A Bibliometric Analysis of Panic-Buying Behavior during a Pandemic: Insights from COVID-19 and Recommendations

Abstract

COVID-19 is the latest pandemic form and, as usual, it also opened gates for new avenues in consumer behavior research. Panic buying among consumers due to the current pandemic is the focus of this study. This study adopts a bibliometric approach to analyze the studies published in the last three years (2020–2022) (obviously, there is no research before 2020). Seventy-nine studies are included based on the Web of Science database. First, a general analysis is conducted to understand the current state of research by mapping countries, authors, publication outlets, citations, institutions, etc. It provides the association or linkage of the mentioned variables related to the mentioned studies. Second, insights and recommendations are provided based on specific keyword analysis and deep diving. The findings indicate that panic-buying behavior is a fact during COVID-19, especially in the first year, and specific factors were responsible for the same. In the second year, it ebbed substantially. This study provides recommendations for practitioners to deal with panic buying behaviors in future pandemics.