ANALYSIS OF ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIORS DURING COVID 19 PANDEMIC: ANKARA CASE

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused noticeable changes when it comes to the consumption and purchasing behaviors of customers and the increase in online shopping besides various fields such as health, education, and transportation. Within this context, the goal of this study is to determine the relations between the online shopping, shopping locations, and the 3 particular time intervals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, which were set to represent the pre-pandemic, pandemic, and new normal periods, in 2020. Correspondingly, the purpose of the study is to reveal the differences among the essential pandemic periods in the country and the selected geographic context regarding online food and non-food expenditures. To fulfill this aim, the online shopping data of Marketyo were processed and a sample of 979 observations from 7 districts of Ankara province was analyzed via two factor ANOVA method to determine the effects of pandemic periods and chosen districts on online food/non-food expenditures. The results revealed a significant statistical difference in mean food and non?food expenditures among both periods and districts. The highest amount of food and non-food expenditures were recorded mostly in Etimesgut, Çankaya, and Keçiören districts during Period-2, while the lowest was in Altındağ, Mamak, and Sincan districts during Period-1. According to the Turkey HSD test results, Sincan differed from all the other districts, as the lowest online market spending rate was recorded in this district. The results are assumed to be in line with the socio-economic development levels of the districts, as well as other issues such as internet accessibility, availability of technological devices, and geographical factors. The findings of this study are supposed to provide guidance for further studies for the determination of the pandemic on online shopping behaviors and patterns, as well as their geospatial relations.