The impact of the COVID-19 threat on the preference for high versus low quality/price options

ABSTRACT

The present research investigates how the threat of COVID-19 affects consumers’ choices among hospitality/travel options of varying levels of quality and price. Drawing on compensatory consumption theory, we predicted that the virus’s prominence would increase consumers’ preference for more expensive options in a choice set. Five empirical studies and one secondary data analysis investigated consumers’ choice among various business and budget hotels. The results consistently showed that consumers increase their safety-seeking under a high threat of COVID-19 and prefer a more expensive hotel option. To enhance the study’s internal validity, we provide converging evidence by either measuring (studies 1, 2, 3, and 5) or manipulating the threat of COVID-19 (study 4). We also provide the secondary data analysis with words searched in Google Trends (study 6). Finally, we discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of our findings.

本研究调查了 COVID-19 的威胁如何影响消费者在不同质量和价格水平的招待/旅行选择中的选择. 根据补偿性消费理论, 我们预测, 病毒的突出地位将增加消费者对选择中更昂贵的选择的偏好. 五项实证研究和一次二次数据分析调查了消费者在各种商务型和经济型酒店中的选择.研究结果表明, 在 COVID19 的高威胁下, 消费者增加了安全寻求, 并且更喜欢更昂贵的酒店选择.为了提高研究的内部有效性, 我们通过测量（研究1, 2, 3和5) 或操纵 COVID19 的威胁（研究4) 提供融合证据.我们还提供二级数据分析, 在 Google 趋势中搜索单词（研究6) .最后, 我们讨论了我们研究结果的理论和管理意义.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• pandemic
• price
• quality
• preference
• safety-seeking

Disclosure statement

No potential competing interest was reported by the authors.