Comparison of e-customer perceptions by product categories during the COVID-19 pandemic period

It is well-known that the COVID-19 epidemic created a pandemic crisis, and the effects of the pandemic caused changes in social, psychological, and economic fields all over the world. The physical restrictions of the pandemic affected the shopping methods of individuals. Moreover, it encouraged the development of global e-commerce. While e-commerce is becoming an increasingly preferred market for businesses, it is also seen as a more effortless shopping method thanks to the advantages it offers consumers. During the pandemic, many sectors and product groups developed their marketing methods and continued their activities on virtual platforms. The study focused on three product categories: food, textiles, and technology, which have all experienced significant digital transformations. Furthermore, consumers frequently select these categories. Customers who shop online through the determined product categories constitute an example of the study. It is significant to determine the perceptions of customers who make online purchases based on their shopping and to measure the quality of service provided. For this reason, the e-customer perceptions revealed (benefit, security, personalization, customer relations, control, and risk perceptions) constitute the scale of the study. This study took place to see if there were any differences in how e-customers felt about several product categories (food, textiles, and technology) during a pandemic. To this goal, 447 internet shoppers participated in an online survey. The results of the study indicate the existence of significant variations across the product categories of food, textiles, and technology in terms of usefulness, security, personalization, customer interactions, and control, but not in terms of risk perception. The literature and researchers on the findings received a large number of recommendations.