Abstract
Shopping behaviour in response to extreme events is often characterized as "panic buying" which connotes irrationality and loss of control. However, "panic buying" has been criticized for attributing shopping behaviour to people's alleged psychological frailty while ignoring other psychological and structural factors that might be at play. We report a qualitative exploration of the experiences and understandings of shopping behaviour of members of the public at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 23 participants, we developed three themes. The first theme addresses people's understandings of "panic buying". When participants referred to "panic buying" they meant observed product shortages (rather than the underlying psychological processes that can lead to such behaviours), preparedness behaviours, or emotions such as fear and worry. The second theme focuses on the influence of the media and other people's behaviour in shaping subsequent shopping behaviours. The third theme addresses the meaningful motivations behind increased shopping, which participants described in terms of preparedness; some participants reported increased shopping behaviours as a response to other people stockpiling, to reduce their trips to supermarkets, or to prepare for product shortages and longer stays at home. Overall, despite frequently using the term 'panic', the irrationalist connotations of "panic buying" were largely absent from participants' accounts. Thus, "panic buying" is not a useful concept and should not be used as it constructs expected responses to threat as irrational or pathological. It can also facilitate such behaviours, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Highlights
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, newspapers in several countries published photos of empty supermarket shelves to illustrate shortages of food and other products [1,2,3]
The aim of this paper is to explore the experiences of members of the public regarding product shortages during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as their understanding of the factors that can affect their own and other people’s shopping behaviours
There is a rich history and implications ofusing pathologizing psychological discourses such as panic in relation to social behaviour [6, 7] but no significant attention has been paid to the notion of “panic buying”, despite it being a concept frequently invoked by the media and in public discourse
Summary
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, newspapers in several countries published photos of empty supermarket shelves to illustrate shortages of food and other products [1,2,3]. Such observations were often characterized as instances of “panic buying” [3]. One major reason for product shortages was not due to irrationality but due to people’s behavioural changes (e.g., many people increasing their purchases by a small amount in order to reduce trips to the supermarkets amidst the pandemic) that caused problems to modern fragile just-in-time supply chains [4, 5]. The importance of our study lies in the argument that a better understanding of the motivations behind rapid spikes in demand can be crucial in building practical and sustainable solutions, in undermining potential for conflict, and in informing public policy and communication without reproducing myths about the driving forces of social behaviour
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
