The Coronavirus Shopping Anxiety Scale: initial validation and development

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to develop a scale to measure coronavirus shopping anxiety. Numerous studies have developed a scale for measuring coronavirus anxiety and fear, notably absent is a concerted effort to review and assess the impact of coronavirus on the shopping anxiety of consumers. This scale fulfills this gap.Design/methodology/approachThe steps taken for checking the various psychometrics of the scale include item generation, followed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) through SPSS and confirmatory factor analysis through AMOS. The data were collected from over 208 respondents.FindingsThis study resulted in the development of a nine-item scale with robust psychometric properties. The scale resulted in highlighting two factors related to anxiety: in-store shopping anxiety and online shopping anxiety.Research limitations/implicationsThe scale developed has the desirable reliable and valid properties that could be used by aspiring researchers.Practical implicationsThe scale developed highlighted that the restrictions in shopping impact the mental health and psychology of consumers. The scale resulted in analyzing the factors related to shopping anxiety, which could give top management a perspective and vision to look into the minds of the consumer's shopping anxiety behaviors.Social implicationsCompanies, firms, health professionals and marketers could use this scale to investigate the various shopping anxiety perceptions among consumers in society.Originality/valueThis research fills the gap by developing a first nine-item scale based on the qualitative research and quantitative assessment for measuring shopping anxiety caused due to the pandemic.

Challenges in Developing Annual and Sustainability Reports: Is Data Management Matter?

“…For instance, Nguyen et al (2020) emphasized the importance of developing a narrative that effectively communicates the essence of an organization's strategy and performance, aligning with this phase's drafting process. The skills required to articulate the report's narrative are not dissimilar to those noted by Sachdeva (2022), who underscored the importance of a robust understanding of the subject matter for preparing informative and engaging management accounting reports.…”

An Assessment of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Consumer Behavior Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process Model

“…The findings of the studies by Soares et al, 2023, Truong and Truong, 2022, and Sachdeva, 2022, indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic affects online shopping behavior, as people fear infection when physically going shopping, and that online shopping is the best solution. Also, for a number of consumers, going to stores leads to anxiety and fear of infection, especially by touching objects and doubting hygiene protocols [41][42][43]. When people have enough knowledge about COVID-19, they actively carry out self-protection measures, which leads to more online shopping [44,45].…”