The Influence Mechanism Of Pandemic Threat On Consumer Product Preference

In response to pandemic threats,people have developed a series of defensive behaviors over the long evolutionary history,including aversion to disease cues,rejection of external groups,and obedience to norms,all of which have become particularly important as COVID-19 has wreaked havoc worldwide.Under the break out,pandemic-related information tends to spread through multiple channels and forms,attracting high attention under the closed schools,restaurants and workplaces,accompanying the governmental announcement on shelter in place or leave their homes in some cases under documentation,bringing the phenomenon that store shelves may be running out of hand sanitizer,disinfectant,shelf-stable food and even toilet paper.To understand how pandemic threats affect consumer behavior,this is a vivid illustration of how pandemics can provoke strong emotional responses in individuals and influence consumer choices,since pandemic threats can have systemic effects on consumer product preferences.Relevant studies have found that consumers may increase their preferences for atypical products under the influence of pandemic threat;it may also increase the number of the purchased products;someone will reduce the purchase of second-hand products;someone will increase the purchase of familiar products and other changes in consumer behavior.In this context,based on the relationship between individual consumers and themselves with society and nature,this paper selects three product preferences:self-improvement products,prosocial products(such as cause-marketing products)and environment-friendly products as the research object,then explores the impact of pandemic threat on consumer behavior through three empirical studies.Since human beings are both natural and social beings as the individual existence and social existence to face both society and nature,the relationship between man and the world is that between man and self,man and others,and man and nature.The consumption behavior is not only generated from a specific objective demand,but to seek the consistency of external environment and internal demand.On this basis,it believes that individual consumption behavior can also reflect its relationship with the world,that is,consumption behavior can reflect the relationship between man and himself,man and others,and man and nature.The invisible and profound pandemic threat can affect ancestors,modern people and future generations,which will definitely affect the relationship with the world.Therefore,it is necessary and meaningful to understand the impact of pandemic threat on individual consumption behavior through the changes in the three dimensions of self,others and nature.To sum up,based on literature analysis,it explores the impact of pandemic threat on consumers’ relationship with themselves,others and nature through three empirical studies,then identifies the consumption of self-improvement products,case-related marketing products and environment-friendly products as the dependent variables.In Study 1,based on the theory of compensation consumption and compensation control after systematically combing the relevant literature such as pandemic threat,self-improvement products,sense of control,pandemic prevention measures and consumers’ implicit personality,it theoretically deduces the impact of pandemic threat on self-improvement product preference,then constructs the path model of pandemic threat on self-improvement product preference to propose four research hypotheses for the model.In the empirical research part,it verifies the above theoretical model and research hypothesis through four experimental studies.Then analyzes the experimental results by ANOVA and Bootstrap analysis.The results show that:(1)pandemic threat can increase consumers’ preferences for self-improvement products;(2)control loss has played a mediating role between pandemic threat and self-improvement product preference,i.e.pandemic threat has reduced consumers’perceived control,and consumers have compensated for the loss or decreased sense of control through self-improvement products;(3)the preventive measures of infectious diseases would have a moderating effect on the relationship between pandemic threat and self-improvement product preference without significant change in consumer preferences for self-improvement products after the adoption of pandemic prevention measures;(4)consumers’ implicit personality has played a moderating role between pandemic threat and self-improvement product preference.In the face of pandemic threat,incremental theorists’ preferences for self-improvement products would increase significantly,while entity theorists’ preferences for self-improvement products have remained unchanged.In Study 2,based on the compensation consumption theory and uncertainty-identity theory after systematically combing the relevant literature such as pandemic threat,cause-related marketing products,perceived uncertainty,need to belong,sense of power and perception of available resources,it theoretically deduces the impact of pandemic threat on cause-related marketing product preference,then constructs the path model of pandemic threat on cause-related marketing product preference to propose the four research hypotheses for the model.In the empirical research part,it verifies the above theoretical model and research hypothesis through four experimental studies.Then analyzes the experimental results by ANOVA and Bootstrap analysis.The results show that:(1)pandemic threat can increase consumers’ preferences for cause-related marketing products;(2)uncertainty and need to belong have played a chain mediating role between pandemic threat and cause-related marketing product preferences,i.e.pandemic has increased consumers’ uncertainty perception,uncertainty perception has increased consumers’ need to belong,and need to belong has further increased consumers’ product preferences for cause-related marketing;(3)consumers’sense of power can moderate the relationship between pandemic threat and product preference.In the face of pandemic threat,the preferences of low sense of power consumers for cause-related marketing products are significantly enhanced,while the preferences of high sense of power consumers for cause-related marketing products have remained unchanged;(4)the perception of available resources has played a moderating role between pandemic threat and cause-related marketing product preferences.In the face of pandemic threat,the preferences of consumers who perceived resources spare for cause-related marketing products are significantly enhanced,while the preferences of consumers who perceived resources scarce for cause-related marketing products have remained unchanged.In Study 3,based on the compensatory consumption theory and awe theory after systematic combing of the relevant literature such as pandemic threat,eco-friendly products,awe,materialism and natural connectedness,it theoretically deduces the impact of pandemic threat on the preferences of environment-friendly products,then constructs the path model of pandemic threat on the preferences of environment-friendly products,and puts forward four research hypotheses for this model.In the empirical research part,it verifies the above theoretical model and research hypothesis through four experimental studies.Then analyzes the experimental results by ANOVA and Bootstrap analysis.The results show that:(1)pandemic threat can increase consumers’ preferences for environment-friendly products;(2)awe has played a mediating role between pandemic threat and preferences for environment-friendly products;(3)materialism has played a moderating role between pandemic threat and preferences for environment-friendly products.When faced with pandemic threat,the preferences of low materialism consumers for environment-friendly products are significantly enhanced,while the preferences of high materialism consumers for environment-friendly products have remained unchanged;(4)natural connectedness can moderate the preferences between pandemic threat and environment-friendly products.In the face of pandemic threat,consumers with high natural connectedness have showed a significant increase in their preferences for environment-friendly products,while consumers with low natural connectedness have remained unchanged in their preferences for environment-friendly products.The last chapter summarizes and analyzes the above conclusions,then discusses the theoretical and practical implications with the shortcomings and the prospects for the future of relevant research.