Abstract

Keywords

۱٫ Introduction

۲٫ Theoretical Background

۳٫ Materials and Methods

۴٫ Results

۵٫ Discussion and Conclusions

۶٫ Limitations and suggestions for future research

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Appendix A. Semi-structured interview guide (Ang et al., 2000; Baytiyeh, 2018; Kennett-Hensel et al., 2012; Priporas et al., 2017)

Appendix B

Appendix C

Appendix D

Appendix E

References

Vitae

Abstract

This study seeks to unravel the factors that have triggered changes in individuals’ engagement with online consumption during the COVID-19 crisis and investigate the influence of digital technologies on the retail ecosystem during the lockdowns, as seen through the eyes of consumers. In doing so, a qualitative empirical research approach was adopted, and data was collected via in-depth interviews with 35 respondents during the COVID-19 lockdown in China. The study has delineated a systematic mapping of the retail ecosystem’s reactions to the COVID-19 shock. Three overarching dimensions related to consumers’ online purchasing behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic were identified: triggers of enhanced digital engagement, transformative capacity of digital technologies, and socio-economic adaptability during crises. The relevant themes underlying each aggregate dimension were further elaborated with evidence from the interviews. The study findings advance the extant literature on purchasing behavior and online retailing in times of crisis and offer important practical implications on improving crisis management capabilities of the retail ecosystem via digital technologies. As a final output, four propositions were extracted to serve for further research.

۱٫ Introduction

In the last three decades, the technological developments of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 have largely served as the driving forces for the Marketing 3.0 era of customization, and the digitalization age of Marketing 4.0, respectively (Erragcha & Romdhane, 2014; Shan et al., 2020). Information and communication technologies (ICTs), online marketing platforms and sophisticated digital devices have advanced exponentially, supporting the growth of various economic sectors (Zhu, 2021). Specifically, in the retail sector, various digital technologies support multichannel strategies or even an omni-channel approach, which offer consumers a range of alternatives in purchasing goods and services (Jin & Shin, 2020). Mobile devices, mobile apps, augmented reality and virtual reality applications, and various types of bots have already been in service instead of or combined with traditional human-to-human interactions – in either physical, online or hybrid offline/online settings – to serve customers’ needs and retailers’ goals (Hu & Tracogna, 2020; Verhoef et al., 2015).

The digital transformation of the retail sector has emerged through the natural evolution of digital technologies’ implementation, so retail organizations and individuals would facilitate their access to world markets, offering improved serviceability, and building competitive advantages (Altintas¸ et al., 2020). This set of retail actors comprise a generic retail ecosystem, who interchange goods and services for money and data, contributing to economic value streams. These actors can be branch retailers, online retailers, multi-channel retailers, IT-solution providers, service providers, store equipment providers, producers, data suppliers, logistics firms, and consumers (Bottcher et al., 2021 ¨ ).