ONLINE COMPULSORY PURCHASE BEHAVIOR IN TURKISH SOCIETY IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the online compulsive buying behavior and the affecting factors in individuals during the Covid-19 pandemic. Method: The descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted online between 15.09.2021 and 15.10.2021 with 308 people due to the Covid-19. The snowball method was used to collect the data in the study conducted with individuals aged between 18-60 years. The data were collected with the “Sociodemographic Descriptive Information Form” and “Compulsive Online Buying Scale” prepared through Google forms. Results: The mean score of the COBS was 21.19±20.09. 85.7% of the participants are women and 14.3% are men. The mean age of the individuals participating in the study was 24.89±8.79. 81.5% of the participants are single, 85.7% live in nuclear family type. 72.1% of them have middle income level, 76.9% of them are university graduates. While 44% of individuals used the internet for 1-2 hours on weekdays before the pandemic; During the pandemic process, 40.6% of daily internet use is more than 6 hours. Before the pandemic, 37% of the weekend internet use was used for 3-5 hours, while during the pandemic, 41.6% used it for more than 6 hours per day. Conclusion: Participants appear to have mild compulsive online buying disorder. It’s seen that the level of education, the way of spending free time, the purpose of using the internet the most, the most preferred product in internet shopping and smoking status affect compulsive online buying behavior.