Exploring food waste during the COVID-19 pandemic among Malaysian consumers: The effect of social media, neuroticism, and impulse buying on food waste

Abstract

The amount of food being thrown away despite being in an edible condition has become alarming in countries with populations with medium and high incomes. Changes in consumer behaviour, such as overbuying, are some of the major impetuses of food waste. This study aimed to examine the relationship between food waste and social media usage, neuroticism, and impulse buying. The mediating role of impulse buying and the moderating role of neuroticism on food waste during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic were also uncovered in this study. A self-administered online survey was distributed to a total of 274 consumers who had experienced a lockdown during the COVID-19 outbreak and were also regular buyers of food. Empirical findings supported the fact that social media usage, neuroticism, and impulse buying were positively related to food waste. Impulse buying mediates the relationship between social media usage and food waste, as well as between neuroticism and food waste. The study results also revealed that neuroticism positively moderates the relationship between social media usage and food waste. This paper offers new insights into efforts for sustainable food consumption to tackle the issue of food waste.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on household food waste behaviour: A systematic review

“… Sahu et al (2020) argued that SCOPUS covers 95% of peer-reviewed multidisciplinary research articles. The search terms were selected by reviewing articles on the effect of COVID-19 on food waste generation and household food behaviours (e.g., Lahath et al, 2021 ; Laila et al, 2021 ). Furthermore, the authors reviewed the search terms that have been used in extant review articles on household food waste to ensure that appropriate search terms were selected for this study (e.g., Schanes et al, 2018 ).…”

“… Online shopping and social media platforms trigger impulse buying. Lahath et al (2021) ; Laila et al (2021) ; Filho et al (2021); Roe et al (2021) ; Scacchi et al (2021) ; Vidal-Mones et al (2021) Social Media Usage Purchase exotic food influenced by social media Exposure to food-related content motivates to purchase and consume more food Food-related pages on social media can develop cooking skills. Lahath et al (2021) ; Liu et al (2021) Sustainability Awareness Higher awareness of the environmental consequences of food waste Higher awareness of the ethics of food waste.…”

“… Lahath et al (2021) ; Laila et al (2021) ; Filho et al (2021); Roe et al (2021) ; Scacchi et al (2021) ; Vidal-Mones et al (2021) Social Media Usage Purchase exotic food influenced by social media Exposure to food-related content motivates to purchase and consume more food Food-related pages on social media can develop cooking skills. Lahath et al (2021) ; Liu et al (2021) Sustainability Awareness Higher awareness of the environmental consequences of food waste Higher awareness of the ethics of food waste. High sustainability awareness Leads to responsible behaviour Less food wastage Burlea-Schiopoiu et al (2021) , Pappalardo et al (2020) , Pires et al (2021) , Vittuari et al (2021) , Brzustewicz and Singh (2021) More Dieting More time to take diet.…”

“…Impulse buying refers to irrational and impulsive purchases (Filho et al, 2021). Although some studies have used the terms ‘impulse buying’ and ‘unplanned shopping’ interchangeably, these two terms are not the same, and an unplanned purchase may not be irrational ( Lahath et al, 2021 ). A person may forget to buy a product and make an unplanned purchase.…”

“…Impulse buying and purchasing foods that are not needed may lead to food waste ( Scacchi et al, 2021 ). During the COVID-19 pandemic, online shopping using social media platforms might have motivated people to buy undesirable foods and caused impulse buying ( Lahath et al, 2021 ; Roe et al, 2021 ).…”