The New Profile of the Online Consumer Behaviour in a Post-Pandemic World

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected shopping behaviour: consumers are more attentive to finding products customized to their needs and desires. Even the most suspicious people in this health emergency have overcome the cognitive barriers to digital purchasing to shop in total safety. This chapter aims to contribute to an understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Online Consumer Behaviour (OCB). The theoretical contribution on OCB appears useful for managers and practitioners to define appropriate strategic actions for customers to enhance value in a digital context. The chapter presents three sections devoted to the literature on online consumer behaviour during COVID-19, the factors affecting the OCB and decision-making process, and online retailing in the COVID-19 era. Based on this theoretical background, this chapter proposes a new categorization of online consumer behaviour by considering the habits that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic.