Cash and Non-cash Payments for In-Store Purchases During the COVID-19 Pandemic – Similarities and Differences Between Generation X and Generation Y Consumers. Case of Poland

Abstract

The changes brought to retail as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have forced an adjustment in consumer shopping behaviour. In addition to keeping distance, wearing masks, gloves and using disinfectant fluids, buyers were asked to forgo paying for the purchases with cash and use payment cards or mobile devices. The purpose of this paper is to identify similarities and differences in payments for grocery purchases in stationary retail shops during the COVID-19 pandemic by two consumer age cohorts, generations X and Y (Millennials). To compare the payment behaviour of the two generations, a CAWI survey was conducted during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey sample consisted of 650 individuals. Based on the variables for the three forms of payment (cash, payment cards and mobile payments), that buyers made in five types of shops (discount, supermarket, hypermarket, convenience shop and branch shops such as bakery and retail vegetable/fruit supply), a cluster analysis (Ward's method) was conducted. Four types of consumers were identified in each generation. The following similarities were found in payment behaviour in stationary retail outlets: In both generations, consumers most often pay for purchases by card and in each of them, a group using this form of payment almost exclusively can be distinguished. In contrast to Generation Y, otherwise known as the Millennials, Generation X includes customers who most often pay for the purchases in cash. Among Millennials, on the other hand, it is possible to identify consumers who prefer to use mobile payments and occasionally pay in cash.