Analysis of E-Consumer Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The issue of the evolution of consumer behavior is the subject of research since the transition from production to product marketing as consumer preferences evolve over time. The chapter presents the results of the initial phase of a study of changes in consumer behavior caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study is to examine specific changes in B2C interactions of Czech and Slovak consumers during the first lockdown in 2020. The starting point for changing consumer preferences was the fact that the dominant part of consumer interactions shifted from brick-and-mortar to virtual environment, where e-commerce was a safe alternative to traditional forms of trading. The results suggest that both the supply and demand sides of the market were able to adapt to the nonstandard situation in a relatively short time. From the point of view of customer behavior, an increase in B2C interactions was recorded in both monitored markets. The dominant part of the interactions shifts to the time of the standard working week, the weekend decline in interactions was significantly below the average on both sides of the market. The presented results can contribute to the formulation of qualitative assumptions for deeper empirical research in the field.