COVID-19 Impact on Online Purchasing Behaviour in Oman and the Future of Online Groceries

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of COVID-19 on customers purchasing behaviour and predicts the future of logistics movements in online groceries in Oman. The paper aims to study the impact of COVID-19 on electronic groceries and E-Shoppers purchasing behaviour and investigate the future of online groceries. The research used an online qualitative survey that targeted the grocery consumers in Oman, including citizens and residents, to evaluate their purchasing behaviour and satisfaction with online grocery shopping in Oman. The survey was reinforced by interviews to analyze the future of logistics movements in online groceries in Oman by interviewing two CEOs of local electronic groceries, one logistics services providing company and three consumers. The results revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a change in consumer behaviour where it encouraged many people to shift their grocery shopping lifestyle from traditional to online. However, the future of electronic grocery logistics movements in Oman is still not precise due to the current situations of the covid-19 and the lifestyle of Omani citizens. Though, the future of electronic groceries in Oman has a great future, especially with the increase of Oman's online shopping users due to the Covid-19. Findings revealed that COVID-19 had changed customers' purchasing behaviour. The participants suggested that Omani electronic groceries improve the efficacy of their services to attract more customers. They also recommended providing and adding various products that customers may require in all Omani cities rather than only limited cities.