PANIC BUYING AND IN-STORE HOARDING IN THE COVID-19 PERIOD: AN ASSESSMENT BASED ON THE SCARCITY PRINCIPLE

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study is to examine whether the perceived scarcity occurring in consumer during the COVID-19 period influences panic buying and in-store hoarding.  Also, another aim of the study is to reveal whether the variables of competitiveness, hedonic shopping motivation and need for uniqueness have an interaction effect on the mentioned relationship. Finally, in the study, it has been tried to reveal whether the factors mentioned above differ significantly according to demographic variables. For this purpose, an online survey was conducted in the study, and 687 participants participated in the survey. As a result of the study, it has been observed that the perceived scarcity emerged in the consumer has a significant effect on the consumer’s panic buying and in-store hoarding behaviour. Besides, it has been demonstrated that in case of scarcity, people with high hedonic shopping motivation, competitiveness and need for uniqueness tend to panic buying and in-store hoarding more. Finally, it was observed that each demographic variable included in the study differentiated on most of the dependent variables.