Investigation of online grocery shopping and delivery preference before, during, and after COVID-19

Abstract

This study investigates how the COVID-19 reshapes grocery shopping (GS) modes, physical grocery shopping (PGS) and online grocery shopping (OGS), by conducting an online survey that includes questions associated with social-economic characteristics, GS choices and reasons before, during, and in the short- and the long-term after COVID-19, as well as the adoption attitudes toward automated delivery services. A series of binary logit models are built to analyze what factors affect the OGS with the influence of COVID-19. The results show a significant shift from PGS to OGS due to the pandemic, which is also extended beyond COVID-19. People who are female, have more available vehicles, higher income, and health constraints, or worry the virus show more tendency to choose OGS as the primary mode during COVID-19, and stay with OGS after COVID-19. In addition, the elderly and those who frequently shop in person and by car before the pandemic and regard the OGS as either a primary or a supplementary mode are more likely to experience OGS after COVID-19.