Alterations in grocery shopping pattern due to implementation of the great Indian lockdown: Analysis of populace perception; practice by descriptive, inferential analysis by SPSS and gis choropleth mapping

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 in different parts of the world is a major concern for all the administrative units of respective countries. India is also facing this very tough task for controlling the virus outbreak and has managed its growth rate through some strict measures. This study presents the current situation of coronavirus spread in India along with the impact on change in grocery shopping pattern before and during lockdown. This resulted in major disruptions to one of the most common market processes in retail: food retailing. The research adopts the theory of planned behaviour to provide early empirical insights into changes in consumer behaviour related to food purchases during the initial stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in India. Data from the online survey carried out suggest that the outbreak triggered considerable levels of switching behaviours among customers, with retailers, local street vendors and online grocery shopping platforms’ markets losing most of their customers, whilst local small independent retailers experienced the highest levels of resilience in terms of customer retention. This study suggests avenues for further scholarly research and policy making related to the impact this behaviour