IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joreco/v74y2023ics0969698923001583.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the influence of word-of-mouth on purchasing decisions?

Author

Listed:
  • Byun, Kate Jeonghee
  • Park, Jimi
  • Yoo, Shijin
  • Cho, Minhee

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak has led to drastic changes in influential media for purchasing decisions. Which media have been used more frequently after COVID-19? Do these changes differ between product types? To provide insights into these questions, we analyzed 12,000 respondents between 2018 and 2021. The results show that the influence of word-of-mouth on purchase decisions decreased after COVID-19, while the influence of social media advertising increased. We also find that the influence is moderated by product type; for example, video advertising, a subset of social media advertising shows a higher influence for search goods than for experience goods.

Suggested Citation

  • Byun, Kate Jeonghee & Park, Jimi & Yoo, Shijin & Cho, Minhee, 2023. "Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the influence of word-of-mouth on purchasing decisions?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:74:y:2023:i:c:s0969698923001583
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103411
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698923001583
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103411?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Leonard Lee & J. Jeffrey Inman & Jennifer J. Argo & Tim Böttger & Utpal Dholakia & Timothy Gilbride & Koert van Ittersum & Barbara Kahn & Ajay Kalra & Donald R. Lehmann & Leigh M. McAlister & Venkates, 2018. "From Browsing to Buying and Beyond: The Needs-Adaptive Shopper Journey Model," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(3), pages 277-293.
    2. Szász, Levente & Bálint, Csaba & Csíki, Ottó & Nagy, Bálint Zsolt & Rácz, Béla-Gergely & Csala, Dénes & Harris, Lloyd C., 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 on the evolution of online retail: The pandemic as a window of opportunity," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    3. Sheth, Jagdish, 2020. "Impact of Covid-19 on consumer behavior: Will the old habits return or die?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 280-283.
    4. Giandomenico Domenico & Annamaria Tuan & Marco Visentin, 2021. "Linguistic drivers of misinformation diffusion on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2021(4), pages 351-369, December.
    5. Shijie Lu & Dai Yao & Xingyu Chen & Rajdeep Grewal, 2021. "Do Larger Audiences Generate Greater Revenues Under Pay What You Want? Evidence from a Live Streaming Platform," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(5), pages 964-984, September.
    6. Roger E. Kasperson & Ortwin Renn & Paul Slovic & Halina S. Brown & Jacque Emel & Robert Goble & Jeanne X. Kasperson & Samuel Ratick, 1988. "The Social Amplification of Risk: A Conceptual Framework," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(2), pages 177-187, June.
    7. Janny C. Hoekstra & Peter S. H. Leeflang, 2020. "Marketing in the era of COVID-19," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2020(4), pages 249-260, December.
    8. Nelson, Phillip, 1970. "Information and Consumer Behavior," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(2), pages 311-329, March-Apr.
    9. Hung‐Hao Chang & Chad D. Meyerhoefer, 2021. "COVID‐19 and the Demand for Online Food Shopping Services: Empirical Evidence from Taiwan," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(2), pages 448-465, March.
    10. González, Eva M. & Meyer, Jan-Hinrich & Paz Toldos, M., 2021. "What women want? How contextual product displays influence women’s online shopping behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 625-641.
    11. Spotts, Harlan E. & Weinberger, Marc G. & Assaf, A. George & Weinberger, Michelle F., 2022. "The role of paid media, earned media, and sales promotions in driving marcom sales performance in consumer services," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 387-397.
    12. Reimer, Thomas & Benkenstein, Martin, 2016. "When good WOM hurts and bad WOM gains: The effect of untrustworthy online reviews," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 5993-6001.
    13. Berns, Gregory S. & Loewenstein, George & Laibson, David I., 2007. "Intertemporal Choice - Toward an Integrative Framework," Scholarly Articles 4554332, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    14. Casaló, Luis V. & Flavián, Carlos & Ibáñez-Sánchez, Sergio, 2020. "Influencers on Instagram: Antecedents and consequences of opinion leadership," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 510-519.
    15. Kim, Ho & Hanssens, Dominique M., 2017. "Advertising and Word-of-Mouth Effects on Pre-launch Consumer Interest and Initial Sales of Experience Products," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 57-74.
    16. Jiang, Yangyang & Stylos, Nikolaos, 2021. "Triggers of consumers’ enhanced digital engagement and the role of digital technologies in transforming the retail ecosystem during COVID-19 pandemic," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    17. Jan-Benedict E. M. Steenkamp & Eric (Er) Fang, 2011. "The Impact of Economic Contractions on the Effectiveness of R&D and Advertising: Evidence from U.S. Companies Spanning Three Decades," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(4), pages 628-645, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Szász, Levente & Bálint, Csaba & Csíki, Ottó & Nagy, Bálint Zsolt & Rácz, Béla-Gergely & Csala, Dénes & Harris, Lloyd C., 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 on the evolution of online retail: The pandemic as a window of opportunity," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    2. Ali Zackery & Joseph Amankwah-Amoah & Zahra Heidari Darani & Shiva Ghasemi, 2022. "COVID-19 Research in Business and Management: A Review and Future Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-32, August.
    3. Huseynov, Samir & Palma, Marco A. & Ahmad, Ghufran, 2021. "Does the magnitude of relative calorie distance affect food consumption?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 530-551.
    4. Niros, Meletios & Giannakis, Damian & Niros, Angelica, 2022. "Digital marketing effects on customer repurchase intentions following the pandemic. A strategic marketing analysis of customer equity dimensions," MPRA Paper 114331, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Eleonora Maria & Michele Simoni & Giuseppe Pedeliento & Marco Galvagno, 2021. "The long Covid effect in marketing and consumer research," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2021(4), pages 297-303, December.
    6. Veronika Harantová & Alica Kalašová & Simona Skřivánek Kubíková & Jaroslav Mazanec & Radomíra Jordová, 2022. "The Impact of Mobility on Shopping Preferences during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Evidence from the Slovak Republic," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-27, April.
    7. Annarita Sorrentino & Daniele Leone & Andrea Caporuscio, 2022. "Changes in the post-covid-19 consumers’ behaviors and lifestyle in italy. A disaster management perspective," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2022(1), pages 87-106, March.
    8. Stefano Colombo & Zemin Hou, 2021. "Location-Price Equilibria when Traditional Retailers Compete Against an Online Retailer," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 59(3), pages 483-502, November.
    9. Zhen, Xueping & (George) Cai, Gangshu & Song, Reo & Jang, Sungha, 2019. "The effects of herding and word of mouth in a two-period advertising signaling model," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 275(1), pages 361-373.
    10. Chiara Bartoli, 2022. "Consumer self-concept and digitalization: what does this mean for brands?," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2022(4), pages 419-437, December.
    11. Nishat Nigar & Md. Rukon Miah, 2020. "Shifts in Consumer Behavior Due to Corona Pandemic: A Case of Tourism and Hospitality Sector in Bangladesh," International Journal of Science and Business, IJSAB International, vol. 4(12), pages 123-135.
    12. Mostafa Ghodsi & Ali Ardestani & Arash Rasaizadi & Seyednaser Ghadamgahi & Hao Yang, 2021. "How COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Urban Trips? Structural Interpretive Model of Online Shopping and Passengers Trips during the Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-15, October.
    13. Ruíz-Rúa, Aurora & Fernández-Bonilla, Fernando & Gijón, Covadonga, 2023. "Why do we consume as we do? The case of ICT spending in the Spanish market," 32nd European Regional ITS Conference, Madrid 2023: Realising the digital decade in the European Union – Easier said than done? 278016, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    14. Zhifeng Gao & Ted C. Schroeder, 2009. "Consumer responses to new food quality information: are some consumers more sensitive than others?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(3), pages 339-346, May.
    15. Roxanne E. Lewis & Michael G. Tyshenko, 2009. "The Impact of Social Amplification and Attenuation of Risk and the Public Reaction to Mad Cow Disease in Canada," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 714-728, May.
    16. Kyle Bagwell & Garey Ramey, 1988. "Advertising and Limit Pricing," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 19(1), pages 59-71, Spring.
    17. Bernd Süssmuth, 2012. "The Econometric Analysis of Willingness to Pay for Intangibles with Experience Good Character," Chapters, in: Wolfgang Maennig & Andrew Zimbalist (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Mega Sporting Events, chapter 14, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. Loredana Antronico & Roberto Coscarelli & Francesco De Pascale & Giovanni Gull?, 2018. "La comunicazione del rischio e la percezione pubblica dei disastri: il caso studio della frana di Maierato (Calabria, Italia)," PRISMA Economia - Societ? - Lavoro, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2018(3), pages 9-29.
    19. Heineck, Guido & Süssmuth, Bernd, 2013. "A different look at Lenin’s legacy: Social capital and risk taking in the Two Germanies," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 789-803.
    20. Thunström, Linda & Nordström, Jonas & Shogren, Jason F., 2015. "Certainty and overconfidence in future preferences for food," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 101-113.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:74:y:2023:i:c:s0969698923001583. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing-and-consumer-services .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.