E-commerce consumer behaviors during the pandemic: Permanent changes in the consumption habits of white-collar youth

With the effect of technological advances, significant changes are observed in consumer behavior. In this process of change, the perception of shopping has transformed the perception of the consumer over time. The pandemic has had profound effects on the global level with the spread of Covid-19. These effects were evident in the social and economic spheres. This period of closures has adversely affected many sectors and consumers have had difficulty adapting to new social conditions. During the pandemic, small and medium-sized businesses, including small and medium-sized businesses, were faced with the necessity of selling online, which shows that e-commerce is a turning point. In this study, answers were sought to the questions of what are the changes in the consumption habits of e-commerce consumers during the pandemic process, which consumer behaviors that have changed in this process can be permanent, and how the consumption habits of e-commerce consumers have changed in the post-pandemic period. In this context, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty participants between the ages of 21-31, with a high level of education and white-collar work. The participants, who were reached with the snowball technique, were interviewed online and face-to-face. The face-to-face interviews were held in Eskişehir. Semi-structured interview technique was used as data collection method. These interviews were conducted online and face-to-face, face-to-face interviews were conducted only in Eskişehir. Content analysis, one of the qualitative data analysis methods, was used in the analysis of the collected data. The findings were themed and interpreted. A major limitation of the study is that the number of participants was limited to 20 people. In-depth interviews were conducted using the semi-structured interview technique and interaction was provided with participants with various demographic characteristics. The validity and ethical aspects of the research were ensured with the approval of the ethics committee given by the Directorate of Graduate Education Institute of Kütahya Dumlupınar University. The main output of the study shows that there have been significant changes in the consumption habits of e-commerce consumers during the pandemic process. In particular, there was an increase in certain products and categories such as household needs, personal care products, clothing, food products, electronic needs, books, and hobby products. In addition, it is stated that factors such as the increase in online shopping and the demand for health products, the increase in digital content consumption, and the significant increase in the habit of preparing and cooking food at home can permanently affect consumer behavior.