THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE CHANGES IN CONSUMER HABITS AND BEHAVIOR

Abstract

In a short time, the COVID-19 pandemic transformed people’s behavior, undermining firms and businesses and changing the global economy. In this context, the study aimed to understand the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic caused on consumer behavior. The research method adopted was the literature review, investigating the Scopus and Web of Science databases, two of the main scientific databases. A total of 205 articles published in 2020 were identified, and, based on the proposed criteria, 30 studies showed high adherence to the topic and contributed to the understanding of changes in consumer habits and behavior. The main themes identified were: e-commerce growth, panic buying, repressed demand and stricken sectors, do-it-yourself, increased apps usage, machine learning methods, data internet security, and online marketing and shopping platforms.