Understanding Customer Opinion Change on Fresh Food E-Commerce Products and Services—Comparative Analysis before and during COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, non-face-to-face e-commerce has become a significant consumer channel for customers to buy fresh food. However, little is known about customer opinion changes in fresh food e-commerce (FFEC) products and services during COVID-19. This study investigated the changes in expectations and preferences of FFEC customers on products and services before and during the pandemic from online reviews through a text mining approach. We divided the pandemic into two phases, acute and recovery, and found that eight attributes affect customers’ opinions. Some logistic service-related attributes gained customer attention during the acute phase, but product-related attributes gained more attention in the recovery phase. Customers showed a great level of forgiveness on many attributes during the acute phase, but customers’ dissatisfaction was expressed during the recovery phase. Finally, the results of the comparative importance–performance analysis provide improvement strategies for FFEC and help optimize their resource allocation of FFEC and enhance sustainable operation capacity in the case of a crisis.