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Online food shopping reinvented : developing digitally enabled coping strategies in times of crisis

Fuentes, Christian LU orcid ; Samsioe, Emma LU and Östrup Backe, Josefine LU (2022) In International Review of Retail Distribution & Consumer Research 32(2). p.130-150
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted consumer food shopping. This paper aims to conceptualise, illustrate and explain how and why online grocery shopping has changed during the pandemic. Taking a shopping-as-practice approach and drawing on ethnographic interviews with 31 Swedish households, we analyse how online grocery shopping was performed during the pandemic.

Our findings show that online grocery shopping was reinvented during the pandemic, it was no longer only a convenient mode of shopping, but became also a way to cope with the crisis brought about by Covid-19. This change, however, was demanding as developing and routinizing a new mode of shopping practice required substantial work on the part of consumers.... (More)
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted consumer food shopping. This paper aims to conceptualise, illustrate and explain how and why online grocery shopping has changed during the pandemic. Taking a shopping-as-practice approach and drawing on ethnographic interviews with 31 Swedish households, we analyse how online grocery shopping was performed during the pandemic.

Our findings show that online grocery shopping was reinvented during the pandemic, it was no longer only a convenient mode of shopping, but became also a way to cope with the crisis brought about by Covid-19. This change, however, was demanding as developing and routinizing a new mode of shopping practice required substantial work on the part of consumers. Consumers had to engage in detailed planning, to learn to shop anew, and to develop temporal sensitivity. By developing this new mode of online grocery shopping consumers were able to cope, both practically and emotionally, with the challenges brought on by the restrictions.

This study provides insights into consumers’ capacities to manage a food crisis, showing that this capacity depends on both retailers’ digital food platforms as well as consumers’ pre-existing shopping competencies and social networks. We conclude by discussing both the managerial and societal implications of these results. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
COVID-19, digital platforms, food, practice, Shopping
in
International Review of Retail Distribution & Consumer Research
volume
32
issue
2
pages
21 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85126705085
ISSN
0959-3969
DOI
10.1080/09593969.2022.2047758
project
Digital platforms and new food practices: food consumption in times of crisis
Service Studies Consumption
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
965c0733-e592-4ea4-af6e-76d76b32145f
date added to LUP
2022-03-15 11:17:14
date last changed
2024-06-13 11:28:24
@article{965c0733-e592-4ea4-af6e-76d76b32145f,
  abstract     = {{The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted consumer food shopping. This paper aims to conceptualise, illustrate and explain how and why online grocery shopping has changed during the pandemic. Taking a shopping-as-practice approach and drawing on ethnographic interviews with 31 Swedish households, we analyse how online grocery shopping was performed during the pandemic.<br/><br/>Our findings show that online grocery shopping was reinvented during the pandemic, it was no longer only a convenient mode of shopping, but became also a way to cope with the crisis brought about by Covid-19. This change, however, was demanding as developing and routinizing a new mode of shopping practice required substantial work on the part of consumers. Consumers had to engage in detailed planning, to learn to shop anew, and to develop temporal sensitivity. By developing this new mode of online grocery shopping consumers were able to cope, both practically and emotionally, with the challenges brought on by the restrictions.<br/><br/>This study provides insights into consumers’ capacities to manage a food crisis, showing that this capacity depends on both retailers’ digital food platforms as well as consumers’ pre-existing shopping competencies and social networks. We conclude by discussing both the managerial and societal implications of these results.}},
  author       = {{Fuentes, Christian and Samsioe, Emma and Östrup Backe, Josefine}},
  issn         = {{0959-3969}},
  keywords     = {{COVID-19; digital platforms; food; practice; Shopping}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{130--150}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{International Review of Retail Distribution & Consumer Research}},
  title        = {{Online food shopping reinvented : developing digitally enabled coping strategies in times of crisis}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/115312295/Online_food_shopping_reinvented_developing_digitally_enabled_coping_strategies_in_times_of_crisis.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/09593969.2022.2047758}},
  volume       = {{32}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}