthesalesofspecificFMCGfirms
SampleSize: Thisstudyanalysedthepurchasingpatternsof1000consumersinGujaratstate, India,duringtheCovid-19pandemic.
ThetwoFMCGfirmslistedbelowwerethefocusofthisinvestigation.
1. DaburLimited
2. HindustanUnileverLimited
SourcesofData:
1000consumersinGujaratstateweretargetedtogettheprimarydata.
Secondary data was acquired through articles, published reports, company annualreports,andothersources.
PERIODOFDATACOVERAGE:
Financial statements of selected FMCG companies has been analysed for the years2019-20to2020-21tofindouttheimpactofCovid-19impactonsalesof thesecompanies.
DataAnalysis: Chi-squaretestingwasusedtoanalysetheprimarydatainthisstudy,andtheTtestwasusedtoanalysethesecondarydata.
1. Relationshipbetweenconsumers'perceptiontowardsbuyingonlineduring Covid-19andeducationoftheconsumers
“Chi-SquareTests”
“Value” “df” “AsymptoticSignificance(2-sided)” “PearsonChi-Square” a7.004 12 .857
H1: “There is no association between consumers' perception towards buying 0 onlineduringCovid-19andeducationoftheconsumers”
Interpretation:
Thesignificantpvalueishigherthan0.05,indicatingthatthereisnocorrelation betweenconsumereducationandtheirviewofonlineshoppingduringCOVID19.
2. Relationshipbetweenconsumers'perceptiontowardsbuyingonlineduring Covid-19andageoftheconsumers
“Chi-SquareTests”
“Value” “df” “AsymptoticSignificance(2-sided)” “PearsonChi-Square” a9.626 12 .649
H2: There is no association between consumers' perception towards buying 0 onlineduringCovid-19andageoftheconsumers
Interpretation:
Thesignificantpvalueisgreaterthan0.05,indicatingthatthereisnorelationship betweentheageoftheconsumersandtheirviewofonlineshoppingduringthe yearCovid-19.
3. Relationshipbetweenconsumers'perceptiontowardsbuyingonlineduring Covid-19andgenderoftheconsumers
H3: There is no association between consumers' perception towards buying 0 onlineduringCovid-19andgenderoftheconsumers
Interpretation:
Giventhatthesignificantpvalueismorethan0.05,itisclearthatthereisarelationshipbetweencustomers'perceptionsofonlineshoppingduringCOVID-19 andtheirgender
V Grashuis,J.,Skevas,T.,&Segovia,M.S.(2020).GroceryshoppingpreferencesduringtheCOVID-19pandemic.Sustainability,12(13),5369.
VI. Hashem,T N.(2020).ExaminingtheInfluenceofCOVID19PandemicinChanging Customers'OrientationtowardsE-Shopping.ModernAppliedScience,14(8).
VII. Neger, M., & Uddin, B (2020) Factors Affecting Consumers’InternetShoppingBehaviorDuringtheCOVID-19Pandemic:Evidence FromBangladesh.ChineseBusinessReview,19(3),91-104.
VIII. Rastogi,A.K.(2010).AStudyofIndianOnlineConsumers&TheirBuyingBehaviour InternationalResearchJournal,1(10),80-82.
IX. Saravanan,S.,&Devi,K.B.(2015).Astudyononlinebuyingbehaviourwithspecial referencetoCoimbatoreCity InternationalJournalofCommerce,BusinessandManagement,4(1),988-995.
X. Shetty, G., Nougarahiya, S., Mandloi, D., & Sarsodia, T (2020). COVID-19 and Global Commerce: An Analysis of FMCG, and Retail Industries of Tomorrow COVID-19: Social Science Response. Dr BRAmbedkar University of Social Sciences(BRAUSS),Indore,Forthcoming.
XI. Halan,D.(2020).ImpactofCOVID-19ononlineshoppinginIndia.
XII. GlobalData.(2020).COVID-19willchangeconsumers’onlineshoppingbehaviour
XIII. Alexandra,V.,Gustavfiliparne,P (2020).DigitalaVetenskapligaArkivetChanged BuyingBehaviorintheCOVID-19pandemic:theinfluenceofPriceSensitivityand PerceivedQuality
XIV Mcadams,J.(2020).TheGrowingImportanceofEcommerceinaPost-COVID-19 World.
XV Reddy,A.(2020).Covid-19impact:Consumersmovemoretowardsdigital.
XVI. Esomar,R.C.(2020).COVID-19ImpactOnBuyingBehavior
XVII. Desk,W.E.B.(2020).Howwille-commercechangeinIndiapostCOVID-19?.
XVIII.Basu,Raina(2020).TheimpactCOVID19pandemicisexertingone-commerce.
DECISION:
Thenullhypothesisisacceptedbecausethereisnosignificantdifferenceinthe sales of the companies before and after the Covid-19 pandemic, which implies that the pandemic had no effect on the sales of the chosen companies. This is shownintheabovetablewherethePvalue(TwoTail)is0.888,whichishigher thanthesignificancevalue0.05(Pvalue>0.05).
CONCLUSION:
Customers'buyingbehaviourandhabitswereobservedtohaveundergoneasignificantchangeduringtheCovid-19pandemic,andthemajorityofthesechanges are expected to last into the post-pandemic period. The buying of necessities such as milk and milk products, vegetables, fruits, pulses, flour, spices, edible oils,snacks,chips&biscuitsdidnotchangebeforelockdown,duringlockdown, orafterunlocking.Duringthelockdown,fewerpeopleboughtvariousproducts like newspapers, furniture, electronics, home appliances, books and stationary, sportsequipment,beautyproducts,clothing,jewellery,andfootwear,aswellas cars and restaurants. The purchase of some products, such as medications, immune system boosters, masks, gloves, internet/net packs, health and nutritionalproducts,sanitizers,anddisinfectants,hasgrown.Thisdemonstratesthat individualsaremoreconcernedwithsanitizationandhealthitems.Asmorepeoplebeganworkingfromhomejobsandgoingtoschoolduringlockdown,there wasanincreaseinnetpacksandinternetusage.
InIndia,onlineshoppingisconstantlygrowing,andthereisasignificantmarket opportunity for online retailers to enter underserved regions. E-retailers must therefore continuously assess their customers' expectations, take the necessary stepsassoonaspossibletoaddressanyissuestheircustomersmaybeexperiencingwhenshoppingonline,andprovidefull-fledgedproductsandservices,such asbetterqualitygoodsatlowerprices,promptreturnandreplacementofdamaged goods, and quicker delivery times, in order to increase customer satisfactionandfosterloyalty,whichhelpstokeepcurrentcustomersanddrawinnew ones.
REFERENCES:
I. Alam, J. (2020). Buying Behavior Under Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) PandemicSituation:AOnlinePerspectiveCaseinBangladeshiShoppers.ChineseBusinessReview,19(3),82-90.
II. Bhatti,A.,Akram,H.,Basit,H.M.,Khan,A.U.,Raza,S.M.,&Naqvi,M.B.(2020). E-commerce trends during COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Future GenerationCommunicationandNetworking,13(2),1449-1452.
III. Chang,H.H.,&Meyerhoefer,C.D.(2020).COVID‐19andtheDemandforOnline Food Shopping Services: Empirical Evidence from Taiwan. American Journal of AgriculturalEconomics.
IV Charumathi, D., & Rani, S. S. (2017). An empirical study on consumers buying behaviourtowardsonlineshopping.ClearInternationalJournalofResearchinCommerce&Management,8(10).
