Changes in online shopping activities of Generation Z students

Changes in online shopping activities of
                         Generation Z students
   - A qualitative study on online purchase intent and impulsivity during Covid-19

Aspitman Avesta
Karacsonyi Beata Valeria
Uthman Dalia

School of Business, Society & Engineering

Course: Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration      Tutor: Johnstone, Leanne

Course code: FOA243                                     Date: 02.06.2021

15 cr

Abstract
Date:               02.06.2021

Level:              Bachelor thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr

Institution:        School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University

Authors:            Avesta Aspitman       Beata Valeria Karacsonyi      Dalia Uthman
                      (94/05/24)                (95/08/01)               (97/01/07)

Title:              Changes in online shopping activities of Generation Z students
                    - A qualitative study on online purchase intent and impulsivity
                    during Covid-19

Tutor:              Leanne Johnstone

Keywords:           Online purchase intent, Covid-19, Generation Z, Students, Impulsive
                    shopping

Research question: How has Covid-19 impacted the online purchase intent of students
                   at Mälardalen region of Sweden?

Purpose:            To examine how the impact of Covid-19 has affected the online
                    purchase intent of students of Mälardalen region in Sweden.

Method:             This study has an inductive approach with a qualitative data collection.
                    Semi-structured interviews were held with nine students within the
                    Mälardalen region and were conducted online through the
                    communication tool ZOOM. A thematic analysis was conducted to
                    analyze the collected primary data and with assistance of the literature
                    review, four dimensions of the topic could be identified: financial,
                    performance, time and psychological.

Conclusion:         Online purchasing during Covid-19 has increased and thus, affected
                    the online purchasing intent of students in the same way. This is
                    mainly due to restrictions and due to the pandemic and the consumer’s
                    perception of the online retailers’ adaptation to it. Increased
                    impulsivity due to Covid-19 cannot be concluded in this study and thus
                    contradicts existing and recent literature that suggests impulsive
                    shopping increases in crises. Instead, Generation Z students are more
                    inclined to save their money and make strategic choices to purchase
                    online.

Acknowledgement:
We would like to express our gratitude firstly towards our supervisor Leanne Johnstone, who

continuously encouraged and guided us with input and feedback. Secondly, we would like to thank our

fellow students who helped us with valuable input in the process of writing the thesis. Completing this

thesis would not have been accomplished without all participants who took the time to contribute with

valuable information. We would also like to thank our friends and families for the support during the

process of producing this thesis. And lastly, we want to thank each other for the hard work and

determination. This task could not have been achieved without the continuous support and

encouragement given to each other.

Abstract                                                       2
1. Introduction                                                1
  1.1 Background                                               1
  1.2 Problem Discussion                                       5
  1.3 Purpose                                                  5
  1.4 Research question                                        6
2. Literature review                                           7
  2.1 Digitalization within e-commerce                         7
    2.1.1 Distribution channels in the online retail context   8
    2.1.2 Payment methods in the retail context                9
  2.2 Antecedents of online shopping                           9
    2.2.1 Trust                                                10
    2.2.2 Perceived risk                                       12
    2.2.3 Security and privacy issues                          13
    2.2.4 Price orientation                                    14
    2.2.5 Time consciousness                                   15
  2.3 Online purchase intent                                   15
    2.3.1 Characteristics of consumers                         15
    2.3.2 Impulsive shopping                                   19
  2.4 Dimensions                                               19
  2.5 Conceptual framework                                     20
3. Methodology                                                 23
  3.1 Research approach                                        23
  3.2 Research design                                          24
  3.3 Choice of interviewees                                   25
  3.4 Operationalization                                       26
  3.5 Data collection                                          28
    3.5.1 Primary data                                         29
    3.5.2 Data analysis                                        31
  3.6 Quality criteria                                         32
  3.7 Research ethics                                          32
  3.8 Method limitations                                       33
4. Empirical findings                                          34
  4.1 Presentation of each participant                         34
  4.2 General background information                           35

4.3 Identified dimensions             37
    4.3.1 Financial                     37
    4.3.2 Performance                   39
    4.3.3 Time                          41
    4.3.4 Psychological                 43
5. Analysis                             46
  5.1 Digitalization                    46
  5.1.1 Payment methods                 46
    5.1.2 Distribution channels         47
  5.2 Antecedents                       48
    5.2.1 Trust                         48
    5.2.2 Perceived Risk                50
    5.2.3 Security and privacy issues   52
    5.2.4 Price orientation             53
    5.2.5 Time consciousness            54
  5.3 Possible outcome                  55
6. Conclusion                           57
  6.1 Limitation and future research    57
References                              59
Appendices                              65
  Appendix A: Interview questions       65
  Appendix B: Fill-out form             66

1. Introduction

1.1 Background
Different emergencies, development, and various diseases make the world vulnerable, and an

example is the ease of transportation locally and internationally, making it easy for multiple

diseases to spread (Nadeak et al., 2020). An outbreak of Covid-19, also known as coronavirus,

which started in China and spread to many other countries, has affected the world in many

different ways. On January the 30th, 2020 the Emergency Committee of the World Health

Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency and announced that SARS-CoV-2

(Covid-19) had spread globally and was a growing case both in China and in international

locations (Velavan & Meyer, 2020). Covid-19 has contributed to uncertain forecasts, including

different messages from authorities, shortage of resources, and growing economic losses

(Pfefferbaum & North, 2020). The pandemic has forced people to conduct most of their

everyday activities online to avoid the risk of spreading the deadly virus further. For example,

people are recommended not to have large or public gatherings of more than eight persons in

Sweden. Schools and universities campus-based learning has stopped and moved education to

virtual learning (Adnan, 2020).

The long-term effects of the pandemic are not yet determined. However, it is possible to see

many different adaptations and various changes in society all over the world. Roggeveen and

Sethuraman (2020) explains that the demand for home delivery of food, groceries, and

healthcare has increased. At the same time, problems with inventory and supply chain

management have increased for the retailers. The authors state that retailers of shoes and

clothing struggle with sales and to be able to survive, they are emerging new ideas to engage

and reach customers. They further argue that the battle for the retailers is how to encourage and

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maintain impulse purchases, which is more common to do in physical stores than online.

Consumers will have no other choice than to adapt to new ways of purchasing and old behaviors

will change to new (Roggeveen & Sethuraman, 2020). The authors continue to argue that job

losses will make consumers' purchase intent decrease and as a result; spend less money on

luxuries and non-essential products and turn to discounts and essential goods and services.

Value-adding in stores and restaurants will be viewed differently, priorities such as fun and

entertainment will be shifted to how the customers see the stores and restaurants responsible

for having rules for social distance and how clean they are (Roggeveen & Sethuraman, 2020).

Roggeveen and Sethuraman (2020) claim that the most common form of payment historically

is to pay in cash rather than e-payment. However, as online shopping has increased due to the

pandemic, so has the use of credit cards and various types of e-payments. Simultaneously,

selling fake products and stealing identities online has increased. Moreover, the study shows

that customers who care if a product meets the ethical requirements tend to pay more if the

price increases, are more loyal, and question the product's price discount. In contrast customers

who are not involved in such matters will be positive about the discount. Nonetheless, there are

not just positive effects of going online during the pandemic when searching through recent

literature. A downside to online purchases and home delivery has been studied in Australia

where, through a survey that was conducted, it was measured the alcohol consumption of

Australian consumers in May 2020 (Colbert et al., 2020). The result showed that 36 percent

would stop drinking if the home delivery service stopped and the easy access of goods had

positive effects on time and energy efficiency, but clearly shows a negative impact in other

areas.

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Sheth (2020) highlights whether online consumers will go back to how it used to be before the

pandemic or if the consumer's behavior regarding shopping has changed forever. He argues

that consumers' choice is bounded by time and location. Mobility is limited in several places

in the world, and time flexibility has increased. He continues by addressing characteristic

consumer behavior in terms of the Covid-19 pandemic; stockpiling products that are considered

essential, improvisation to make it work regardless, postpone products that are considered

unnecessary, embracing different digital solutions, and the convenient way of purchasing

everything from home. These habits that have changed to be more affordable, convenient, and

accessible will most likely be changed forever (Sheth, 2020). More than 60 percent of all global

consumers have changed their shopping behavior by trying different online retailers when the

preferred product is challenging to purchase and simultaneously, e-commerce has increased

(Arora et al., 2020).

Li et al. (2020) argue that people tend to have impulsive consumption behavior in emergencies.

When the news about Covid-19 came out in the UK, people bought fresh food in large amounts,

resulting in food waste. They further explain that in Australia, the stores were out of toilet paper

since people rushed to supermarkets to purchase necessary supplies to stock up. Even purchases

of guns increased in the United States and the researchers further explained that this behavior

is not unusual (Li et al., 2020). Furthermore, they argue, similarities in impulsive consumption

can be observed during both the SARS and the nuclear power leakage in Fukushima.

Consumers make short amounts of consideration when purchasing impulsively, usually driven

by time limitations and the external environment, and this type of behavior is characterized by

immediate ownership and quick decision-making (Li et al., 2020). In contrast to some of

Sheth’s (2020) assumptions above which suggest prioritizing and economizing purchases

during the pandemic, studies show that consumers overspend and over-consume during hard

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times (Li et al., 2020). Furthermore, Li et al. (2020) report how the severity of public

emergencies positively affects consumers' impulsive consumption. People are more likely to

make impulsive consumption the more severe the pandemic. More specifically, an increase in

impulsiveness can be seen due to the pandemic (Eger et al., 2021).

Given the uncertainty over how the pandemic affects consumers purchasing behavior outlined

above, this study will investigate the current effects of the pandemic on students' online

purchase intent. The research on students' purchase intent during the Covid-19 pandemic is

limited since the phenomenon is relatively new and continuing. However, literature on how

different generations' buying behavior has changed caused by the pandemic has been

investigated.

Zwanka and Buff (2021, p.4) discuss how the Generation Y and Generation Z found the idea

of stockpiling different groceries is “old fashion” because food groceries will always be

available; however, the pandemic has caused and made it clear that pantry-stocking and online

purchases of food have increased for all generations. They further explain that historically

stressful life events have led to consumers handling the situation by purchasing more intensely

and changing their consumption habits. Eger et al. (2021) consider that purchase patterns and

shopping behavior are influenced by the experience of a particular generation. They believe

that people born between 1989-2000 prefer online shopping because of all the benefits that

come with it, such as easy delivery and low prices. Furthermore, what characterizes this

generation is also the high level of debt and earning less money than the average. What is most

common for all generations is that all value payment security. In their study on adults (18+) in

the Czech Republic, they concluded that the bigger the fear of the pandemic, the more

significant was the change in consumers' shopping behavior. The fear of losing jobs was 53

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percent. Another study, by Barber and Kim (2021), showed that during the Covid-19 younger

people (between 18-35) worried less compared to older people (between 65-81).

1.2 Problem Discussion
The pandemic’s long-term effects are yet to be revealed; however, it is obvious that the Covid-

19 pandemic has forced the world to change (Pfefferbaum & North, 2020). Scott (2000) states

that rational decisions are based on the information about the goals and their outcomes. The

early scholar Weick’s (1988) study about crisis revealed that people act by what they think

about the situation and the more people understand a crisis and the more information they have,

the more they will act rationally.

If this is true, then people who experienced the pandemic and saw the immediate effect that it

had on their financial situations, should be acting rationally in their spending. That is, they

should spend less. However, the study made by Li et al. (2020) showed that consumers

purchased more than they needed in crises (specifically Covid-19).

The world has experienced a crisis yet again, however, it is the first time that a crisis of this

size has affected the entire world during a time where technology, digitalization and capitalism

have been as developed as they are. Could it be that easy access through technology and

digitalization, as well as price variations due to the international competitive market, are the

reason for the irrational shopping behaviour? For this study, irrational shopping behaviour is

defined as impulsive shopping, which is presented in the literature review chapter.

1.3 Purpose
The many challenges that have been brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic has undeniably

brought on changes in the world as known today. However, at the point of time when this thesis

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was written, the pandemic was still ongoing which also brought the possibility of continuous

changes occurring. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine how the impact of the

pandemic has affected the online purchase intent of the students of Mälardalen region in

Sweden, in order to contribute to future research by giving researchers an idea and context as

to how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the purchase intent of students in the online retail

environment. The idea was to document data to help researchers understand how the changes

were viewed whilst the crisis was still ongoing.

1.4 Research question
RQ: How has Covid-19 impacted the online purchase intent of students in the Mälardalen

region of Sweden?

The students within the Mälardalen region are an empirical context to explore how the

pandemic affects online purchase intent. The choice of students within Mälardalen was due to

the matter of accessing, reaching, and gathering the amount of empirical research during the

Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic, the research is limited to students within the

Mälardalen region because the authors live and study in the area and those students constitute

members of the Generation Z age cohorts which hold certain assumptions or characteristics in

terms of their buying behavior in the literature as previously overviewed.

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2. Literature review
The following chapter will be highlighting the literature framing this research and providing
understanding of the theory context relating to the research question and purpose. The chapter
has been divided into three sections, where the first section focuses on concepts relating to the
online purchasing environment, the second section focuses on the concepts relating to the
factors that motivates the consumer to buy or not. The third section highlights the consumer
profile used for this study, a combination between the first and second section in context to the
consumer profile. A summary and conceptual model derived from the literature is presented at
the end of this chapter.

2.1 Digitalization within e-commerce
Lehdonvirta states that earlier authors viewed online shopping as a way of purchasing planned

necessary things compared to the “ordinary” way, which was explained as more experiential

and fun (Lehdonvirta, 2010, as cited in Lehdonvirta, 2012, p.19). Furthermore, he suggests that

some authors even meant that online shopping dehumanizes the world; no real-life interaction

is needed. Anderson (2006) argues that we as humans are obsessed with being trendy and

popular, and the digitized world we live in helps us be that. Consumers can express their

preferences with a wide range of products (Anderson, 2006). As Gray and Rumpe (2015)

explain, many other parts of society can benefit from digitalization as well. Historical

documents and artworks could be stored online forever, for example. Scientists can easily

repeat and digitize their experiments that allow more and further analysis for example through

big data that can be stored online, which one might have as the first impression of digitalization.

Those authors believe that what makes this data valuable is how it is analyzed and used.

From a company-side, Parida et al. (2019) also argues that companies need to be innovative

and build business models around digital technologies and digital platforms to keep up and

provide value to customers. Nevertheless, over the years, researchers have had a difficult time

trying to define digitalization because of the various applications and technologies associated

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with it (Parida et al., 2019). As such, Parida et al. define digitalization as the "use of digital

technologies to innovate a business model and provide new revenue streams and value-

producing opportunities in industrial ecosystems" (2019, p.6). Bloomberg (2018) agrees on the

difficulties of defining the term digitalization. He claims that some authors define digitalization

as a way of interacting with other people, which can get more and more dependent on because

society expects nothing else. Weijo et al. (2018) talk about how digitalization for consumers

means an increased sense of self-control, how like-minded consumers can find each other when

sharing a common interest, and with different activities and actions, such as comments and

rating, they can impact the output of a product or service. This contributes to an additional

sense of belonging and collectivism (Weijo et al., 2018). Digitalization has also increased the

possibility of consumers taking an active role in the production process and are more exposed

to online shopping sites since it is always available (Lehdonvirta et al., 2012). Previously the

consumer's choice was limited by the available product being located nearby (Benner &

Waldfogel, 2020). However, digitalization has made it possible for easy access, an increase in

quality, and the availability of various products (Waldfogel, 2017).

2.1.1 Distribution channels in the online retail context

Waldfogel (2017) explains that promoting different products on digital platforms enriches

information exchanges through online reviews between the producers and consumers, as well

as between consumers. He argues, for instance, a traditional publication of books offers 50 000

reviews per year compared to Goodreads' largest customer rating platform, which can offer 10

million users’ reviews. Consumers are now awash in products they desire because of the easily

accessible and increased diverse forms of access to these products (Waldfogel, 2017). A study

conducted by Miklosik et al. (2020) explains that fewer people watch less television nowadays

and, instead, use social media and spend more time online. By using search engines, consumers

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save time and locate what they specifically search after. Furthermore, when watching

television, consumers tend to switch channels or ignore advertisements.

2.1.2 Payment methods in the retail context

Retailers started to build for online shopping in the middle of the 1990s—one of the first signs

was payment with credit cards (Lehdonvirta, 2012). A study conveyed by See-To et al. (2014)

reveals that not all shopping intentions of consumers lead to sales because consumers tend to

use online shopping carts as a wish list for future purchases. One of the reasons for the

fulfillment is the payment type. The authors further explain that by entering different private

and risky information, people often hesitate. The security and privacy of the customer should

be protected (Parida et al., 2019).

Consumers' characteristics can depend on how accepting someone is to the payment method,

and the buyer's expectation can impact what type of payment to use (Foscht et al., 2010).

Customers prefer that digitized platforms have to be functional and easy to use, and additional

payments for digitization functionality are not preferable by customers (Parida et al., 2019).

Lehdonvirta (2012) believes that nowadays, for some services and products, direct consumer

payment has shifted to advertising-funded payment. An example is newspapers that are

advertising-funded and therefore freely distributed. He believes that consumers instead pay

with their time and attention.

2.2 Antecedents of online shopping

Online consumer behavior is a complex conundrum with several aspects to take into account

(Hwang & Jeong, 2016), such as the characteristics of consumers, sales channels, merchants,

social media, websites and products (Akar & Nasir, 2015). The emergence of advanced

technology and the Internet has strongly affected the values and lifestyles of consumers and

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thus, changed their behavior and intentions as well (Díaz et al., 2017). Shopping online

provides several benefits to consumers, not the least convenience and available information

(Dennis et al., 2009; Hwang & Jeong, 2016). Nevertheless, there are also several challenges in

online settings and from a consumer’s perspective it is, among others, the trust and perceived

risk; a pair which play a crucial role in a consumer’s online purchase intentions (Akar & Nasir,

2015).

In an extensive literature review conducted by Chang et al. (2005), a variety of antecedents to

online shopping were identified and explored, including perceived risk and trust. They argue

that these two concepts need further research due to their complexity of interpretation among

researchers; the concepts are never interpreted solely. D’Alessandro et al. (2012) suggest that

several antecedents of online purchasing can be addressed in order to reduce the perceived risk

of the consumer, which subsequently should increase trust. Their study concluded that concerns

of privacy and security in regard to online shopping, increased the perceived risk of consumers.

In this sense, trust and perceived risk are arguably interrelated and correspondingly, other

antecedents, such as privacy and security, also hold weight. Price and time are additional

elements that are fundamental to any consumer, and thus, will also be explored in this literature

review.

2.2.1 Trust

Trust has often been interpreted conjointly with other antecedents to online shopping and

therefore has an inconclusive definition, but one common standpoint about the concept has

been its ability to decrease a consumer’s uncertainty in online settings (Chang et al., 2005). To

make a transaction online include risks between the buyer and the seller, as they become

dependent on each other in the online exchange. Thus, it is essential that both the buyer and the

seller trust each other to fulfill their commitments towards one another, in spite of the

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vulnerability that it brings along (Gefen et al., 2003). Arguably, this is not only true between a

buyer and a seller, but also between consumers and online vendors, as well as intermediaries

such as influencers. That is, trust in the online retail context is more complex with emerging

pathways where it is not only between the consumer and online retailer or e-vendor, but trust

in a retailer or product is indirectly created through, for example, social media influencers for

millennials (e.g., Johnstone & Lindh, 2018) or reviewer websites. For such premises,

Bhattacherjee (2002, p.212) emphasizes trust as crucial in these “online exchange relationships

characterized by uncertainty, anonymity, lack of control, and potential opportunism”.

McKnight et al. (2002) define trust as a concept built on compounds which happens before,

during or after an online transaction. They study consumer trust in online settings and

correspondingly, define trust in an online vendor as a construct of two interrelated elements:

trusting beliefs and trusting intentions. They explain that trusting beliefs relate to the

consumer’s perceived ability, altruism and integrity of an online vendor; for example, believing

that the online vendor will not purposely deceive the consumer. As for trusting intentions,

McKnight et al. (2002) explain it as the consumer’s willingness to rely on the online vendor;

for example, going through with the transaction and putting any feelings of concern aside.

McKnight et al. (2002) further claim that reputation, website quality and first impression of the

web environment are additional elements that influence trust and therefore, an online

consumer’s decision to transact with unfamiliar sellers online is heavily influenced by trust.

This implies the importance of the online settings and the effect it has on consumers. Similarly,

Gefen (2000) also claims that familiarity and trust complement each other and thus, affect the

purchase intention of online consumers. His definition of familiarity within e-commerce is

broad, however, simplified it can be referred to as a consumer’s former acquaintance with the

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online shop and its processes. If online settings, in addition to trust, have an impact on the

consumer’s purchase intent, then arguably, so do the distribution channels and payment

methods offered by the online vendor, since both are essential parts of the online sales

environment.

Vieira et al. (2020) argue that a strong online presence increases consumers’ trust towards

retailers. Some examples of creative and engaging ways to exist online are brand- and user-

generated content through social media (Djafarova & Bowes, 2021). Chen et al. (2015) claims

that brand related social media posts can engage consumers and provoke positive feelings

towards the online retailer, which also forms the attitude towards purchase decisions. Even

influencers, who serve as intermediators between brand and product, have been found to

increase consumers’ trust when promoting products on social media (Johnstone & Lindh,

2018).

2.2.2 Perceived risk

The perceived risk is an aspect that affects online purchase intent of consumers since it directly

impacts attitude and online shopping behavior (Ariffin et al., 2018; Ko et al., 2004). Nowadays,

and with easier access to internet-connected devices, online transactions have become more

common. A certain degree of risk can be expected whenever shopping online, however, the

higher the perceived risk for the consumer to make an online purchase, the more discouraged

the consumer will feel (Ariffin et al., 2018). There are several elements to take into account

when referring to risks and online shopping, such as payment process, delivery and privacy.

Consumers that have made purchases online before and are more familiar with the process

show a significantly higher willingness to take the risk than for example, consumers who rarely

shop online (Lee & Tan, 2003).

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The definition of perceived risk is ambiguous, and some attempts describe it as the expectation

of losses or unfavorable outcome of a purchased product (Ariffin et al., 2018). Ko et al. (2004)

identified four common dimensions of risk that have a significant impact on purchase

decisions: performance, financial, time and psychological. They relate these dimension as

followed: performance risk involves the expected product quality; financial risk concerns

losing money, the need to pay more money to ensure the product performance, and loss of

sensitive information provided in the online transaction; time risk includes the inconvenience

in regards to the amount of time spent on acquire the product, replace it or repair it; and

psychological risks relates to the inner peace of the consumer being disrupted by circumstances

caused by the other risk factors.

2.2.3 Security and privacy issues

Security and privacy are elements which concern online consumers and have been presented

as critical aspects in e-commerce (Kim et al., 2016). As online consumption becomes more

common in line with increased digital solutions, Hassan et al. (2020) claim that credit cards,

debit cards and mobile payment are particularly popular payment methods for online purchases,

and consequently, suggest that there is a need for improvements of security and privacy in

online payment methods. They explain that the online transaction method of choice involves a

potential risk for the consumer, for example, the consumer might become a victim of credit

card fraud or identity theft.

Both security and privacy have been correlated with consumers’ trust in the online settings of

an e-vendor (Chen & Dibb, 2010; Kimery & McCord, 2002; Yoon, 2002). As proposed by

Kimery and McCord (2002), online consumers may feel more confident if they find a type of

technology assurance provided by the e-vendor, for example, a collaboration with a trusted

third party. In a Swedish context, this could, for example, be Klarna and Qliro (Swedish fintech

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companies). Kimery and McCord (2002) further argue that such assurance may not only

increase consumers' trust that their sensitive information will be handled ethically, but also let

new potential customers predict the reliability of the e-vendor. Other ways to increase trust and

to assure an online consumer of their privacy and security while online shopping may include

providing safe ways to administer online transactions and be transparent of the way the

collected, sensitive information is being handled (Chen & Dibb, 2010). A recent study

conducted by Bandara et al. (2020) investigating consumers’ attitudes on privacy and security

in online settings, offered several conclusions on the matter: not all consumers consider sharing

sensitive information as relinquishing privacy; some feel helplessness towards how to protect

their privacy; others are cognitively separate towards privacy issues.

2.2.4 Price orientation

Price is another important factor that can influence consumer behavior both positively and

negatively in the sense that consumers will reflect over the quality of the product they are

purchasing in relation to the price that they are paying (Lichtenstein et al., 1993). Surely price

affects both online and offline consumers in one way or another. A study conducted by Lee et

al. (2016) found that online consumers had a more complex reaction to price changes in e-

commerce than consumers do in offline settings. For example, they found that a first-time price

drop in a product online provoked mostly negative reactions in online consumers whereas the

second time that price dropped, consumers were slightly more positive towards the change. In

comparison, they found that price drops in offline settings generally impact the consumer

positively. Thus, drawing the conclusion that online consumers have a more complicated

relation to price than offline consumers. Experiential online consumers with a desire for

stimulation have a tendency to purchase impulsively and when they do, they usually focus on

prices to find the better deal (Wolfinbarger & Gilly, 2001). For example, they may refine their

searches and filter easily to compare the same products and its offered prices at different online

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vendors. Simultaneously, because of lower production costs, digitization has made it easier for

lower-cost product alternatives, and the market can deliver substantially improved products

every time a new product launch (Waldfogel, 2017). Accordingly, consumers have more access

to conveniently find products of preference at a lower cost.

2.2.5 Time consciousness

Time is arguably one of the resources that consumers spend the most, regardless of whether it

is in online or offline settings. Punj (2012) argues that there is a trade-off between saving

money and saving time when consumers shop online. The result of his study implies that

consumers with high income are attracted by the latter one, whereas consumers with lower

income are more focused on saving money. Literature also suggests that in regard to time,

convenience shoppers that are experienced with online shopping are prone to look for

effortlessness in their online shopping process in order to save time (Nirmala & Dewi, 2011).

2.3 Online purchase intent
Triandis (1980) explains intentions as a phenomenon where an individual hands themself a set

of directions which will cause him or her to act and behave in an explicit and definite way.

That is, intentions are directly related to the decision-making process of an individual. In this

study, intentions have been situated in an online purchasing context. As defined by Pavlou

(2003), online purchase intent is the degree of willingness a consumer has to make a purchase

online, meaning that the key aspects that are most relevant are the factors motivating the actual

purchasing act (see also, Peña-García et al., 2020), which is also the definition for this study.

2.3.1 Characteristics of consumers

Previous research has proclaimed that different age groups have different approaches towards

online shopping (Richa, 2012) and it is expected that Generation Z are soon to be the

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predominant consumer segment (Vieira et al., 2020). Kahawandala et al. (2020) suggest that

Generation Z are strongly influenced by the surroundings which they grew up in, and in their

report, they found that Generation Z respondents were generally more educated, conscious and

responsible with money, information seeking and highly tech-savvy. Fundamentally,

Generation Z is the first generation of individuals born into the digital age as it is known today

and can be considered significant since it means that they have been exposed to larger amounts

of data and technology (Kahawandala et al., 2020). That is, Generation Z did not need to adapt

to the new era of digitalization, unlike earlier generations, and are more confident in navigating

online.

According to the Swedish Central Bureau of Statistics (SCB), approximately 30 percent of all

students accepted to higher education in Sweden were around the age of 19, and approximately

19 percent of all students accepted were between the ages 20-27 (SCB, 2020). These numbers

show that the average age of 50 percent of the students in higher education in Sweden is around

the age of 23. This is also supported by a study that was conducted by the Swedish Higher

Education Authority in 2018, which concluded that the average age of a student in Sweden was

around 24 years old (UKÄ, 2018). Adopting the assumption that the average student is

approximately 24 years old in the year 2021, then presumably, the characteristics of the average

student belong to Generation Z. Although the year of birth for the Generation Z cohort varies

depending on the researcher, for this study it is defined as people born from the year 1995 to

2010 (Patel, 2017).

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A study conducted by Delafrooz et al. (2010) investigates Malaysian students' online shopping

behavior and highlights a specific aspect regarding the perceived benefits of online shopping.

The empirical data of the study indicates that students are inclined to convenience when online

shopping, such as saving time and money, and a wider range of options. This demonstrates that

students have specific requirements, demands and preferences when purchasing online, and

reasonably, this can be true for students belonging to the Generation Z cohort as well.

It has been shown that Generation Z are highly cognizant when they make purchases online

and that their online purchase intent is influenced by “factors like perceived ease of use,

perceived usefulness, and risks related to online transactions and privacy, availability of

products online, prices and discounts or offers related to the products, customer satisfaction,

and vendor’s reputation” and also trust, which was emphasized as the most significant factor

above the others (Tiwari & Joshi, 2020, p.184).

Price has also been found to be a key factor as support in the decision-making process of

making a purchase online for Generation Z, however, in the same study, convenience was

found less important (Vieira et al., 2020). Additional elements that impact online purchase

intent in consumers are demographic characteristics, for example: gender, marital status, family

size and income (Suki, 2011). In relation to this, the Swedish Board of Student Finance (CSN)

reports numbers showing that, in higher educations, 37 percent of students taking student loans

believes the loan covers all their expenses each month, however, an increasing number of

students are also taking on part-time jobs to finance their living and adding another source of

income during their studies (CSN, 2020).

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One way of distributing the advertisement nowadays is via influence marketing. Throughout

trusted sources, in the eyes of the consumers, social media has made it possible to target the

right customer (Kim & Kim, 2020). Additionally, as Lehdonvirta (2012) explains, more power

has been given to the consumers since social media has become a way of online service.

Through various channels, such as blogs and social networks, consumers are the ones that drive

the production to what they specifically require. Unethical business and misinformation are

much easier to spread on social media by word of mouth, and at the same time, fashion and

trends can be spread at the same speed (Lehdonvirta, 2012). Generation Z were told to rank

social media in a study conducted by McGorry (2017). The study showed that Instagram,

YouTube, and Snapchat were on top in terms of their use of preferred distribution channels.

Nur and Panggabean (2021) argue that Generation Z (born after 1995) grew up with

smartphones as toys, therefore sometimes called iGeneration. Their study of 100 participants

from Jakarta, Indonesia, and nearby Jakarta showed that Generation Z has a positive attitude

to mobile payment services that can ease the transaction of online purchases. These generations

can easily review and find what they are searching for online. The study also showed that the

more easily used the mobile payment is, the more likely is it for Generation Z to purchase from

online shops, and Generation Z works as a benchmark for determining different online

transaction criteria, such as postponing the payment. The reliability, trust, and safety of an

online transaction positively impact Generation Z's usage of the service (Nur & Panggabean,

2021). A study conducted by Priporas et al. (2017) found that Generation Z is worrying about

the security issues regarding online transactions, specifically credit card fraud.

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2.3.2 Impulsive shopping

Impulsive shopping can be defined as a spontaneous and immediate decision to purchase a

product without considering the actual need for it (Chen et al., 2019). Consumers with a

tendency to impulse buy might find it hard to control their decision of purchasing a product,

which is often characterized as unplanned and unreflective (Wu et al., 2020). Chih et al (2012)

found a correlation between higher impulsiveness and a positive emotional state. That is, if a

consumer has positive feelings when shopping, it is more likely for them to buy on impulse as

they are more acceptant to higher risks at the time. Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2001) found that

experiential motivations for online shopping often included impulsive shopping, whereas

utilitarian shoppers tended to be more impulsive in offline settings. In other words, online

consumers who shop for fun, typically, made more online purchases in an impulsive manner

than those consumers who went online with a task-oriented manner. Djafarova and Bowes

(2021) argue that impulsive shopping behavior indeed can be triggered in people belonging to

the Generation Z cohort and the result of their study concluded that females were more likely

to make impulse online purchases than males, when exposed to encouraging and creative online

advertisement. They explained that online marketing stimuli can induce positive feelings in the

consumer, which then trigger consumers to make impulse purchases.

2.4 Dimensions

In order to categorize the empirical data, the authors identified four dimensions derived from

the literature, with inspiration from the article written by Ko et al. (2004). The identified

dimensions are financial, performance, time and psychological.

Ko et al. (2004, p.21) defines the factors as risks, where the financial aspect is defined as “the

perception that a certain amount of money may be lost or required to make a product work

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properly”. For this study the financial aspects touch all factors relating to the financial keys

that affect purchase intent, such as payment method and price orientation.

In the previous study, performance is defined as a risk that “the perception that a product

purchased may fail to function as originally expected” (Ko et al., 2004, p.21). In this study the

performance aspect relates to all factors relating to the performance of the product and online

environment, such as perceived risk, trust and distribution channels.

The authors further define time risk as “the perception that time, convenience, or effort may be

wasted when a product purchased is repaired or replaced” (Ko et al., 2004, p.22). For this

study the dimension relates to the time spent on looking and purchasing a product. In other

words; time consciousness.

The psychological risk is defined as “the perception that a negative effect on a consumer's

peace of mind may be caused by a defective product” (Ko et al., 2004, p.22). For this study the

definition of the psychological dimension relates to perceived risk and trust between the

consumer and the online retailer, as well as security and privacy issues where for example “the

potential loss of control over personal information, such as invasion of privacy” (Ko et al.,

2004, p.22) can be a perceived risk.

2.5 Conceptual framework

The pandemic has brought new economic realities and consequently, consumer behavior has

changed. This is the first time our world experiences a global crisis at the same time that

technology and digitalization are precedent in businesses all over the world. Retailers face new

challenges as online consumption is becoming increasingly prevalent during Covid-19 due to

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the special circumstances. There has already been some research conducted on the changes in

online consumer behavior and impulsivity as an effect of the pandemic, however, not enough

studies have exceptionally focused on students as the consumer group in the phenomenon. This

study focuses on exploring the effects that the pandemic has had on students - assuming that

those students belong to the Generation Z age cohort as outlined above - specifically, and how

their online purchase intent towards online retailing has changed accordingly.

The literature review of this study is therefore concentrated on three different areas:

digitalization, antecedents of online shopping, and online purchase intent in Generation Z

students. Digitalization can be considered an external force for a consumer’s online

consumption. Accordingly, it explores the concepts of distribution channels and payment

methods commonly offered at online retailers and how it has improved throughout the years.

These concepts are the foundations of the online existence of retailers visible to consumers.

Antecedents to online purchase intent directly affects the consumer. Literature has emphasized

trust and perceived risk to be predominant in online consumers’ decision-making process of

purchasing online. The concepts are of a complex nature and researchers have adopted different

interpretations. Nevertheless, trust and perceived risk are critical, interrelated factors.

Intervened with trust and perceived risk, antecedents such as security, privacy, price and time

have been examined. All the concepts of antecedents explored can assist to get a better and

coherent understanding of the decision-making process an online consumer goes through

before making a purchase.

The consumer group’s characteristics and shopping orientation is defined and examined.

Generation Z is the first generation that was born into the digital world and are generally used

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to technology. However, the students of this generation have limited income and often work

part-time aside from their studies. The research on online purchase intent presented in this

literature review has shown that the consumers’ willingness to spend their money essentially

depends on 1) what, where and how the product is available and 2) who and where the

individual consumer is. These aspects affect each other and can be categorized into financial,

performance, time and psychological as main dimensions. Therefore, the consumer group,

Generation Z students, is of focus in this study and the changes in their online purchase intent

pre and during the pandemic will be explored through the independent concepts and the other

factors known to be crucial and motivating factors for online purchase intent in consumers, see

Figure 1.

Figure 1:

                        Own illustration. Created by the authors, 2021.

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3. Methodology
This chapter describes the methodology of this study and it begins by defining its research
approach and design. Subsequently, it motivates the choice of interviewees relevant to this
study and presents the operationalization of the interviews conducted. Moreover, it presents
data collection, data analysis and assesses the research quality, research ethics, and limitations.

3.1 Research approach
This study was based on an inductive approach, with a qualitative data collection. For this study

both quantitative, qualitative and a concurrent mixed method were considered, however after

contemplating them all, the qualitative research approach was identified as most relevant, as it

would best achieve the purpose and aim of the study since in-depth understanding of primary

data was necessary to reach the purpose of the research. Participants were selected to conduct

in-depth interviews to gain a broader perspective and understand the meaning of the chosen

research topic (Saunders et al., 2012), which was the data collection technique chosen and most

fit for this study. For this study, in-depth interviews are particularly practical to understand,

analyze and further investigate the problem area.

Since this study aimed to better understand how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the online

purchase intent of Generation Z students from Mälardalen region through the role of

digitalization and the antecedents (trust, perceived risk, online security, price orientation and

time consciousness), the most relevant approach was the inductive approach as the purpose of

this study was to help inform about the current impact for future researchers to build further

upon.

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3.2 Research design

An interview study is used to explore the phenomenon of the new context the pandemic has

created. Exploratory research has been used to gain knowledge on “what”, “why”, and “how”

the pandemic has impacted the students' online purchase intent. This kind of study is

characterized by how it is conducted, that is, a search of the literature and interviewing the

relevant people in the field (Saunders et al., 2019). The literature review of this thesis brought

the essential concepts of understanding online purchase intent, and by interviewing the

students, this thesis gained insight and understanding of the phenomena, which brought the

research to the subsequent stage. To get an idea of “who”, “what”, “where”, “when”, and

“how”, an accurate profile of the students is given. This study used a description-explanatory

which is explained by Saunders et al. (2019) as a descriptive research design that could be seen

as an extension of exploratory research.

Since the idea was to explore different results, a qualitative semi-structured interview was

conducted. This method emerges unexpected, naturalistic, and interactive with the interviewee

(Saunders et al., 2019). Questions were formed and designed to allow the participants to answer

from their point of view. Both open and structured questions were asked. The structured

questions were asked to get an overview of the student and guide the student to the investigated

topic.

For other researchers to translate and evaluate the study, the research design needed to be

detailed and bring the research process with complete evidence (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). The

current pandemic is global, and the transferability of this research may be valid but less

applicable to other consumers and other crisis situations.

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3.3 Choice of interviewees

An interview study of student online purchase intent during this era of the pandemic is

relatively new, and participants who could answer more in-depth questions about the research

topic and who could paint an overall picture of the situation were needed for this interview.

The age of the interviewees was between 23-26 years old and are all students within the

Mälardalen region in Sweden. The sample was a mixture of different grades; first-year students,

seniors, and some were in between. The reason for the selected participants was that the authors'

main occupation is to study. By choosing students makes the contact network wider compared

to work and other occupations. The choice of interviewees was natural, and due to Covid-19,

access to participants was difficult.

The interview study involved nine students, independent of each other - which means the

participants' answers are not affected by each other nor do most of them know each other. The

participants of this study have a personal relationship with one of the authors of this study. The

relationship is in the form of friends, classmates, siblings, sister-in-law, and cousins to the

authors. Each interview was conducted individually with two authors present. One author had

a relation to the participant, which made the interview a comfortable and trustful conversation

for the participant, and the second author had a detached and impartial perspective on the

interview, which gave a distant and fair perspective to the study. The author who did not know

the participant asked the question, while the second author noted and observed the interview.

As Saunders et al. (2019) suggest, one should distance oneself to avoid influencing the finding

for neutral research. They also suggest having more than one interviewer to add different

perspectives, which will improve the reliability of the data collection. The author who knew

the participant from before worked as an element to make the participant comfortable by being

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present. The interview was recorded in order to transcribe the conversation afterward by the

third detached author.

Keeping in mind that the time to conduct the research was limited, so would the sample of data

also be. The authors had difficulties in finding students in other geographic areas in Sweden

other than the Mälardalen region and therefore they used their network of other students in the

Mälardalen region to find suitable participants for the interviews. The only requirements to

participate in the study was being a student before and during the pandemic and living in the

Mälardalen region.

3.4 Operationalization
The literature review conducted provides critical aspects of online purchase intent in

consumers, which can be investigated in order to discover changes due to Covid-19. The model

presented in Figure 1 in the conceptual model assists the reader to understand both the external

and internal driving forces for online purchase intent in Generation Z students as the consumer

group. Four dimensions could be identified which were relevant to this study: financial,

performance, time and psychological. These dimensions covered all presented concepts and

guided the interview questions to be properly formatted and relevant in regard to purpose of

this study. Seventeen structured questions were formed (see appendix A) and a fill-out form

(see appendix B) was sent out to each participant before the interview. The fill-out form helped

the interviewers to gain insight about the participants’ current situation as a student during

Covid-19. A table will be presented below this section to further illustrate the relevance of the

questions (see Table 1). However, questions 1, 11, 16 and 17 formed general questions and

served to provide background and support connection between the questions that were

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identified in the dimensions. As those questions were much dependent upon the participants’

answer, a semi-structured interview where follow up questions could be asked was the optimal

way to conduct the interviews. The general questions also helped the participants to elaborate

upon their online purchase intent both pre- and during Covid-19 and additionally, aided the

interviewers to make a comprehensive evaluation of the participants’ impulsiveness as a result

of the pandemic.

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Table 1:

                                                        Operationalization. Created by authors, 2021

3.5 Data collection

The data collection process started by researching the topic of consumer behavior and reading

various previous articles and research to gain an understanding of the area. Once enough

knowledge had been collected, it also became clear that there was not a lot of research that had

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been conducted on consumer behavior in students during Covid-19, which subsequently shaped

the scope of the research, problem area and purpose. For this reason, it was deemed relevant to

create and use primary data in order to collect the relevant information to answer the research

question and achieve the purpose of the research.

3.5.1 Primary data

The primary data needed for this research was collected through conducting nine semi-

structured, in-depth interviews. It would have been preferred to conduct the interviews in real

life to be able to see and analyze the body language of the interviewee and other small details

that can be lost in digital mediums (Saunders et al., 2019), but due to the on-going pandemic

measures were taken to ensure the safety of the authors and interviewees. The interviews were

therefore carried out online via the communication tool ‘ZOOM’. In order to minimize any

chances of missing important data, the interviewees were asked to set up the camera at a

distance where their upper bodies and hand gestures were visible. They were also asked to sit

in a room alone to eliminate the possibilities of disruption or influence by others. This was a

way for the authors to mimic the face-to-face interview experience, in a digital format.

Saunders et al. (2019) explain that in order for an interview to go well and the result to be

reliable, trust between the interviewer and the participants must be established. It was therefore

deemed necessary to explain the layout of the interview beforehand, how the information was

going to be used and if the participant had any questions. The communication medium ‘ZOOM’

was a tool which all students that participated were familiar with and had used since the

beginning of the pandemic when all school activities devolved to digital learning activities,

which was also another tactic to create trust between the interviewer and the participant.

Preparations for the data collection were done by collecting information regarding the research

area and background of the interviewees, in order to prove credibility and gain confidence from

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the interviewees (Saunders et al., 2019). The authors were students themselves, which was a

factor that was taken advantage of to corroborate that the participants felt comfortable, as well

as asking questions that the participants could relate to and understand easily.

The planned structure and nature of the interview was standardized with open-ended questions.

Seventeen relevant open-ended questions were formed (see appendix A) to ask all participants.

Each question was related to a specified dimension (see table 1, in operationalization), in order

to achieve in answering the research question and again; understanding how the purchase intent

of students in the Mälardalen region has changed during Covid-19. As time and resources were

limited, it was not possible to conduct more than nine semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The

interview was approached by a formal and standardized process to simplify the preparation

process of the interview. However, it must also be stated that in practice there are no perfectly

standardized procedures to conduct interviews. Questions and procedures may change in order

to provide the interview with more interactive and natural results (Saunders et al., 2012). Once

the participant was comfortable, the interviewer started asking open-ended questions and

listened carefully for the response to then ask open follow up questions if it was necessary for

the participant to elaborate their answer. All interviews were provided with the same

standardized open-ended questions; however, they varied a bit when participants were asked

to elaborate their answers.

All participants were also asked to fill out a form prior to the interview (see appendix B), the

reasoning behind this was to establish a student-profile for each participant and to later present

it in the empirical findings. In this form the participants were also asked which language they

were comfortable conducting the interview with and also if they wanted to remain anonymous.

The reason for letting the participant choose the circumstances such as language and identity

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