Stocks, stress, and strategy: how consumers cope across cultures

Consumers have faced escalating stock-outs of essential commodities within increasingly vulnerable supply chains, driven by crises (health or economic), international geopolitical tensions, or the consequences of global warming. This article investigates the coping strategies that consumers adopt in response to such stock-outs. The study employs a qualitative approach to compare consumers in mainland France and in New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific. The analysis goes beyond a simple description of consumer reactions to identify the mechanisms individuals use to manage these stressful situations in both contexts. Cross-cultural differences emerge from the findings, and four distinct consumer profiles are proposed: the proactive, the understanding, the distrustful, and the resigned.