COVID-19: fear appeal favoring purchase behavior towards personal protective equipment

ABSTRACT

The 2019 novel coronavirus is a non-segmented positive-sense RNA virus belonging to the Coronaviridae-Nidovirales family. We examined the swings in purchase behavior following the outbreak of the COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, and across the world based on the theory of fear appeal. We gathered published statistics (suspected, confirmed, and fatality) on the COVID-19 alongside the purchase of personal protective equipment to examine the swings in online purchase behavior. With a serial mediated analysis, we established that fear appeal is associated with the sharp dynamics in the online purchase as related to the COVID-19. The results confirmed that fear appeal promotes social presence in anticipation of seeking affection, acceptance, and social information. This feeling is a precondition for developing e-loyalty, which promotes purchase behavior. Even though our variables might not be conclusive enough, we believe the findings are fundamental to understanding the swings in the purchase trend in this and any similar situations.

摘要

2019年的新型冠状病毒是一种非分节段阳性RNA病毒，属于冠状病毒—nidovirales家族。基于恐惧感理论，我们研究了中国武汉和世界各地COVID-19爆发后的购买行为的波动。我们收集了有关COVID-19的已发布统计数据（可疑，已确认和死亡）和个人防护用品的购买数据，以检查其在线购买行为的变化。经过一系列的中介分析，我们发现恐惧感与COVID-19有关的在线购买中的剧烈变化有关。研究结果证实，恐惧吸引力在寻求情感、接受和社会信息的预期中促进了社会存在感。这种感觉是发展电子忠诚度的先决条件，从而促进了购买行为。即使我们的变量可能无法得出足够的结论，我们相信研究结果对于了解这种情况和任何类似情况下的购买趋势波动至关重要。

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• fear appeal
• personal protective equipment
• e-loyalty
• social presence

关键词:

• COVID-19；恐惧诉求；个人防护装备；恐慌性购买；社交呈现

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

ORCID

Prince Clement Addo http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8105-7222

Fang Jiaming http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1806-8017

Li Liangqiang http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5348-4721