Consumer stockpiling under the impact of a global disaster: The evolution of affective and cognitive motives

Abstract

Although consumer stockpiling is a prevalent phenomenon under the threat of a disaster, little is known about its underlying mechanisms. Leveraging consumer interviews, we build a theoretical framework that identifies two major motives for stockpiling: fear and expectations of a supply shortage. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a viable context, through a global survey across 31 countries and search datasets from Google in the United States and 6 additional countries, we find that: (1) both fear and expectations of a supply shortage lead to stockpiling; (2) the relative prevalence of these motives evolves over the progression of the disaster, with the boost and subsequent reduction in fear being more pronounced than for expectations of a supply shortage; and (3) the impact of a disaster on fear is attenuated when consumers have high trust in the government. These findings can help retail managers and public policymakers to make more informed decisions.