Typology of e-commerce shoppers: the case of COVID-19

Ramadan, Zahy; Farah, Maya; Abosag, Ibrahim; Sleiman, Alaa

Abstract

Purpose: The spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has drastically changed the entire market structure and shopping behaviors across the world. While shoppers rushed toward e-commerce platforms during the pandemic, the key debate that rose was on how this behavior will evolve post COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to explore the different categories of e-commerce platforms’ users and propose a distinctive customer typology in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory qualitative research design was adopted because of the novelty of the subject. In total, 43 participants were interviewed, including 27 consumers and 16 experts in the field of e-commerce. Findings: Based on the findings, this study distinguishes between two stages of e-commerce usage during the pandemic. Furthermore, this study identifies four key typologies of e-commerce shoppers that are expected to form at the end of the coronavirus: duty-bound, e-watcher, makeshift and onli-vorous shoppers. The characteristics and businesses strategies pertaining to each of the identified groups are discussed. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is among the first to identify the different stages, while proposing an innovative typology of e-commerce platform post COVID-19. This study also offers useful recommendations to deal with similar future crises.

Citation

Ramadan, Z., Farah, M., Abosag, I., & Sleiman, A. (2023). Typology of e-commerce shoppers: the case of COVID-19. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 26(4), 345-367. https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-12-2021-0154

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 17, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Mar 20, 2023
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2023
• Deposit Date: Apr 17, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 17, 2023
• Journal: Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal
• Print ISSN: 1352-2752
• Electronic ISSN: 1758-7646
• Publisher: Emerald
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 345-367
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-12-2021-0154
• Related Public URLs: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/QMR-12-2021-0154/full/html