IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/eti/dpaper/22018.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Has COVID-19 Permanently Changed Online Consumption Behavior?

Author

Listed:
  • Hiroyasu INOUE
  • Yasuyuki TODO

Abstract

This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected online consumption using data from a major online shopping platform in Japan. Our particular focus is the effect of two measures of the pandemic, i.e., the number of positive cases of COVID-19 and the declaration of states of emergency to mitigate the pandemic. We find that both measures promoted online consumption at the beginning of the pandemic, but their effect then faded in later periods. In addition, online consumption is found to have returned to normal after states of emergency ended, and the overall time trend in online consumption excluding the effects of the two measures was also stable during the first two years of the pandemic. These results suggest that the effect of the pandemic on online consumption is temporary and will not persist after the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Hiroyasu INOUE & Yasuyuki TODO, 2022. "Has COVID-19 Permanently Changed Online Consumption Behavior?," Discussion papers 22018, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    • Handle: RePEc:eti:dpaper:22018
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.rieti.go.jp/jp/publications/dp/22e018.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Keane, Michael & Neal, Timothy, 2021. "Consumer panic in the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 220(1), pages 86-105.
    2. Clément de Chaisemartin & Xavier D'Haultfœuille, 2020. "Two-Way Fixed Effects Estimators with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(9), pages 2964-2996, September.
    3. Arpit Gupta & Anup Malani & Bartek Woda, 2021. "Explaining the Income and Consumption Effects of COVID in India," NBER Working Papers 28935, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Julie Sneath & Russell Lacey & Pamela Kennett-Hensel, 2009. "Coping with a natural disaster: Losses, emotions, and impulsive and compulsive buying," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 45-60, March.
    5. Coibion, Olivier & Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Weber, Michael, 2025. "The cost of the COVID-19 crisis: Lockdowns, macroeconomic expectations, and consumer spending," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    6. 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.
    7. Rohm, Andrew J. & Swaminathan, Vanitha, 2004. "A typology of online shoppers based on shopping motivations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(7), pages 748-757, July.
    8. Haiqiang Chen & Wenlan Qian & Qiang Wen, 2021. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Consumption: Learning from High-Frequency Transaction Data," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 307-311, May.
    9. Guthrie, Cameron & Fosso-Wamba, Samuel & Arnaud, Jean Brice, 2021. "Online consumer resilience during a pandemic: An exploratory study of e-commerce behavior before, during and after a COVID-19 lockdown," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    10. Xuwen Gao & Xinjie Shi & Hongdong Guo & Yehong Liu, 2020. "To buy or not buy food online: The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the adoption of e-commerce in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(8), pages 1-14, August.
    11. Yoko Konishi & Takashi Saito & Toshiki Ishikawa & Hajime Kanai & Naoya Igei, 2021. "How Did Japan Cope with COVID-19? Big Data and Purchasing Behavior," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 20(1), pages 146-167, Winter/Sp.
    12. Edward Miguel & Michael Kremer, 2004. "Worms: Identifying Impacts on Education and Health in the Presence of Treatment Externalities," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 72(1), pages 159-217, January.
    13. Jensen, Kimberly L. & Yenerall, Jackie & Chen, Xuqi & Yu, T. Edward, 2021. "US Consumers’ Online Shopping Behaviors and Intentions During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(3), pages 416-434, August.
    14. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    15. Scott R Baker & Robert A Farrokhnia & Steffen Meyer & Michaela Pagel & Constantine Yannelis & Jeffrey Pontiff, 0. "How Does Household Spending Respond to an Epidemic? Consumption during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic," The Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 10(4), pages 834-862.
    16. Tsutomu Watanabe & Yuki Omori, 2020. "Online Consumption During the COVID-19 Crisis: Evidence from Japan," CARF F-Series CARF-F-487, Center for Advanced Research in Finance, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo.
    17. Julia Koch & Britta Frommeyer & Gerhard Schewe, 2020. "Online Shopping Motives during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Lessons from the Crisis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-20, December.
    18. Tsutomu Watanabe & Yuki Omori, 2020. "Online Consumption During the COVID-19 Crisis: Evidence from Japan," Working Papers on Central Bank Communication 023, University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Economics.
    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. Hakan Yilmazkuday, 2021. "Changes in Consumption in the Early COVID-19 Era: Zip-Code Level Evidence from the U.S," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-10, October.
    2. John Gathergood & Fabian Gunzinger & Benedict Guttman-Kenney & Edika Quispe-Torreblanca & Neil Stewart, 2020. "Levelling Down and the COVID-19 Lockdowns: Uneven Regional Recovery in UK Consumer Spending," Papers 2012.09336, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2020.
    3. Barbara Baarsma & Jesse Groenewegen, 2021. "COVID-19 and the Demand for Online Grocery Shopping: Empirical Evidence from the Netherlands," De Economist, Springer, vol. 169(4), pages 407-421, November.
    4. Barrot, Jean-Noël & Bonelli, Maxime & Grassi, Basile & Sauvagnat, Julien, 2024. "Causal effects of closing businesses in a pandemic," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    5. Cruz-Cárdenas, Jorge & Zabelina, Ekaterina & Guadalupe-Lanas, Jorge & Palacio-Fierro, Andrés & Ramos-Galarza, Carlos, 2021. "COVID-19, consumer behavior, technology, and society: A literature review and bibliometric analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    6. John Gathergood & Benedict Guttman-Kenney, 2020. "The English Patient: Evaluating Local Lockdowns Using Real-Time COVID-19 & Consumption Data," Papers 2010.04129, arXiv.org, revised Jan 2021.
    7. Ashutosh Sarkar & Debadyuti Das & Arindam Debroy, 2024. "Panic Buying, Product Substitution and Channel-Shifting Behaviour During Pandemic," IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, , vol. 13(1), pages 25-43, January.
    8. Feng‐An Yang & Hung‐Hao Chang & Jiun‐Hao Wang, 2022. "The economic impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the Taiwanese food industry: Empirical evidence using business transaction data," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(2), pages 376-395, June.
    9. Shunying Zhao & Qiang Yang & Hohjin Im & Baojuan Ye & Yadi Zeng & Zhinan Chen & Lu Liu & Dawu Huang, 2022. "The impulsive online shopper: effects of COVID-19 burnout, uncertainty, self-control, and online shopping trust," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-15, December.
    10. Stefanie Huber, 2022. "SHE canÕt afford it and HE doesnÕt want it: The gender gap in the COVID-19 consumption response," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 22-029/II, Tinbergen Institute.
    11. Shubhangi Agrawal & Sambit Bhattacharyya & Chirantan Chatterjee & Somdeep Chatterjee, 2024. "Income shock and Women’s Health Spending:Evidence from India," Working Paper Series 1324, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    12. Martin O'Connell & Áureo de Paula & Kate Smith, 2021. "Preparing for a pandemic: spending dynamics and panic buying during the COVID‐19 first wave," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(2), pages 249-264, June.
    13. Dursun-de Neef, H. Özlem & Schandlbauer, Alexander, 2022. "COVID-19, bank deposits, and lending," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 20-33.
    14. Mario J. Crucini & Oscar O'Flaherty, 2020. "Stay-at-Home Orders in a Fiscal Union," NBER Working Papers 28182, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Chabé-Ferret, Sylvain & Reynaud, Arnaud & Tène, Eva, 2021. "Water Quality, Policy Diffusion Effects and Farmers’ Behavior," TSE Working Papers 21-1229, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    16. Walid Gani, 2021. "The causal relationship between corruption and irresponsible behavior in the time of COVID‐19: Evidence from Tunisia," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(S1), pages 165-176, April.
    17. Zaid Obeidat & Mohammad Ibrahim Obeidat, 2023. "A typology of Jordanian consumers after Covid‐19: The rational, the suspicious, and the cautious consumer," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 121-139, January.
    18. Guthrie, Cameron & Fosso-Wamba, Samuel & Arnaud, Jean Brice, 2021. "Online consumer resilience during a pandemic: An exploratory study of e-commerce behavior before, during and after a COVID-19 lockdown," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    19. Maximiliano Gómez Aguirre & Ariel David Krysa, 2023. "Consumer Loans Dynamics in 2020 in Argentina: An Approach Using Error Correction Models," Ensayos Económicos, Central Bank of Argentina, Economic Research Department, vol. 1(81), pages 111-158, May.
    20. Brian Cepparulo, 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 restrictions on economic activity: Evidence from the Italian regional system," French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2022 15, Stata Users Group.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:eti:dpaper:22018. 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: TANIMOTO, Toko (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rietijp.html .

    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.