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This chapter offers a preliminary investigation into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer purchasing behaviour within the grocery retail industry and supports evidence that since the pandemic began at the end of 2019, there have been changes in the demands and behaviours of consumers (Donthu & Gustafsson, 2020). Previous research has reported that the pandemic resulted in retail consumers spending less and saving more (Jorda, Singh, & Taylor, 2020), as well as panic buying (Nazir, 2021), both of which initially contributed to the limited availability of goods. This preliminary study reports upon survey data collected from retail consumers and answers the question ‘What were the changes in consumer behaviour in the grocery sector as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?’ Findings reveal that an increase in online shopping occurred more distinctly during the first of the UK’s lockdowns, which waned over time. Findings also reveal a lower shopping frequency, but higher shopping spends during lockdown, and that social distancing and discipline were key drivers of this behaviour change. Findings also reveal an intention to maintain a combination of new and old shopping behaviours and habits after lockdown, giving rise to the continuing importance of meeting consumers’ grocery needs online as well as in-store. This chapter further discusses the implications arising from the reported findings.

In confining the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing was key, with traditional, bricks-and-mortar retailing being shut-down for weeks, and have nearly universally moved into online channels. At the same time, online players have started to operate physical stores. This chapter provides an analysis of how COVID-19 has accelerated the digitalization of retailing, focusing on the shift towards the online and mobile shopping channel. On the basis of success stories and failures in retail business practice, lessons are distilled for developing effective future phygital scenarios.

COVID-19 accelerated change within the UK retail market. It encouraged the growth of online shopping, providing the necessary demand for grocers to invest in their operations, and transformed the economics of their businesses. As innovative new business models emerged, some existing retailers collapsed leading to significant changes on the high street. Landlords were also affected. As some retail tenants struggled to pay their rents, other parts of the sector prospered and sought additional warehouse capacity to cope with rising demand. Not only does this illustrate how different parts of the retail sector faired during COVID-19, but it also demonstrates how the move online has resulted in the emergence of new opportunities.

This chapter focuses on individuals’ mental representations of complex decision problems in transportation. An overview of approaches and techniques in this recent area of research is given as well as an illustration. The illustration concerns an application of CNET (causal network elicitation technique) to measure mental representations in a shopping activity scheduling task. The presence of an online shopping alternative is varied to investigate the influence of an online alternative on how individuals represent the choice problem.

Mental-model and means-ends-chain theories are discussed. These theories state that individuals when faced with a decision problem construct a mental representation of the choice alternatives by activating relevant parts of their broader causal knowledge that allow them to evaluate consequences regarding their existing needs. Furthermore, these theories emphasise that situational and person dependence of this process can explain observed variability in preferences of travellers.

The results indicate that considerable variation exists between individuals in terms of both the complexity, and the attributes and benefits that are activated in the mental representation of the choice problem. Presence of an online alternative has an influence on the benefits that individuals consider important. The impact is however small.

The chapter provides an overview of recent developments in the study of mental representations underlying choice behaviour. Traditionally, this has been the exclusive domain of qualitative research methods. The techniques reviewed enable larger samples and a formal representation of mental representations. Thus, the approach can help to better understand preference heterogeneity and incorporate this in (transport) choice models.

Escalation in the number of online food ordering platforms, along with extensive junk food marketing, lucrative offers and discounts, innovation in food flavors, and doorstep delivery of food, have triggered the consumption of high-calorie and unhealthy food products which pose serious threats to the health and future well-being of individuals by making them more obese. To date, several public policy frameworks have been developed to confront obesity; however, their efficacy seems debatable. Directionally, the objective of this study is to highlight the potential influence of “digital nudging” which aims at steering individuals in desired directions, at the same time delimiting their freedom of choice. The study also establishes the effectiveness of digital nudges promoting a healthy lifestyle by steering individuals toward healthier food choices. The author strongly believes that this conceptual perusal will offer immense inputs to healthy food marketers and researchers alike in addressing the matters of obesity. Addressing the menace of obesity calls for joint efforts of the government, the public, researchers, and more specifically food product manufacturers/marketers who should incorporate healthier food options into their portfolios. E-tailers are also urged to adopt such practices in virtual markets and promote healthier food options to effectively tackle obesity.

This study investigates the motivation among customers to be more loyal to online food delivery applications (OFDA) services even after the COVID-19 epidemic by using perceived service quality aspects in Sri Lanka. The data were gathered by physically distributing a self-administrated questionnaire to clients in Sri Lanka who continue to use OFDA services on platform to customer (P2C) service delivery platforms to buy food despite the COVID-19 outbreak. Multiple regression is employed to analyse 287 effective observations, and the data revealed the significant positive effect of interaction, environment, outcome, and food qualities on customer loyalty to OFDA services. In fact, there is no impact from the delivery quality on customer loyalty to OFDA services due to outsourced food delivery. The findings suggest regular improvements in attributes such as interaction, environment, outcome, and food qualities in this hyper-competitive business environment. Further, this study sets substantial facts for the interested parties to establish an exemplary delivery system and other technological advancements to have a sustainable competitive advantage and solid customer base in the long run.

The COVID-19 bubonic plague, ravaging and reoccurring in waves globally, has impacted all aspects of human lives including the understanding and practice in the marketing discipline. The situation has pushed human behavior to its fringes with measures such as complete and partial lockdown of communities, cities and countries enforced to mitigate spread. Hence, consumers appeared to have subliminally reviewed their priorities in life as evident in the buying of essentials, neighbourhood shopping and the shift from offline to online buying behavior. Prior to the emergence of the viral disease, there has been a gradual change in consumer behavior, with respect to buying practices, and firm behavior with respect to distribution and supply chain management; largely induced by advances in technology and e-commerce. However, the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have raised the bar and accelerated behavioral change in consumers and marketing organizations. With the attendant economic instability, consumers and organizations are experiencing behavioral transformation in response to the perceived vanities of life, changes in market dynamics, market -competitiveness, and the larger economic indices. In addition, there has been observable decline in capacity utilization and employee retention in response to the forced drop in demand and corresponding supply. This book chapter, with the aid of an in-depth review of literature, discusses the effects of COVID-19 on consumer and firm behavior with emphasis on the consequences of the sustained economic disruption for marketing strategies and policies. This was hinged on the relativity of business down cycles to the present pandemic in providing a basis for future post-COVID-19 crisis studies in order to understand consumer sentiments to crisis and its implications in the marketing discipline.

As businesses become more sophisticated and welcome new technologies, artificial intelligence (AI)-based methods are increasingly being used for firms' pricing decisions. In this review article, we provide a survey of research in the area of AI and pricing. On the upside, research has shown that algorithms allow companies to achieve unprecedented advantages, including real-time response to demand and supply shocks, personalized pricing, and demand learning. However, recent research has uncovered unforeseen downsides to algorithmic pricing that are important for managers and policy-makers to consider.

If you are running a rural business there are associated difficulties in reaching new customers, how can growth be sustained without spending huge amounts of time or money on marketing? Borsetshire needs more social media, and this chapter will illustrate how social media can help rural business. Looking at known online activity in Ambridge, it will highlight the perceived and potential social media practices of a variety of residents to give an example of what can be achieved, touching on the various networks and technology that can enhance the personal and professional lives of all, whether poultry smallholder or publican. The conclusion that social media can help foster feelings of community suggests that the Borsetshire populace should take immediate measures to advance their online activities.