Food Purchase Behavior during The First Wave of COVID-19: The Case of Hungary.

Tamás Madarász,Gyula Kasza,Emese Antal,Dávid Szakos,Zoltán Szakály,Enikő Kontor

doi:10.3390/ijerph19020872

Abstract

Coronavirus disease (SARSCoV-2) appeared in 2019 was confirmed as pandemic by the WHO on 11 March 2020. Stay-at-home order had an impact on consumers’ food purchase habits, as people around the world were able to leave their homes solely in extremely severe or urgent cases. In our research, we delve into the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on consumers’ food purchase habits. The research involved 3000 consumers during the first wave of coronavirus. The sample represents the Hungarian population by gender and age. To achieve the research goals, we applied multivariate statistical tools. The findings suggest that the pandemic could not change consumer attitude significantly, but the order of factors influencing purchases changed. Consumer motivation factors were organized into four well-distinguished factors: Healthy, domestic, and environmentally friendly choice; Usual taste and quality; Reasonable price; Shelf life. Due to the lack of outstanding data during segmentation, we developed four segments by hierarchical cluster analysis: Health- and environment-conscious women; Price sensitive young people; Taste-oriented men; Quality-oriented intellectuals. The results confirm that food manufacturers and traders need to be prepared for further restrictions in the future.

Highlights

The results showed that two factors reached value above 4, these included taste and consistent quality
We undertook to present the influencing effect of the restrictions experienced during the first wave of COVID-19 on food choice and food purchase habits of Hungarian consumers
Compared to the period before closure, the shelf life and packaged nature of the products are those that came first in order of priority. This result is consistent with the results of Güney and Sangün (2021) [52], where the authors found that the mode of product packaging influenced food motivation significantly during the pandemic

Summary

Introduction

Over the past two and a half decades, the number of research related to food purchase has multiplied. One of the important conclusions of these behavioral surveys is that consumers strive to choose the right quality of food during purchase. Food cannot have the main function of alleviating hunger as a sole function but must provide people with the nutrients they need to prevent the development of nutrition-related diseases. Food should guarantee the physical improvement and mental wellbeing of consumers [1,2]. Their research highlighted that each person appreciates health, they need to be informed about the link between diet and a healthy lifestyle [3]. Research shows that health awareness motivates consumers highly when opting for food, but the quality and taste of food are key factors [4–11].

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion