COVID-19 IMPACT ON BRAND PREFERENCE IN CONSUMER PURCHASING DECISIONS ON FOOD PRODUCTS IN AZERBAIJAN
COVID-19 IMPACT ON BRAND PREFERENCE IN CONSUMER PURCHASING DECISIONS ON FOOD PRODUCTS IN AZERBAIJAN

Summary/Abstract: As it is known, spread of COVID-19 pandemic could not be controlled and it has surpassed all the expectations. World countries closed the boarders; most of the economies went into recession and the entire world suffered from the emerged COVID-19 pandemic. Even though the impacts of COVID-19 global pandemic both economically and socially can be measured and predicted, thought the changes of consumer purchasing behaviour is not easily estimated. As food products are necessary to survive, consumers demand increased because of shut down, but supply decreased because of closed manufacturing operations and it caused panic hoarding by some of the consumers. The effect of the pandemic on human life became interesting for the researchers to explore the impact of the COVID-19 on the businesses, especially brand preferences in consumer purchasing decisions for food products. Overall, the purpose of this article is to explore the impact of global pandemic through complementary empirical research and the current literature on how a pandemic affects brand preference in consumer purchasing behavior, since this is a topic lacking in empirical research. In addition, based on the branding and consumer behaviour theory, the Phenomenon, Moderators and Outcome, shortly “PMO” model was a model of the study, and it provided the bases for gathering empirical data needed for the article. The methodology of the study is based on qualitative approach. Fifteen interviews were conducted with Azerbaijani customers. Research findings showed that there are some changes on consumer purchasing behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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