Consumer Stockpiling Behaviour Within the Face of Covid-19 Pandemic: Systematic Review

COVID-19 remains the most prominent pandemic disease since it spreads with a distinct composition with considerable intensity worldwide. Identifying the hidden antecedents on consumer behavior during a pandemic is worthwhile since the market psychology directly influences how consumers behave with the "fear of Pandemic." On the contrary, the consumer stockpiling in the face of the COVID-19 is viewed as unconventional inventory accumulation mainly meant to minimize a perceived threat of loss or fear of going without. The main objective of this paper is to systemize and organize the contemporary knowledge on stockpiling behavior during a pandemic. Herein, firstly the methodology is extensively discussed. Secondly, the analysis and discussion section is presented, with, a) citation analysis performed to evaluate the emerging research studies of stockpiling behavior and b) comprehensive analytical models within the literature. Articles were selected from well-reputed databases, including Web of Science, JStore, and Google Scholar. A total of 60 research papers were used for the analysis, whereas a limited number of studies were available in relation to the areas of "stockpiling behavior" and "Pandemic/disasters. Analysis was two folds, whereas (a) citation analysis was conducted with themes and (b) the comprehensive analytical models were identified. Citation analysis discovered five main themes: (1) Post-Switch Stockpiling, (2) Brand Switching and Stockpiling Behaviour. (3) Social Media and stockpiling behavior, (4) Predictors of Stockpiling Behaviour, and (5) Behaviour in Pandemic situations. Further, Within the analytical models proposed, the model by Ling & Ho (2020) has been identified to empirically test the hidden patterns, panic-buying behavior, and social context of consumer behavior. The authors suggest aligning the model to fill the empirical gap within the consumer behavior research context.