Affiliation:
1. Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University
Abstract
Abstract
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic prompted governments worldwide to implement lockdown measures that resulted in an increase in online purchases. Young consumers, who are familiar with browsing online platforms, may respond differently than older consumers to the pandemic in terms of online purchases. The generalized random forest (GRF) was employed to identify the heterogeneous causal effects of COVID-19 on the online shopping habits of young consumers. The attributes the GRF analysis identified as sensitive to COVID-19 in inducing online purchases include: gender based on employment, race, television ownership, and specific types of grocery products (i.e., dry foods and frozen foods). Understanding the heterogeneity in the effects of COVID-19 that induce young consumers to shop online can provide practitioners with insights on how to prioritize and target high-impact groups with specific characteristics while improving management and policy strategies for future pandemics or other extended periods of disruption of in-store businesses.
JEL Codes: M30, L81, P36
Publisher
Research Square Platform LLC
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