Annotation. The motive behind this work is to discuss the latest global panic buying behavior of customers. Factors such as what are the reasons of panic buying? What is the cause of unusual buying behavior? What could be economic effects of panic buying will be highlighted. Panic buying is considered to be a behavior marked by a rapid growth in purchased amounts by customers. The negative outcomes of panic buying is the creation of uncontrollable demand leading to the shortage of supply thus typically causing the price increase.

Key words:Panic buying, Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, Shortage, Demand, E-commerce. 

The world is currently facing a major health concern. On March 12, 2020 the World Health Organization has officially declared the outbreak of coronavirus disease COVID-19 as pandemic.

The worldwide spread of the disease in rapid terms has caused a noticeable change in consumer behavior worldwide. One such shift is expressed in consumer behavior of panic buying. 

Left alone with the fear of the rapidly spreading coronavirus a change in consumer behavior was inevitable and they commenced making purchases of frequently consumed items in large volumes.  Consumers were stocking up goods in the fear of not being able to purchase them other time, possible increase in selling price of the product or due to the fact that products would disappear from the market at all.

The nature of consumer buying behavior has been researched by numerous scholars throughout the years. It has been concluded that buying behavior is highly influenced by emotional factors (Leverin & Liljander, 2004; Yu & Bastin, 2010).

The above has opened a new world of opportunities for the companies operating in the fields of healthcare, personal care items, hygienic and cleaning product categories, just to mention a few. While some companies now have products in high demand, others are struggling to find ends and reach some sales.  

As for the revenues of companies producing the products that have high demand at current stage, of course it spikes revenues right now but it is unlikely to continue in the long run since the demand is created due to the present pandemic situation that will reach its decline. If customers will notice that, the amount of their stock has reached ridiculous volumes they will simply just stop buying until their stock runs out and only after it make further purchases.

Problems of supply chain management and product allocation in retail stores could urge consumers to panic buying. Retailer decisions about imposing purchasing quotas can help in managing the demand. For example, in Australia consumers had to experience the shortage of consumer products and after this fact limitation was set to the amount of hygienic items that could have been purchased by a customer. Retailers in U.K. have limited sales of hand sanitizer products per customer.

Panic buying can sometimes be considered as sensible because consumers get afraid after noticing empty shelf spaces in stores and get the fear that other customers will be first to obtain the products thus it explains the reason why they want to rush to the stores and stock up the essential items. Studies researching consumer behavior outline the importance of attitudes, perceptions and motivation of consumers (Haq & Abbasi, 2016).

Panic buying caused by the global pandemic is the reason of the worldwide change in consumer behavior leading to increase of demand on canned food, bottled water, medical masks, hand sanitizers and even toilet paper from the side of consumers. Customers are buying adequate products in order to protect themselves and stay healthy in current conditions.

In the period of national lockdowns when consumers are advised to stay home for the sake of human welfare, E-commerce gains more and more importance.  Quarantine restrictions are keeping consumers away from the traditional channels and retailers, thus opening new gates for the companies engaded in e-trade.

As the impact of coronavirus continues to unfold it is necessary for the companies to research the market needs of customers, control supply and demand and provide superior value to the customers.  Due to the coronavirus, consumers as well as the manufacturers are facing complex challenges. Interest towards behavioral economics stays to be an actual topic. In order to avoid the negative effects of panic buying and protect the customers it is recommended to take into consideration the main aspects of “rational expectancy” doctrine principles (Silagadze A., Atanelishvili T., Silagadze N. (2010).

Time will pass and coronavirus pandemic will be long gone but the world will be left with totally new trends of consumer behavior since customers all around the worls will change their usual buying habits. Thus, companies should be flexible and must manage to adapt to the environmental changes. Since context and pattern in which people live changes, companies should search for new and innovative ways of selling and adding value for consumers. 

References 

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