Abstract
Food consumption behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic has changed worldwide as a consequence of the restrictions imposed by law and/or due to the fear of contamination. Although some similarities are found among countries, there are still many particularities for each nation. The present study focused on Romanian consumers and their consumption behavior related to four main food categories: fruits and vegetables, meat and meat products, bread and bakery products, and milk and milk products. Frequency of buying, shopping habits, place of purchase, and concerns related to the place of purchasing food products during the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed in comparison with the pre-COVID-19 period using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics regarding an online survey. Three types of behavior were identified as being related to the frequency of buying and to organizing a shopping list (less often, no change, more often). Two groups of consumers were identified as being related to the place of purchasing food: people with the same habits and people with new habits. Concerns related to the location of the stores and to the choice of buying directly from producers were also investigated using the ordered logistic regression. The empirical study revealed the new consumption patterns with a reflection on future trends.
Highlights
The unexpected and rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed people to experience new life habits
The analysis of the frequency of buying food products during the COVID-19 pandemic led to three distinct consumer buying behaviors, each with its particularities with regard to the four food categories: fruits and vegetables, meat and meat products, bread and bakery products, and milk and milk products
Consumers worldwide experienced changes during the COVID-19 pandemic related to food products, with the switch to a new lifestyle being a consequence of the restrictions imposed by law and/or due to the fear of contamination
Summary
The unexpected and rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed people to experience new life habits. To restrain the virus from spreading, people had to comply with several restrictions imposed by law, with a large part of the population being forced to stay at home. Temporary legislation was enacted by military ordinances. A national lockdown was instituted on 29 March 2020, through the military ordinance no. 3 [2], which involved several constraint measures, such as restricted range of movement; remote work (where applicable); temporary closure of restaurants, cafes, shopping centers (except for the sale of food), and farmers’ markets; reduced opening hours of grocery stores, and other restrictions. On the 15th of May 2020, a state of alert was established [3], through which some of the restrictions were still kept (e.g., reduced opening hours of grocery stores, closed farmers’ markets)
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