Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Changes in Consumer Purchasing Behavior in the Food Market with a Focus on Meat and Meat Products—A Comprehensive Literature Review

Abstract

The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the global economy before the eyes of the entire world. Due to evolving consumer needs and expectations during the pandemic, the supply and demand for various goods and services varied from the pre-COVID-19 period. This article aims to understand the changes in purchasing and food choices, focusing particularly on meat and meat products, made by consumers and households in response to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also indicates the impact directions of these changes and assesses the magnitude of the contribution of various determinants that influenced them. The literature review from 2020 to 2023 was conducted using Scopus and the Web of Science scientific databases. The study identified sociodemographic and individual factors as the main determinants influencing consumers’ purchasing or eating behavior. Positive shifts (e.g., implementing strategies to better manage food at home through activities like creating shopping lists, the average increase in consumer spending during store visits, and decrease in visit frequencies) or negative changes (e.g., shortages of food products in stores due to consumer panic buying, unusually high demand resulting from stockpiling, purchasing fewer fresh products, increased consumption of unhealthy foods and snacking, among other factors) during isolation were influenced by various individual factors (e.g., motivation, mental state) or sociodemographic factors (e.g., gender, age, income level, education). While individual factors had a greater impact on changes in consumer behavior in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, socio-demographic factors became more important as the pandemic progressed.