Consumer‘s Behaviour Regarding Cashless Payments during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of the paper was to define the current attitudes of Poles vs. cashless transactions and their perception of the related risk of Covid-19 infection. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research method involved a survey, and the research tool was a survey questionnaire distributed by a research agency. The target-amount selection procedure was applied and the sample structure corresponds to the structure of the Polish population with respect to the studied features. The survey sample included 1000 respondents. Findings: The studied population (of Polish consumers) were less willing to pay with cash during the pandemic than beforehand. This is related with avoiding contact with cash, as well as easy documentation of transactions, increasing their transparency. During the pandemic Polish consumers were more willing to shop at Polish online shops or retail services (e.g. Allegro) than foreign ones (e.g., AliExpress). However, the study shows that Polish customers are more cautious in their shopping decisions during the pandemic, being afraid to lose financial liquidity. Practical Implications: The pandemic led to landslide changes in consumer behaviours and habits. Identification of the current shape of Polish customers' attitudes to cashless transactions and their perception of the associated risk of Covid-19 infection is important for all market entities related directly or indirectly to such transactions. Nowadays, it is difficult to even think of a business with no such needs. Originality/Value: The study presented in the paper is original because there was no research on cashless payments in relation to shopping risk. The article displays an original approach to the subject. The 2020 pandemic itself allows for observation of customers in a completely new situation and development of an entirely new area of consumer behaviour research.