Analysis of the mediating effect of consumers' avoidance behaviours on avoidance behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic in online and offline shopping

Studies on avoidance behaviour are firstly seen in the field of psychology in the literature. Although the existence of studies concentrated in the field of psychology on the subject attracts attention, it has been observed that the subject has not been sufficiently researched in the field of social sciences. The main purpose of this study is to determine the effect of avoidance behaviours exhibited by consumers on Covid-19 pandemic avoidance behaviours and the mediating effect of Covid-19 pandemic avoidance behaviours on online/offline shopping channel choices. A conceptual model has been developed to achieve this goal, and the hypotheses related to the model have been tested using Structural Equation Analysis. According to the analysis results; cognitive avoidance does not affect avoiding the Covid-19 pandemic, while behavioral avoidance influences avoiding the Covid-19 pandemic. The model's explanatory power is 0.14, and as behavioral avoidance increases by 1 unit, avoiding the Covid-19 pandemic increases by 0.116 levels. Consumers' avoidance behaviors influence their online shopping and reduce offline shopping. Similarly, avoidance behaviors related to the Covid-19 pandemic also impact online shopping and decrease offline shopping. In consumers' avoidance behaviors, the "behavioral" avoidance dimension has a mediating effect on the decrease in offline shopping due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a mediating effect on online shopping due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the increasing frequency of pandemics, it is recommended that businesses incorporate factors influencing consumer behavior into their marketing strategies for both online and offline shopping. Additionally, it is suggested that businesses should include elements that affect consumer avoidance behaviors in response to these factors. Key Words: Avoidance Behaviour, Cognitive–Behavioral Avoidance Scale (CBAS), Pandemic Avoidance and Concern Scales (PACS) Online-Offline Shopping.