How did consumers retail purchasing expectations and behaviour switch due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Abstract The implemented research investigates the switch in consumer expectations and purchasing. The COVID-19 pandemic may have been the cause for a switch in consumer expectations and behaviour with respect to in-store versus online grocery purchases. If consumers preferred to shop almost exclusively in physical stores before pandemic-imposed restrictions, many consumers may have changed their preferences, expectations and consumer purchasing behaviour due to sanitary restrictions, social distancing, pandemic-induced fear, certainty when shopping and reduced peer interactions. The implemented research investigates the switch in consumer expectations and purchasing behaviour after the pandemic in terms of how customers decide to buy groceries in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the extant literature, a conceptual model is proposed, and a quantitative survey of Romanian consumers analysed using Smart PLS structural equation modelling. The findings indicate that switching behaviour exerted a significant influence on consumer purchasing behaviour after the pandemic but did not determine it. From a theoretical standpoint, this study expands the understanding and application of the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT). From a managerial standpoint, this study offers managers a clearer picture of consumer purchasing behaviour, and the extent of altered consumer purchasing behaviour as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pandemic-related research issues as addressed by the authors do not have a long-standing tradition within our management discipline, and the same observation is true regarding the phased levels of our investigation, i.e., before, during and after (the COVID-19 crisis) as performed in our study. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first attempt to use a switch concept related to COVID-19 and consumer purchasing behaviour in retail. When elaborating our research model, the main challenges included the necessity to blend traditional retail and SCM literature streams. Indeed, logistics academia traditionally focuses on B2B settings, whereas our research reflects a consumer-centric approach.