COVID-19 health safety practices: Influence on grocery shopping behavior.

Abstract

During COVID‐19 lockdown, individuals were asked to leave their home only to meet the most urgent needs, such as grocery purchases and medical emergencies. This study aimed to know the consumers' health safety practices and their concerns toward grocery shopping and to know their adoption of healthier food as a result of the outbreak. An online survey was conducted during the second month of the COVID‐19 lockdown. This study includes 212 respondents. Appropriate statistical tools were used to analyze the data. The findings of the study revealed that females were ahead compared to males in pursuing health safety practices during grocery shopping, but the frequency of following physical distancing for both males and females was not up to the mark. The most important concern about grocery shopping was fear of unavailability of stocks and fear of getting infected from grocery storekeepers. It was also found that, compared to earlier, people had reduced their frequency of grocery shopping and tried to shop quickly and efficiently. People bought more packaged foods and also made purchases from brands that were new to them. As a result of the COVID‐19 pandemic, the adoption of healthier food habits varied significantly with gender, age, and household income of the respondents. This study indicates that there is a need to raise awareness among people on how to shop safely in grocery stores and that good hygiene practice should be followed in grocery stores to mitigate the risk of infection to consumers.