Central European Business Review 2025, 14(2):25-43 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.380

Consumers' Orientation towards E-Commerce during Disruptive Times: Entrepreneurship Implications

Raluca Mariana Grosu ORCID...1, Kejo Starosta ORCID...2, Doru Alexandru Pleșea ORCID...3, Sandra Diana Chița ORCID...4
1 Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Faculty of Business and Tourism, Department of Business, Consumer Sciences and Quality Management, 6 Piata Romana, Bucharest, Romania. Email: raluca.petrescu@com.ase.ro (corresponding author)
2 Independent researcher, Eglisau, Switzerland. Email: k@ksfx.de
3 Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Faculty of Business and Tourism, Department of Business, Consumer Sciences and Quality Management, 6 Piata Romana, Bucharest, Romania. Email: pleseadoru@gmail.com
4 Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Business Administration Doctoral School, 11 Tache Ionescu Street, Bucharest, Romania. Email: sandra.chita@yahoo.com

Our study approaches consumers’ orientation towards e-commerce during disruptive times, taking the COVID-19 pandemic, the most prominent recent disruptive event, as a reference. The analysis of the phenomenon was targeted at two differently developed European countries, Romania and Germany, which were investigated. Considering the time span from January 2020 to January 2022, Google Trends was used to track the search volumes associated with the main e-commerce platforms in the analysed countries, serving as a proxy measure for gauging consumers’ orientation towards e-commerce. Based on sound sentiment and quantitative analyses, our study revealed no statistically significant correlation between consumers’ orientation towards e-commerce and the negativity of news in the media reporting on COVID-19 topics. In contrast to that, the investigation revealed statistically significant positive correlations between consumers’ orientation towards e-commerce and the incidence of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Germany and only partially in Romania. Moreover, consumers’ orientation towards e-commerce was influenced by regulatory interventions, such as the enforced lockdown measures. Particularly during the initial surge of COVID-19 cases, a strong consumer orientation towards e-commerce coincided, from a temporal perspective, with the imposition of lockdown measures. Framed by consumer behaviour literature, our study outlines different behavioural characteristics of consumers during disruptive times – in our case, health crises – and derived typologies of consumers with direct influence on entrepreneurial practice.
Implications for Central European audience: Theoretically placed in the field of consumer behaviour research, our study adds to the literature as it reveals insights about consumers’ orientation towards e-commerce during disruptive times. Focusing on the most recent prominent disruptive phenomenon, the COVID-19 pandemic, our paper also has practical implications of entrepreneurial relevance. By outlining invaluable insights into consumers’ behaviour and their orientation towards e-commerce during the pandemic, our study might set starting points in designing entrepreneurial strategies for survival or development during disruptive times (e.g., health crises).

Keywords: e-commerce; consumer behaviour; Europe; sentiment analysis; COVID-19 pandemic
JEL classification: D12, L81

Received: February 9, 2024; Revised: June 4, 2024; Accepted: June 18, 2024; Prepublished online: September 30, 2024; Published: May 30, 2025  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Grosu, R.M., Starosta, K., Pleșea, D.A., & Chița, S.D. (2025). Consumers' Orientation towards E-Commerce during Disruptive Times: Entrepreneurship Implications. Central European Business Review, 14(2), 25-43. doi: 10.18267/j.cebr.380
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Alhaimer, R. (2022). Fluctuating attitudes and behaviors of customers toward online shopping in times of emergency: The case of Kuwait during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Internet Commerce, 21(1), 26-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332861.2021.1882758. Go to original source...
    2. Aljanabi, A.R.A. (2023). The impact of economic policy uncertainty, news framing and information overload on panic buying behavior in the time of COVID-19: a conceptual exploration. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 18(7), 1614-1631. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-10-2020-1181. Go to original source...
    3. Alldredge, K., & Grimmelt, A. (2021). Understanding the ever-evolving, always-surprising consumer. McKinsey. Retrieved June 3, 2024, from https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/understanding-the-ever-evolving-always-surprising-consumer.
    4. Andruetto, C., Bin, E., Susilo, Y., & Pernestål, A. (2023). Transition from physical to online shopping alternatives due to the COVID-19 pandemic-A case study of Italy and Sweden. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 171, 103644. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2023.103644. Go to original source...
    5. Aulawi, H., Karundeng, E., Kurniawan, E.-A., Septiana, Y., & Latifah, A. (2021). Consumer sentiment analysis to e-commerce in the Covid-19 pandemic era. In 8th International Conference on ICT for Smart Society (ICISS 2021) (pp. 1-15). Bandung, Indonesia. Go to original source...
    6. Beckers, J., Weekx, S., Beutels, P., & Verhetsel, A. (2021). COVID-19 and retail: The catalyst for e-commerce in Belgium? Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 62, 102645. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102645. Go to original source...
    7. Bermes, A. (2021). Information overload and fake news sharing: A transactional stress perspective exploring the mitigating role of consumers' resilience during COVID-19. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 61, 102555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102555. Go to original source...
    8. Bundesregierung (2020a). Telefonkonferenz der Bundeskanzlerin mit den Regierungschefinnen und Regierungschefs der Länder am 13. Dezember 2020 (Teleconference between the Federal Chancellor and the heads of government of the federal states on December 13, 2020). Retrieved March 23, 2021, from https://www.bundesregierung.de/resource/blob/997532/1827366/69441fb68435a7199b3d3a89bff2c0e6/2020-12-13-beschluss-mpk-data.pdf?download=1.
    9. Bundesregierung (2020b). Telefonschaltkonferenz der Bundeskanzlerin mit den Regierungschefinnen und Regierungschefs der Länder am 30. April 2020 (Teleconference between the Federal Chancellor and the heads of government of the federal states on April 30, 2020). Retrieved March 23, 2021, from https://www.bundesregierung.de/resource/blob/975226/1749804/353e4b4c77a4d9a724347ccb688d3558/2020-04-30-beschluss-bund-laender-data.pdf?download=1.
    10. Cavallo, C., Sacchi, G., & Carfora, V. (2020). Resilience effects in food consumption behaviour at the time of Covid-19: perspectives from Italy. Heliyon, 6(12), e05676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05676. Go to original source...
    11. Chang, H.H., & Meyerhoefer, C.D. (2020). COVID-19 and the demand for online food shopping services: empirical evidence from Taiwan. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 103(2), 448-465. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajae.12170. Go to original source...
    12. Chen, H., Huang, X., & Li, Z.A. (2022). A content analysis of Chinese news coverage on COVID-19 and tourism. Current Issues in Tourism, 25(2), 198-205. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2020.1763269. Go to original source...
    13. Dannenberg, P., Fuchs, M., Riedler, T., & Wiedemann, C. (2020). Digital transition by COVID-19 pandemic? The German food online retail. Tijdschrift Voor Economische En Sociale Geografie, 111(3), 543-560. https://doi.org/10.1111/tesg.12453. Go to original source...
    14. Davenport, K., Houston, J.E., & Griffiths, M.D. (2012). Excessive eating and compulsive buying behaviours in women: An empirical pilot study examining reward sensitivity, anxiety, impulsivity, self-esteem and social desirability. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 10(4), 474-489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-011-9332-7. Go to original source...
    15. Di Crosta, A., Ceccato, I., Marchetti, D., La Malva, P., Maiella, R., Cannito, L., Cipi, M., Mammarella, N., Palumbo, R., Verrocchio, M.C., Palumbo, R., & Di Domenico, A. (2021). Psychological factors and consumer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS ONE, 16(8), e0256095. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256095. Go to original source...
    16. Dragusin, M., Welsh, D., Grosu, R.M., Iosif, A.E., & Zgura, I.D. (2015). Social entrepreneurship ‒ innovative solutions' provider to the challenges of an ageing population: The case of Romanian retirees. Amfiteatru Economic, 17(9), 1183-1197.
    17. Economica.net. (2020). Ultima zi de stare de urgenþã în România, în criza Coronavirus - joi, 14.05.2020. (The last day of the state of emergency in Romania, during the Coronavirus crisis - Thursday, 14.05.2020). Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://www.economica.net/ultima-zi-de-stare-de-urgenta-in-romania-in-criza-coronavirus-joi-14-05-2020_184390.html.
    18. Faber, R.J., & O'Guinn, T.C. (1992). A clinical screener for compulsive buying. Journal of Consumer Research, 19(3), 459-469. https://doi.org/10.1086/209315. Go to original source...
    19. Fichter, K. (2008). E-Commerce: Sorting out the environmental consequences. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 6(2), 25-41. https://doi.org/10.1162/108819802763471762. Go to original source...
    20. Gao, X.W., Shi, X.J., Guo, H.D., & Liu, Y.H. (2020). To buy or not buy food online: The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the adoption of e-commerce in China. Plos One, 15(8), e0237900. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237900. Go to original source...
    21. Ghita, S.I., Saseanu, A.S., Gogonea, R.M., & Grosu R.M. (2022). Online shopping profiles within european countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Transformations in Business & Economics, 21(2(56)), 21-40.
    22. Gills, B. (2020). Deep Restoration: from the great implosion to the great awakening. Globalizations, 17(4), 577-579. Go to original source...
    23. Guo, H., Liu, Y., Shi, X., & Chen, K.Z. (2020). The role of e-commerce in the urban food system under COVID-19: lessons from China. China Agricultural Economic Review, 13(2), 436-455. https://doi.org/10.1108/CAER-06-2020-0146. Go to original source...
    24. Guthrie, C., Fosso-Wamba, S., & Arnaud, J.B. (2021). Online consumer resilience during a pandemic: An exploratory study of e-commerce behavior before, during and after a COVID-19 lockdown. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 61, 102570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102570. Go to original source...
    25. Hamid, S., Azhar, M., & Sujood (2023). Behavioral intention to order food and beverage items using e-commerce during COVID-19: an integration of theory of planned behavior (TPB) with trust. British Food Journal, 125(1), 112-131. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-03-2021-0338. Go to original source...
    26. Hao, N., Wang, H.H., & Zhou, Q.J. (2020). The impact of online grocery shopping on stockpile behavior in Covid-19. China Agricultural Economic Review, 12(3), 459-470. https://doi.org/10.1108/CAER-04-2020-0064. Go to original source...
    27. Higueras-Castillo, E., Liébana-Cabanillas, F.J., & Villarejo-Ramos, Á.F. (2023). Intention to use e-commerce vs physical shopping. Difference between consumers in the post-COVID era. Journal of Business Research, 157, 113622. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113622. Go to original source...
    28. Hollanders, D., & Vliegenthart, R. (2011). The influence of negative newspaper coverage on consumer confidence: The Dutch case. Journal of Economic Psychology, 32(3), 367-373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2011.01.003. Go to original source...
    29. International Monetary Fund (2020). A crisis like no other, An uncertain recovery. Retrieved October 17, 2020, from https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2020/06/24/WEOUpdateJune2020.
    30. IMFBlog (2020). The great lockdown: Worst economic downturn since the great depression. Retrieved September 3, 2020, from https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2020/04/14/blog-weo-the-great-lockdown-worst-economic-downturn-since-the-great-depression.
    31. KPMG (2021). Responding to consumer trends in the new reality. COVID 19 pulse survey. November 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2021, from https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/xx/pdf/2020/11/consumers-new-reality.pdf.
    32. Larson-Hall, J. (2010). A guide to doing statistics in second language research using SPSS. New York, London: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group. Go to original source...
    33. Lehberger, M., Kleih, A.K., & Sparke, K. (2021). Panic buying in times of coronavirus (COVID-19): Extending the theory of planned behavior to understand the stockpiling of nonperishable food in Germany. Appetite, 161(1), 105118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105118. Go to original source...
    34. Lei, L., & Liu, X. (2022). The COVID-19 pandemic and residential mobility intentions in the United States: Evidence from Google Trends data. Population, Space and Place, 28(6), e2581. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2581. Go to original source...
    35. Li, M., Chapman, S., Agho, K., & Eastman, C.J. (2008). Can even minimal news coverage influence consumer health-related behaviour? A case study of iodized salt sales, Australia. Health Education Research, 23(3), 543-548. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cym028. Go to original source...
    36. Lodni, C., Najmaei, M., & Mansori, S. (2021). The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the German e-grocery industry with respect to challenges for retailers and customer satisfaction. Journal of Marketing Management and Consumer Behavior, 3(3), 1-31.
    37. Mamun, A.A., Mohiuddin, M., Fazal, S.A., & Ahmad, G.B. (2018). Effect of entrepreneurial and market orientation on consumer engagement and performance of manufacturing SMEs. Management Research Review, 41(1), 133-147. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-04-2017-0102. Go to original source...
    38. Oliveira, M., Tavares, F., Diogo, A., Ratten, V., & Santos, E. (2021). The Importance of e-commerce and customer relationships in times of COVID-19 pandemic. In V. Ratten & P. Thaichon (Eds.), COVID-19. Technology and Marketing (pp. 33-58). Singapore: Springer Singapore. Go to original source...
    39. Pantano, E., & Willems, K. (2022). Retail in a New World. Leeds: Emerald Publishing Limited. Go to original source...
    40. Pomerance, J., Light, N., & Williams, L.E. (2022). In these uncertain times: Fake news amplifies the desires to save and spend in response to COVID-19. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1086/711836. Go to original source...
    41. Salem, M., Baidoun, S., Abu Sharekh, N., Sammour, N., Alnajar, G., Alasttal, F., Alghusain, I., & Saqer, H. (2023). Factors affecting Arab consumers' attitudes toward online shopping in light of COVID-19: the moderating role of digital marketing. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 36(2), 480-504. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-04-2021-0175. Go to original source...
    42. Shaw, N., Eschenbrenner, B., & Baier, D. (2022). Online shopping continuance after COVID-19: A comparison of Canada, Germany and the United States. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 69, 103100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2022.103100. Go to original source...
    43. Soares, J.C., Limongi, R., De Sousa Júnior, J.H., Santos, W.S., Raasch, M., & Hoeckesfeld, L. (2023). Assessing the effects of COVID-19-related risk on online shopping behavior. Journal of Marketing Analytics, 11(1), 82-94. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41270-022-00156-9. Go to original source...
    44. Srivastava, R.K., & Bhanot, S. (2022). Study on the impact of COVID-19 on the purchase and mental behaviour of Indian consumers during lockdown. International Social Science Journal, 72(244), 437-459. https://doi.org/10.1111/issj.12329. Go to original source...
    45. Starosta, K. (2022). Measuring the impact of online media on consumers, businesses and society. Germany: Springer. Go to original source...
    46. Starosta, K., Onete, C.B., Grosu, R., & Plesea, D. (2020). COVID-19 Mass Media Infodemic in Six European Countries. Preprint. Advance. Go to original source...
    47. Tagesschau (2020). Einigung auf umfassendes Kontaktverbot (Agreement on a comprehensive ban on contact). Retrieved March 23, 2021, from https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/kontaktverbot-coronavirus-101.html.
    48. Tran, L.T.T. (2021). Managing the effectiveness of e-commerce platforms in a pandemic. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 58, 102287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102287. Go to original source...
    49. Tufail, H., Ashraf, M.U., Alsubhi, K., & Aljahdali, H.M. (2022). The effect of fake reviews on e-commerce during and after Covid-19 pandemic: SKL-based fake reviews detection. IEEE Access, 10, 25555-25564. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3152806. Go to original source...
    50. Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business model generation. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
    51. United Nations Development Programme. (2022). European Union. COVID-19 Pandemic. Retrieved January 31, 2022, from https://www1.undp.org/content/brussels/en/home/coronavirus.html.
    52. Veselovská, L., Závadský, J., & Bartková, L. (2021). Consumer behaviour changes during times of the COVID-19 pandemic: An empirical study on Slovak consumers. E&M Economics and Management, 24(2), 136-152. https://doi.org/10.15240/tul/001/2021-2-009. Go to original source...
    53. World Economic Forum. (2020). The great reset. Retrieved December 21, 2021, from https://www.weforum.org/great-reset/.
    54. World Health Organization (2022). WHO coronavirus (COVID-19) dashboard. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://covid19.who.int/.
    55. Wu, N., & Mu, L. (2023). Impact of COVID-19 on online grocery shopping discussion and behavior reflected from Google Trends and geotagged tweets. Computational Urban Science, 3(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43762-023-00083-0. Go to original source...
    56. Young, M., Soza-Parra, J., & Circella, G. (2022). The increase in online shopping during COVID-19: Who is responsible, will it last, and what does it mean for cities? Regional Science Policy & Practice, 14(S1), 162-178. https://doi.org/10.1111/rsp3.12514. Go to original source...
    57. Zulauf, K., & Wagner, R. (2022). Online shopping therapy: If you want to be happy, shop around. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 34(3), 332-345. https://doi.org/10.1080/08961530.2021.1955425. Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY NC ND 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content