The impact of Covid-19 on consumer consumption. How does Covid-19 affect consumers' product preferences? -A cross-country comparison between The Netherlands and Sweden.

Akter Lipi, Shajada Khales, Ouasim

School of Business, Society & Engineering

Master Thesis in Business Administration Supervisor: Edward Gillmore FOA403 Date: 03-06-2021 15 credits

Abstract

Date: 03-06-2021 Level: Master thesis in Business Administration, 15 credits Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Shajada Akter Lipi Ouasim Khales (1991/12/20) (1994/01/23) Title: The impact of Covid-19 on consumer consumption. How does Covid-19 affect consumers' product preferences? A country comparison between The Netherlands and Sweden. Tutor: Edward Gillmore Keywords: Product preferences, Consumer behavior, Buying behavior, Panic buying, Product consumption, Covid-19 pandemic. Research question: The impact of Covid-19 on consumer consumption. How does Covid-19

affect consumers' product preferences? Background: At the beginning of 2020, a global crisis hit in the name of Covid-19. As a result, many countries in the world closed their borders, economies went into recession, supermarkets, shops, pharmacies faced panic shopping behavior where consumers experienced empty store shelves and products were stock out. The pandemic forced retailers to limit the number of purchases of high- demand products. As consumption on product preferences changes in a crisis, it would be interesting for the researcher to explore the impact of global health crises on consumption. This paper gives an overview of the recent changes in consumption patterns that occurred due to Covid-19 and how consumer behavior on product preferences changed because of the crisis. Purpose: This study aims to investigate the impact of the recent Covid-19 pandemic on consumer’s product preferences towards food and clothes, the impact on product supplies, and governmental restrictions between the Netherlands and Sweden. Method: Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with 7 people living in The Netherlands and 7 people living in Sweden.

Conclusion: The findings indicated aspects of consumer behavior, buying behavior, product consumption, and factors affecting buying behavior became tied to the pandemic in the context of the health aspect of Covid-19. There were not many changes in food consumption, there were large shifts in clothes consumption. It became evident that consumers favored certain products during the pandemic.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, we would like to thank our thesis instructor Edward Gilmore for his constant support and help as well as for his constructive feedback and guidance throughout the whole time. All this time invested during the collaboration to write this thesis is much appreciated.

We would like to express our gratitude to our family, friends and spouses for their encouragement, emotional support, and motivation.

We would like to thank all participants who only made it possible to conduct our research by providing valuable data and insights during these difficult times.

We would like to thank our opponents and fellow students for giving us useful and precious feedback. This helped us writing the thesis and ensured we delivered the best results possible.

Thank you

Shajada Akter Lipi Ouasim Khales

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Problem Discussion 3 1.3 Purpose 5 1.4 Research Question 6 2. Literature Review 7 2.1 Consumer behavior 7 2.2 Buying behavior 8 2.2.1 Buying behavior during a crisis 9 2.2.2 Factors influencing consumer buying behavior 10 2.3 Product consumption 12 2.3.1 Changes in product consumption during a crisis 12 3. Methodology 14 3.1 Research strategy 14 3.2 Research design 15 3.3 Epistemology 16 3.4 Data collection 18 3.4.1 Primary data collection 18 3.4.2 Secondary data collection 20 3.5 Data analysis 20 3.6 Ethical considerations 22 4. Findings 23 4.1 Sweden 23 4.1.1 Demographics 23 4.1.2 Swedish Culture 24 4.1.3 Food and Clothes 25 4.1.4 Background of Covid-19 25 4.1.5 Impact on Swedish consumers 27 4.1.6 Impacts on buying behavior 29 4.1.7 Factors affecting or influencing consumer buying during Covid-19 30 4.1.8 The impact of the pandemic on product consumption 32

4.2 The Netherlands 35 4.2.1 Demographics 35 4.2.2 Dutch Culture 35 4.2.3 Food and Clothes 36 4.2.4 Background of Covid-19 37 4.2.5 Impact on Dutch consumers 38 4.2.6 Impact on buying behavior 39 4.2.7 Factors affecting or influencing consumer buying behavior during Covid-19 40 4.2.8 The Impact of the pandemic on product consumption 41 5. Discussion 44 5.1 Impact on consumers 44 5.2 Impact on buying behavior 45 5.3 Factors affecting or influencing consumer buying behavior during Covid-19 47 5.4 The impact of the pandemic on product consumption 49 6. Conclusion 51 6.1 Theoretical Implications 52 6.2 Practical Implications 53 6.3 Limitation 53 6.4 Future Research 54 References 55 Appendices 65 Appendix A: Interview guide 65 Appendix B: Transcriptions 67 Swedish respondents 67 Dutch respondents 90

1. Introduction

This chapter will provide a general introductory overview of the thesis. It will start with a brief background of the thesis and then will go into the problem discussion to highlight the importance of the research topic. The chapter will end with the purpose of the study and research question.

1.1 Background

In recent world history, people have faced many epidemic outbreaks, for example, Ebola, SARS, MERS, Spanish flu. Most outbreaks have had a greater impact on two categories of human behavior: first, consumer behavior and second, health risk mitigation behavior (Laato et al., 2020). On March 4, 1918, Albert Gitchel was declared as the first person in world history that was affected by coughing, a fever, and a headache which was later identified as the Spanish flu. At the time, he was working as a cook at Camp Fuston in Kansas. Within three weeks, 1100 soldiers had been hospitalized with more people affected. This spread to different countries like Spain, France, Great Britain and Italy. In August 1918, important measures were taken to control the spread of the Spanish flu by making limitations on public transport, people were restricted to visit shops and meeting people in public places. Measures were taken such as street cleaning, disinfecting of public places (Martini et al., 2019). WHO (World Health Organization) reported (SARS) severe acute respiratory syndrome disease cases on April 22, 2003. Most cases were found in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Toronto, Canada and Taiwan (Hsieh et al., 2004). As a result of the outbreak's rapid spread, the local and regional economies were impacted. SARS was quickly recognized by the WHO and they issued several recommendations to control the outbreak. Hong Kong was the first city affected by SARS, and its healthcare community suffered heavily from the disease (LeDuc & Barry, 2004). On March 23, 2014, WHO was notified about the Ebola virus disease, and on August 8, 2014, they declared an outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Guinea. Approximately 4507 cases and 2296 deaths were reported by September 14, 2014, from West Africa like Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone (WHO Ebola Response Team, 2014). In September 2012, a novel coronavirus was found in a patient who died in Saudi Arabia because of acute respiratory distress and acute kidney injury, but the analysis revealed the disease was due to a novel virus which was named Middle East

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Respiratory Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The WHO had been informed of many cases and deaths and the cases spread to 27 countries (Al-Omari et al., 2019).

The WHO declared Covid-19 (Coronavirus Disease-2019) as an infectious disease with a global pandemic outbreak on the 11th of March 2020. The disease originated from Wuhan China and was caused by SARS-coV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). It had rapidly spread into 196 countries and territories. For that reason, most countries took immediate decisions regarding safety measures and strict restrictions on people's daily lives, for example, social distancing, working from home, temporarily closing businesses, schools, colleges, universities, and remote working to slow down the transmission of the virus (Ben Hassen et al., 2020). The activity of human life is affected due to the crisis which changes social, economic, and cultural perspectives for the long term. Covid-19 is a global health crisis that is already having a greater impact on the world economy. The effects of pandemics vary from country to country. It depends on the general health of the population, the evolution of disease cases, development and modernization of national health care systems, and economic level. The global world takes several measures to manage the medical crisis which affects the world economy. In a normal situation, the products a consumer wants to buy depend on their intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics. However, in the context of a global pandemic like Covid-19, consumers are changing their preferences for products, changing their lifestyle and business environment too. The challenges faced by the healthcare system also affect people's living standards and economic stability (Stanciu et al., 2020).

The global outbreak of Covid-19 affected human life and the physical world. It brought several effects on the environment, both positively and negatively. Due to strict restrictions to control the spread of the virus, air quality has increased in many cities because of fewer social gatherings and economic activities, and water pollution has decreased in many countries in the world. On the other hand, the use of PPE (personal protective equipment) is increasing every day for pandemics such as facemasks, hand gloves which impact the environment (Rume & Islam, 2020). According to Grashuis et al. (2020), the early stage of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States shows that household consumption regarding cost of air travel, grocery delivery system, public transportation, etc. changed dramatically (Grashuis et al., 2020).

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People's behavior regarding the purchase and consumption of food and the supply chain has been changed throughout the whole world. On the supply side, restrictions the people, border restrictions, and lockdowns in many countries are facing labor shortages. However, pandemic interference in supply chains and that's why it is not able to enter markets for selling products which increases food loss and waste mainly in perishable products like fish, meat, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products. In many countries, farmers are burying perishable products because disruption heavily affects the supply chain. As a result, they are failing to meet consumer demands. International food markets faced export restrictions during the pandemic, which created food shortages around the world, instability in global food markets, rising world food prices. On the demand side, at the beginning of the pandemic, consumers focused on panic buying because of the uncertainty of future shortages. Food is the most essential item for human beings and that's why panic buying is a very common response to a crisis as a consumer (Ben Hassen et al., 2020). The use of digital technology has also increased significantly during the pandemic. For example, video telephone, online chats, using social media like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Zoom. Social distancing and lockdowns forced people to change their consumption patterns. People also started doing home-based work because of Covid-19 like cooking, cleaning, working, shopping, socialization, and gardening (Cambefort, 2020).

1.2 Problem Discussion

With Covid-19 still being widely spread and continuing to spread, some studies have been able to show a significant impact on consumer behavior. In times of crisis, consumers tend to buy mostly essential products, become more focused on the price of a product, and start to value more socially responsible companies and products (Ivkovic, 2021). Ben Hassen et al. (2020) showed a strong difference in consumer behavior regarding food preferences of people living in Qatar during Covid-19. People tended to shift more towards healthier diets and chose domestic products. Campbell et al. (2020) presented that consumer behavior when buying plants during the pandemic presents a change from offline to online. The effects of the pandemic show implications for marketing managers that are necessary in times of a crisis. Loxton et al. (2020), suggest that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can predict the consumer behavior of a country in terms of panic buying, herd mentality, and discretionary spending during shocks and crises.

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The Financial Planning Association (2020) states that the pandemic currently has an impact on consumer behavior but also in the future, suggesting that online communication, shopping, and business will take a bigger part in the consumer's role in the future.

Covid-19 has impacted many industries and elements of society. This research tries to examine the gap described as a double-sided shock consisting of the behavior of consumers (demand) and the effect on suppliers (supply) because of panic buying behavior. Due to Covid-19 being unique in many ways and how it has impacted the world, research on this topic is currently slim. Very few studies have compared countries during the pandemic in terms of restrictions and consumer behavior. An example is Anastasiadou et al. (2020) that compared Greece and Sweden but with less focus on the restrictions of both countries. This research would be the first to compare The Netherlands and Sweden regarding their restrictions and the effect on consumer behavior. These two European countries have very similar cultural characteristics according to Hofstede Insights (n.d.b-) but with different approaches when it comes to a pandemic. The Netherlands introduced a heavy lockdown for its residents, closing social gathering places such as restaurants and bars and introducing a curfew for residents prohibiting them from being outside after 9 pm every day (Ministerie van Algemene Zaken, 2021). Sweden is, however, on the other side of the spectrum. The country has chosen a different strategy to prevent the spread of Covid- 19 by for example keeping restaurants and bars open with serving restrictions, advising distant learning and distant working and in general taking a more advisable approach as a government as opposed to implementing heavy restrictions Granberg et al. (2021). It would therefore be interesting to find out how and if these approaches from the government influence the consumer behavior of people in times of a crisis. The second part of the research consists of a focus of Covid-19 on the supplies of companies and how this is affected by both consumers and government restrictions.

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The research is also directed towards companies and how they can take better control of a natural crisis, now and in the future. This is beneficial for smaller trade companies in particular. The theory of consumer behavior has been widely studied and plays an important role when assembling the corporate strategy of a company (Clemons, 2008). It is therefore important to understand the behavior of consumers to alter the strategy of a company accordingly as consumer behavior is an ever-changing phenomenon (Fullerton, 2013). While consumer behavior is well defined and understood within the literature, the behavior of people in times of a natural crisis (demonstrated by Covid-19), is however, not. This is mostly limited to consumption behavior in times of a financial crisis. The main problem with the effect of Covid-19 on consumer behavior is that it hasn’t been thoroughly researched and that findings seem to be related to the country's characteristics and culture. The level of restrictions a government puts on the country in combination with the culture seems to have an overall impact on the level of Covid-19 on consumer buying behavior. This problem has resulted in companies being mainly dependent on the number of restrictions a government has introduced. This brings companies in a crisis where they usually tend to be late in reacting and mostly depend on government aid to survive.

1.3 Purpose

The main purpose of this research paper is to examine the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on consumer behavior regarding product preferences of food and clothes. Both in the theme of government restrictions and the impact it has on both elements during a pandemic and its behavior. An underlying aim of the research is to find out the impact a government has on the consumer behavior of residents from The Netherlands and Sweden. The authors tried to find out which elements play a key role for consumers on how to react to the pandemic that led to different product preferences. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic being new to the world and therefore not widely researched yet, the thesis contributes to the existing literature by focusing mainly on consumer preferences regarding food and clothes and the role a government plays in this. Furthermore, this research tries to contribute to the topic by providing marketing managers from around the world with valuable information regarding the impact of Covid-19 on marketing strategies and how to overall adapt to a similar crisis.

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Covid-19 has provided the world with both negative and positive aspects in terms of business. Producers of food and sanitizing products have experienced the pandemic as a positive effect on their sales as opposed to the leisure and Horeca industry. Understanding consumer behavior during a crisis could have prevented some of these businesses from closing prematurely.

1.4 Research Question

‘’What is the impact of the global health crisis on consumer consumption and how does Covid-19 affect consumer product preferences’’?

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2. Literature Review

This chapter aims to present literature and theories that are relevant to this study. It will allow the reader to understand the previous research and theories relevant to this study, within the fields of consumer behavior, buying behavior, product consumption in a general context, and a crisis context.

2.1 Consumer behavior

The idea of consumer behavior originated in the 1940s and 1950s of the last century when sociology, anthropology and psychology were used to explain why and how consumers buy (Fullerton, 2013). Consumer behavior entails the process of selecting, purchasing, using, or disposing of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy the needs and desires of an individual or group (Solomon et al., 2010). According to Sharma and Sonwalkar (2013), consumer behavior is the learning process that individuals or groups go through when making their buying decisions to satisfy their needs and their buying behavior depends on factors like earning, demographics, social and cultural factors. It has been changed over the last 25 years (Sharma & Sonwalkar, 2013). According to Mina and Campos Jr. (2018), consumer behavior is the study of how the consumers react or how they behave when buying or purchasing products, and also the process which includes the individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or dispose of products and services to satisfy human needs and wants.

The necessary things that need to be established by marketers is to analyze and to gain the buyer’s reactions to their marketing strategy because understanding consumer behavior is complex. Consumers have some specific behaviors in terms of shopping, such as tastes, preferences, information seeking, purchase behavior, and new product ideas that consumers show when they search for, buy, use, access, or dispose of the products and services that they expect to satisfy their needs (Khan, 2018). Consumers now travel a lot, which leads them to have more information about different products, lifestyles, and behavior patterns of other countries. Consumers and products are moved freely across national borders and people often work in a different region as to where they live.

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This changes consumer behavior. Consumer buying patterns have also changed because of the internet, websites, social media, etc. (Douglas & Samuel Craig, 1997).

Due to the rapid changes in the competitive global business environment, decision-making has become very complex for consumers and is also considered very important for them. How a consumer makes a decision is very important for companies. Consumers' personal factors such as age, gender, personality, lifestyle, occupation, economic situation, self-concept are significant elements to understanding consumer behavior. Consumer behavior involves studies, which focus on how people decide to buy products, what they want to buy, what they prefer to buy, why they want to buy, and when they buy products. In other words, it is a mix of psychology, sociology, anthropology, and economic elements (Muniady et al., 2014).

2.2 Buying behavior

Consumer decision-making mainly depends on what type of product the consumer wants to buy. This makes the concept of buying decisions connected to consumer choices. Previous research on consumer behavior states that people always buy products and services not only because of their main function but also for their perceived value or for the solution that might solve the consumer’s problem (Mina & Campos Jr., 2018). Some researchers have been able to describe the consumer decision making process in detail, such as Kotler and Keller (2012) and Hawkins et al. (2019). Kotler & Keller’s (2012) decision making process consists of (1) need recognition, (2) searching for information, (3) evaluation of alternatives, (4) the purchase and (5) post- purchase behavior. While the Hawkins et al. (2019) theory and model are similar to the one presented by Kotler and Keller (2012), some differences can be observed. Hawkins et al. (2019) argue that the decision-making process is dependent on the level of involvement regarding a purchase. This means that a person buying toothpaste doesn't go through the same decision- making process as someone buying a house. In addition, Hawkins et al. (2019) argues that consumers aren’t always rational buyers and purchases based on emotions should also be considered.

There are two different types of consuming parties, one is the personal consumer (buying goods or services for own use or family) and the other the organizational consumer (buying goods or services for business, government, organization, or for agencies to run the function).

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To consume, consumers choose a product or brand by evaluating many choices, and these variations of choices influence consumers in product consumption and in buying behavior.

Consumer buying behavior of products is affected by both individual and environmental factors. Individual factors are highly influenced by how much knowledge a consumer has about a demographic, by their perception, motivation, personality, attitudes, and lifestyle. Environmental factors are factors that influence consumers’ decision making, such as culture, social class, reference group, family, etc. (Sata, 2013). Nowadays, decision-making has become more complicated, and is considered crucial for consumers. This is due to rapid changes in the competitive global business environment. Consumers are now aware of various advertising campaigns, news sources, the internet, social media which give them a huge amount of information. The increasing number of product and service options, shopping centers, the availability of similar products, and e-commerce facilities broaden consumer wants and choices, making purchasing decisions more complex (Muniady et al., 2014).

2.2.1 Buying behavior during a crisis

Planned and unplanned purchase behavior depends on the consumers’ financial situation and consumers adopt unplanned or impulse purchase decisions when they go through stressful situations. Hence, situations are associated with consumer well-being. Consumers adopt new purchasing practices because of the feeling of anxiety and fear about future changes in consumption patterns which might affect their lives. Consumers who are not financially stable and who have low income prefer to buy cheap products and only like to buy necessary products (Boutsouki, 2019). According to Lemieux et al. (2020), a crisis can impact certain professions and industries more than others. Regardless of the crisis, public facing roles tend to be mostly impacted during a crisis. These consist of accommodations, food services as well as young people and hourly paid staff (Lemieux et al., 2020). The career path of a person can significantly change due to a pandemic or crisis (Simosi et al., 2015). Individuals that don’t have a strong professional identity are more likely to engage in a different career than what he or she studied when anticipating a pandemic or crisis.

A financial crisis is one of the reasons that changes the economy and, due to this changing environment, marketing strategies are affected. As a result of the new situation consumers switch their buying behavior, which is why marketers change their strategies to adapt to the situation.

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The crisis affected both consumers and businesses. Consumers face a critical situation in their lives when in a crisis, their attitude and behavior change because of unemployment or raised product prices. They are more conscious when buying products during a crisis and prefer to evaluate products more to get as much benefit as they can receive from the products (Leskaj et al., 2011). By considering the situation, consumers give priority to the price as it is a major factor for them, and for that reason, they purchase necessary products, avoiding luxurious products (Ang et al., 2000). Loxton et al. (2020) summarize panic buying by the behavior presented by consumers when they purchase unusual amounts of products or an unusual variety of products during, before or awaiting a disaster. Keane and Neal (2021) describe that panic buying depends on government announcements of internal movement restrictions and when the government makes these announcements. Panic buying is described by Naeem (2020) as a social interpretation where people respond differently according to their background but also to seeing other people panic buy. This can create a domino effect where more people are influenced into panic buying by experiencing it around them. According to Keane and Neal (2021), panic buying usually lasts for around 10 days after it has started, and consumer behavior is then expected to turn back to normal.

2.2.2 Factors influencing consumer buying behavior

To gain a competitive advantage, sustain and attract new customers but also retain existing customers in the market, firms should understand the factors that influence consumer buying behavior. By understanding the consumer’s needs and wants, marketers can produce the desired products and can serve better than competitors (Nazan Gunay & Baker, 2011). Many factors, specifications, and characteristics influence an individual on what they want, who is part of the decision-making process, shopping habits, purchase behavior, what brands they want to buy, or which shops they go to. In the beginning, the consumer tries to find what commodities he wants to consume, then he decides only those commodities that give much utility. After choosing the commodities, the consumer sees how much money they must spend on the product and then analyzes the prices and makes decisions about what to consume (Ramya & Mohamed Ali, 2016). According to Kotler and Armstrong (2018), a consumer's buying behavior is dependent on many factors surrounding a consumer. While price is generally perceived as the main driver behind consumer behavior, Kotler and Armstrong’s (2018) model and theory argues that consumer behavior is dependent on external factors and it is different depending on the individual culture. These factors are: (1) culture, (2) social, (3) personal, (4) psychological.

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Cultural factors influence consumer buying behavior and culture, subculture and social class are the sub factors. A culture is where a set of values, beliefs and form of behavior is learned by members of society. Every culture holds different small subcultures that also influence buying behavior, such as religions, nationalities, geographic regions, and racial groups. Consumers from different social classes have similar ways of thinking, values, and behaving. Social class is decided by occupation, income, education, wealth etc. and according to the class, consumer buying behavior is also influenced (Furaiji et al., 2012). Consumer buying behavior is highly influenced by social factors such as family and reference groups. There are two types of families that exist in this society. One is nuclear and the other is joint family. The nuclear family size is small and individual decisions are made, whereas joint family size is large and group decision making gets more preference. Every person in the family is engaged in purchase decisions and therefore strongly influences the buyer behavior. A reference group is where two or more people share a set of values, norms, attitudes, and behavior influenced directly or indirectly. The reference group could be friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers who have a direct influence, as well as religious groups, aspirational groups, and professional groups who have an indirect impact but have a strong influence on individual buying behavior (Kalotra & Sharma, 2016).

Personal factors are factors such as age, occupation, income, and lifestyle. People buy different products at different ages because the choice, taste, and feelings are different at every age. The occupation or profession highly influences consumers as well as income. It is another major factor that influences consumption patterns, since buying products depends on the individual's income. A person has a different lifestyle, living conditions, interests, and opinions which influence consumers to buy a product (Ramya & Mohamed Ali, 2016). Psychological factors such as motivation, perception and learning influence individual buying behavior. It is called motivation when consumers realize from their inner drive that they have a need which they have to fulfill. Perception is a phenomenon where consumers interpret information according to his or her point of view. Individuals learn from every situation and they gather experience from the situation. Therefore, their behavior is changed due to experience (Małgorzata Łatuszyńska et al., 2012). According to Banks and Xu (2020), a pandemic where people go into a lockdown can have a large impact on their mental health. This depends on the size of the subgroup, sex, and age, as young people and women are more likely to experience mental health issues during a lockdown.

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2.3 Product consumption

For the purpose of the paper, product consumption is taken from a consumer’s perspective, making it goods that are consumed. Consumer goods are products sold to consumers for their own use and/or fulfillment (Investopedia, 2020a). Consumer goods can be classified into durable and non-durable goods. According to Kates (2000), consumption is an understanding whose meaning varies according to the industry addressing it and there is no general agreement as to what consumption includes. In addition, Kates (2000) describes that consumption, in the economic context, refers to what a consumer buys with their monetary aid and then consumes.

2.3.1 Changes in product consumption during a crisis

It has become evident that consumers behave differently under different circumstances. According to Diallo and Kaswengi (2016), in terms of a crisis, price, quantity, and promotion can have a stronger influence on store brand purchases than consumer characteristics (age, profession, income, family size). Consumers tend to favor certain types of products. In times of a crisis, semi durable goods such as entertainment products, glassware and clothes are reduced in order to provide for the basic necessities such as vegetables, eggs and grains (McKenzie, 2006). Alimen and Bayraktaroglu (2011), describe 7 consumer adjustments relating to product consumption during a crisis: (1) cautious spending, (2) seeking simplicity in purchase and distribution, (3) seeking product adjustments, (4) quest for low price, (5) financial anxiety, (6) promotion adjustments, (7) awareness.

Crises affect consumer psychology and expectations. It comes as a shock for the consumer because of the decrease in income and unemployment. To survive in times of a crisis, consumers use their assets for consumption, such as wealth, liquid assets or borrowing money. Government welfare and unemployment insurance help unemployed consumers to meet the expenditure. A country that has well-established financial markets and social insurance systems can easily give support to the consumer for consumption and expenditure. Crisis brings stress to people's minds as jobs and salaries become uncertain.

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During a crisis, the government works hard to support people by providing remedial policies, economic stimulus packages and giving supporting and encouraging messages (Kaytaz & Gul, 2014). The crisis is one of the major reasons for changing the market because consumers change their purchase behavior during this time. They think and worry about their jobs and therefore do not enjoy spending their money on products or anything. Consumers are reduced to buying products that are related to leisure and entertainment, start buying fewer quantities and focus on the price of the product. The new financial situation creates uncertainty and panic. Due to the economic slowdown and unemployment, consumers tend to adjust consumption. For example, consumption of food and necessities increases during crises compared to expenditure on clothes. A crisis affects consumers not only economically but also psychologically. Consumers have become more money conscious and avoid buying premium products although they can afford to buy them. Their consumption behavior has changed, and they tend to do more programmed buying. There is always a threat to their job, that's why they prefer to save money to avoid the risk (Sharma & Sonwalkar, 2013).

During economic instability or an economic crisis, decision-making about price is always one of the most important factors that affect both consumers and management. In crises, there are always distinct changes in price-related attitudes. Consumers, for example, tend to look for and purchase products that are on sale, as well as seek a variety of price information. During a crisis, consumers tend to shift to being more price-conscious and look for cheap products. They tend to visit more shops to look for discounted products and to compare one with another. Some consumers become price sensitive, and they shop comparatively less. When consumers face this type of crisis, they do planned shopping, they make a list before going to shop to avoid extra buying (Hampson & McGoldrick, 2013). The crisis changes people's lifestyle, consumption pattern, social life and people are coping with the situation. In a crisis some consumers react to the situation and change their behavior whereas some others do not react. Some people change purchase decisions by price, quantity and quality (Koos et al., 2017).

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3. Methodology

This chapter will discuss and explain the research strategy, research design, epistemology, data collection, data analysis. Finally, this chapter will end with the role of ethical considerations for conducting the data collection.

3.1 Research strategy

Bell et al. (2019) explain that there are two main types of research strategies, quantitative and qualitative research. Quantitative research is the method that collects and analyzes data that is structured and can be represented numerically. As quantitative research relies mainly on data, it is very effective to answer “what” or “how” for a given situation, but quantitative research does not give evidence for why populations think, feel, or act in certain ways and is therefore difficult for understanding specific demographic groups (Goertzen, 2017). Qualitative research is an inquiry process of understanding based on different methodological steps to investigate a social or human problem. It is mainly based on the observations and interpretations of people’s perception of different events, which aims to take a snapshot of people's perception naturally. The qualitative researcher aims to conduct the study naturally by analyzing the words of the participants to build a whole picture. We might not get a complete scientific understanding of the human world, but to know the truth we can make a difference between things that might help to open new possibilities of understanding (Khan, 2014a).

According to Khan (2014b) qualitative research is the most suitable method for exploring research. The aim of this research is to narrate the situation and understand the phenomenon by studying and capturing respondents' experience by their own words through the interview and observation (Yilmaz, 2013). So, this research consists of a qualitative study. This method was chosen because it helps researchers to look better at a deep level of the phenomenon. The thesis aims for a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of product preferences during a pandemic. As a result, a qualitative research strategy becomes the most suitable choice.

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Another reason for using a qualitative method is that the research aims to investigate human behavior in a context, specifically how Covid-19 affects product preferences, and by using semi- structured interviews, detailed information will be gathered to aid in the investigation of the phenomenon.

3.2 Research design

Research design is considered as the structure or plan of the proposed research work that carries all the elements in a research project. This approach is important because it helps smooth the functioning of the various research procedures. Research design or a plan is needed in advance for collecting relevant data and techniques that can be used in the analysis. The research design also helps the investigator to organize and formulate appropriate research (Akhtar, 2016).

There are two main methods of research design, exploratory and explanatory. The purpose of exploratory research is to achieve clear-sightedness and find out the phenomenon in a new light by asking questions. The qualitative approach carries this kind of inquiry to obtain a new perception of the present situations and issues (Rahi, 2017). According to the study by Akhtar (2016), this research is applicable and most suitable when information regarding the topic is scarce or when earlier studies on the topic have not been conducted entirely. Explanatory research is useful when drawing a problem for specific investigations or aims at formulating research. This study is primarily concerned with determining the causes or why aspects of phenomena occur (Akhtar, 2016). Therefore, an exploratory research design is adopted for this thesis for a better understanding of how the Covid-19 pandemic affected consumer product consumption regarding food and clothes of the people in Sweden and The Netherlands. Moreover, an exploratory research design was chosen because there is little research information about product consumption during crises. The research design was chosen with social distancing and country-specific rules and regulations in mind. The researchers find exploratory research to be the most useful for this thesis in order to understand both countries' consumer product consumption. For this research, we had basic knowledge about Covid-19, its spread, prevention, restrictions, etc., and how the other countries, along with Sweden and The Netherlands are reacting to the situation. The world is adopting a similar strategy while Sweden acts differently.

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A qualitative research strategy is considered a suitable research method as the researcher aims to investigate a new field of study or plan to determine and theorize remarkable issues (Jamshed, 2014). Quantitative research is often generalizable, predictable, and gives a causal explanation. It also allows data collection whose main focal point is precise and objective measurement by using numerical and statistical analysis (Campbell, 2014). Qualitative methods are useful to understand people's beliefs, attitude, experience, interactions, behavior (Kalra et al., 2013). The authors of this thesis aim to understand the social or human problem of Covid-19 from an individual perspective and how they are dealing with the problem. A pandemic is a critical situation and when comparing the reactions of two countries' consumers towards product consumption to understand how they are dealing and how they are changing their purchasing behavior is very complex to understand. Therefore, the authors find qualitative research to be useful, especially when solving a complex phenomenon and getting a deeper understanding.

The research consists of a case study approach which entails a research strategy that focuses on knowing the factors present within a setting (Eisenhardt, 1989). The evidence for this method can be qualitative or quantitative. However, it will be qualitative in this case and derived from semi-structured interviews regarding the residents of two countries. The main tactic that the research consists of is the selection of cases. This entails looking for subtle similarities and differences between two individual cases (Eisenhardt, 1989). This tactic can lead to a more sophisticated understanding of the problem and the cases studied as well as break simplistic frames.

3.3 Epistemology

Epistemology is known as the theory of knowledge, which is concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge. It investigates the questions of what we know and what is truth, as well as epistemology assumptions, such as how one can investigate whatever he or she believes to be known (Slevitch, 2011). Epistemology deals with the different sources and approaches of knowledge. This can refer to what a researcher views as acceptable knowledge. Four types of sources of knowledge related to business research can be identified. These are: 1. intuitive knowledge is based on intuition, faith and belief.

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Human feelings mainly play a greater role if they are related to the facts. Authoritarian knowledge depends on information that is obtained from books, research papers, experts and supreme powers. Logical knowledge describes the creation of new knowledge by applying logical reasoning. Empirical knowledge depends on objective facts that can be established and demonstrated (Dudovskiy, n.d.). The authors have adapted a combination of sources of knowledge within their research process. These consist of authoritarian knowledge and logical knowledge as the authors relied on books, articles, other credible sources found online and created new knowledge through conducting research on their own.

There are different branches of epistemology such as positivism, interpretivism, pragmatism, realism approach (Dudovskiy, n.d.). An interpretivist approach is a natural approach that collects data through interviews and observations. According to this approach, a researcher who is playing a social actor is supposed to admire the differences between people. This study focuses on multiple methods to identify different aspects of the issue, understanding the phenomena (Dudovskiy, n.d.-a). The positivism approach follows the view that having actual knowledge is gained by observation. In this study it is mainly observable phenomena that give credible data and facts. The role of the research worker in this type of study is restricted while collecting data and interpreting it. These types of studies' findings are typically discernible and quantitative. The researcher is independent in positivism studies and there is no interference of human interests (Dudovskiy, n.d.-b). In the pragmatism research approach, research questions are the major factors of the research philosophy. According to the nature of the questions the pragmatics research can be combined with positivist and interpretivism philosophy. However, researchers can study with pragmatism research philosophy which can combine multiple research methods like qualitative and quantitative (Dudovskiy, n.d.-c). Realism research philosophy relies on the thought of independence of reality from the human mind. This philosophy is based on the belief in a scientific approach. Realism can be split into two groups, direct realism, and critical realism. Direct realism philosophy is described as what a person sees is what they get. Specifically, it portrays the globe through personal human senses. According to critical realism, perception and image of the real world can be intricate and therefore it does not portray the real world (Dudovskiy, n.d.-d). The authors of this thesis adopted an interpretivist approach. The chosen approach helps the researcher to understand different people’s experiences in the same reality in different ways. The purpose of selecting this research is to gain in-depth insights into the interviewees' responses as well as to understand why and how they act in the specific situation.

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3.4 Data collection

3.4.1 Primary data collection

Due to the scarce information on the topic, the main method of retrieving information on the topic consisted of primary data via 14 semi-structured interviews. According to Jamshed (2014), semi- structured interviews present important data about an individual or group. The interviews consisted of approximately 15 minutes per respondent. For qualitative study, an appropriate sample size is counted when the research question gets the appropriate answer (Marshall, 1996). Each interview consisted of one respondent and one interviewer. The respondent was asked open-ended questions and this approach is widely used in research. Each respondent was selected in the form of friends, family, and neighbors of the authors. A specific age group, ethnicity, background, or gender was not selected for the purpose of the study. However, the goal was to have a wide variety of respondents and not based on background, gender, etc. Semi- structured interviews allow the researcher to better interact with the respondent (Bryman & Bell, 2015). The authors chose this method while keeping the current Covid-19 situation in mind. The authors have kept in mind that a global pandemic prevents the possibility of a face-to-face interview for safety reasons. The interviews were therefore conducted via the online meeting program Zoom. This was for the protection of the researchers and respondents against the infection of the virus.

Based on the topic and previous research, an interview guide (Appendix A) was created consisting of the important questions that needed to be addressed. The interview guide has been established in collaboration with the thesis advisor. Due to the respondents living in high English proficiency countries (Education First, 2020) with the Netherlands being first and Sweden fourth, the interview and questions were in the English language. The researchers, however, still confirmed with the respondents before the interviews if they were comfortable enough doing the interview in English.

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Country Week Length per interview Method Nr of respondents

NL 16 15 minutes Zoom 3

SE 16 15 minutes Zoom 5

NL 17 15 minutes Zoom 4

SE 17 15 minutes Zoom 2

Figure 2 - Interview schedule

The respondents were interviewed under the same conditions for both countries. One researcher was responsible for asking the questions while the other one took notes during the interviews. The interviews were then transcribed, coded, and analyzed. According to Qu and Dumay (2011), researchers need to develop as much expertise in relevant topic areas to ask informed questions during interviews. The authors of this paper adopted this for the interviews. This meant that prior to and while conducting the interviews, both authors took a big part in getting to know related topic areas in order to be able to ask relevant follow-up questions during the interview. The focus was to incorporate a series of themes related to the research topic of which the authors wanted to learn more (Qu & Dumay, 2011). These themes consisted of the themes discussed in the literature review, such as panic buying, product consumption and buying behavior. The demographics of the respondents were noted beforehand as they didn’t need to take a significant part in the research. The interview consisted of 8 questions with follow-up questions. The first question was chosen as an easy but valuable question for both the research and the interviewee. After this, the questions are structured in a way that each main question discusses a theme from the literature review and therefore an area in which the researchers are interested.

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3.4.2 Secondary data collection

Secondary data collection consisted of supporting literature in the form of peer-reviewed articles, books, reports, and websites from official governments in order to collect sufficient information on the topic. The databases Abi/Inform and Emerald were chosen as main sources for peer-reviewed articles due to the many articles offered on both databases and the option for efficiently searching for peer-reviewed articles. Some books and additional websites were used in the data collection process to provide the research with viable information on the topic and both countries independently. The secondary data collection process was visible throughout the entire research period. This was not limited to only the first stages of the research but was an important part of the last stages of the research as well.

3.5 Data analysis

According to Davenport and Prusak (1998), the data analysis of a qualitative research method is transferring data into information and then into knowledge. Chenail (2012) summarizes qualitative data analysis as the process of collecting documents, observations, and talks and being able to talk about these findings. A part of the data analysis is coding, which Neale (2016) describes as the process of reviewing the data line by line and identifying key issues or themes. Then segments of text can be attached to those codes. Coding generally describes an amount of conceptual thinking. Qualitative data firstly needs to be described, meaning that the researcher has to look for patterns, categories, and or explanations and then relate them to current knowledge of the subject (Neale, 2016).

The interviews will be recorded two-fold via audio-only through a laptop and a microphone of a cellular phone. The authors want to minimize the chance of faulty equipment as much as possible and will take these measures in order to do so. The consent of the respondent plays a key role in using this equipment. According to Neale (2016), a qualitative data analysis consists of two steps: a description and an interpretation. The authors will transcribe the interviews after conducting them and then will start with the next process being coding.

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It is important that the information given by the respondents is fully understood and formularized in order to successfully finish step 2. Step 2 consists of coding of the transcriptions. The authors of this thesis will code based on the findings of all interviews. This means that similarities between answers given will provide the basis for the code word.

The authors have chosen to use a conventional content analysis approach for the data analysis part. A conventional approach enables the researcher to gain a richer understanding of a phenomenon (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). This means that the authors derived the codes from the data and that these codes are defined during the process of analyzing the data. Figure 3 shows the chosen codes based on the data given by the respondents.

Question Code word 1 Code word 2 Code word 3

Q1 Change in occupation No change in occupation

Q2 Affected by Covid Not affected by Covid

Q3 Many restrictions Moderate restrictions No restrictions

Q4 Premium consumer Intermediate consumer Budget consumer

Q5.1 Important Medium important Not important

Q5.2 Many differences Medium differences No differences

Q5.3 Favoring products Not favoring products

Q5.4 Sacrifices Medium sacrifices No sacrifices

Q6 Affected Not affected

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Q7 Experience with PB No experience with PB

Q8 Has noticed a lot Has noticed a little Has not noticed

Q8.1 Good availability Moderate availability No availability

Q8.2 Experience with empty Moderate experience with No experience with shelves. empty shelves. empty shelves.

Figure 3 - Interview codes

3.6 Ethical considerations

Bryman and Bell (2007) describe ten elements that are important to keep in mind in terms of ethical considerations when conducting research using respondents. The authors of this thesis took the ten elements of Bryman and Bell (2007) into consideration when approaching respondents and handling their information. Consent of the respondents was asked for and given by each respondent prior to each interview. Participants were not harmed in any way, particularly due to the health risk that is currently active around the world. The participants were therefore asked to participate in the research via an online Zoom meeting.

When transcribing and handling the information given by the respondents, their names were removed and replaced with respondent 1, respondent 2, respondent 3, etc. This is to ensure full privacy for the participants involved. Participants were randomly chosen and were not given any rewards for their participation. Therefore, no conflict of interest occurred.

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4. Findings

This chapter will start by giving a brief introduction about Sweden’s demographics, culture, Covid situation and then present the findings from the data collected by the researchers through the interviews of Swedish consumers. It is followed by a brief introduction about the Netherlands demographics, culture, Covid situation and then present the findings from the data collected by interviewees of Dutch consumers. The findings will be divided into four categories such as consumer behavior, buying behavior, factors affecting buying behavior, and product consumption. Moreover, each section has different themes and subthemes.

4.1 Sweden

4.1.1 Demographics

Sweden is a Northern European country bordering Norway to the west and north, Finland to the east, and Denmark to the south. The capital of the country is Stockholm, and the official language consists of Swedish (Britannica, n.d.-b). The minority languages consist of Yiddish, Romany Chib, Sami, Finnish, and Meänkieli (Ministry for Integration and Gender Equality Sweden, 2007). The country entered the European Union in 1995 and has since then not adopted the Euro as a currency (European Union, n.d.-b). Sweden comes in at number 23 on the list of largest economies in the world with a GDP of $530.88 billion (Investopedia, 2020c). According to SCB (2021), in February 2021 the total population of Sweden was 10.385.347. Sweden's number of residents grew close to one million over the past decade. In 2009 there were roughly 9.42 million people in Sweden, but the population reached 10.38 million by the end of 2020 (Statista, 2021d). Since the 1970s Sweden's demographic profile has changed radically because of the immigration patterns. According to the CIA (2018), Sweden accounts for 80.9% Swedish, 1.8% Syrian, 1.4% Finnish, 1.4% Iraqi, and 14.5% other nationalities. Approximately 86% of the population lives in urban areas. The age structure of the Swedish population consists of 0-14 years (17.71%), 15-24 years (10.8%), 25-54 years (39.01%), 55-64 years (11.9%), 65 years and over (20.59%) (CIA, 2020). The median age is 41.1 years with 41.1 years for men and 42.1 years for women (CIA, 2020). Sweden’s life expectancy at birth is 82.4 years (CIA, 2020).

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Most of the Swedes, can be considered as atheists as 36% of the Swedish people believed in god in 2019 (Statista, 2020c). The Lutheran religion is the dominant religion in Sweden with 87%, others like Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Muslim, Buddhist, and Jewish consist of 13% of the practiced religion in Sweden. According to the CIA (2020), education expenditure amounted to 7.7% of the GDP in 2016. In 2017 data shows that health expenditure amounted to 11% of the GDP (CIA, 2020).

4.1.2 Swedish Culture

According to Hofstede Insights (n.d.-b), the Swedish culture can be described as highly individual (71) and highly feminine (Mas 5) with a low power distance (31). Swedes tend to not avoid uncertainty (29), are moderately long-term oriented (53) and an indulgent society (78). Sweden is one of the countries which is considered as an ideal egalitarian welfare society (Horváth et al., 2013). Swedish people can come off as reserved at first but are in general friendly and social people (Lund University, 2021). According to AFS (2019) Swedish culture consists of respecting the environment and commitment to sustainability. Sweden is considered a global leader in organic agriculture, recycling, and renewable energy. The Swedish society holds equal and individualistic culture. Swedish people respect and care for others, as well as having a great sense of humor (AFS, 2019). They prefer to separate their personal life from public lives. According to Cultural Atlas (n.d.-b) family life is important in Swedish culture as well as modesty, equality and respect for human rights. In Sweden both parents work and divide housework equally. Swedish families spend their free time outdoors such as in the forest, around lakes and the sea, in the mountains, camping, hiking, sailing, skating, picking berries and mushrooms. Swedes like to make direct communication, they are blunt and literal while they present their opinion (AFS, 2019). They listen to others, speak softly and calmly. Swedish people work hard but not so much; they like to go out to enjoy life. As Sweden is an egalitarian society, they did not encourage competition and they raised their children by learning that they are not more special than the other children (Economic global, 2021).

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4.1.3 Food and Clothes

The total revenue of the Swedish food market accounted for €24.005 million in 2019, €24.905 million in 2020, and is expected to reach €24.957 million at the end of 2021 (Statista, 2021a). According to Statista (2021a), the largest segments within the Swedish food industry during the year 2020 consist of meat (€4.986 million), dairy products and eggs (€4.291 million), and confectionery and snacks (€3.446 million). In 2020, Swedish people spent less on baby food (- 5.1%), and the annual increase in pet food had dropped from +8.1% in 2019 to +1.2%, however, they bought significantly more in 2020 in the segments oils and fats (+5%), fish and seafood (+4.5%), meat (+4.4%) dairy products and eggs (+4.3%) vegetables (+4.3%), bread and cereal products (+4.2%) and fruits and nuts (+4%) (Statista, 2021a).

In regard to clothing and footwear, the country has had unsteady spending behavior over the years. Consumer spending on clothing and footwear per capita consisted of 1035,1 dollars in 2017, 1023,38 dollars in 2018, 981,59 dollars in 2019 (pandemic), and is expected to reach 1087,04 dollars at the end of 2021 (Statista, 2021c). The revenue of the Swedish apparel market had decreased by -5.7% in 2020 for women’s apparel and -5.7% for children’s apparel, for men, this percentage consisted of -5.6% (Statista, 2020b). By the end of 2021, the revenue is however expected to change to +8.5% for women’s apparel, +8.7% for children’s apparel, and +8.7% for men’s apparel. During the first wave of the pandemic, online fashion sales had increased by 13% (Colliander & Rosengren, 2020).

4.1.4 Background of Covid-19

Sweden confirmed the first case of the coronavirus on February 4, 2020. The number of Covid- 19 cases has increased by a total of 967,678. Sweden registered 7,141 new coronavirus cases on April 28, 2021 (Statista, 2021e). The number of cases per single day in Sweden peaked on June 24, 2020, with 1698 cases and then on November 19, Sweden recorded a peak of 7,631 infections. In the year 2020, November 25, Sweden confirmed 225 thousand infection cases, and over six thousand deaths were confirmed.

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By March 2020, Swedish industries experienced less demand and sales of their products as a result companies had to cut staff members (Michas, 2021). After detecting the first Covid-19 infection in Sweden, the public health authorities advised the public on infection control measures such as hand hygiene, sneezing habits, coughing habits, isolation if individuals have symptoms and tracing people who came close to the patient (Helsingen et al., 2020). When Sweden took the natural science herd-immunity approach, they received huge attention from all over the world. The Swedish government has been criticized by countries like the USA, Denmark, Finland and Norway in response to the pandemic and their approach (Korhonen & Granberg, 2020).

According to the studies of Ellyatt (2020), Sweden's response towards the pandemic is supervised by the country’s Public Health Agency (PHA). The PHA takes different measures to control the spread of the virus. Because of this approach, Sweden faced criticism from other countries as well as from its own citizens. Sweden’s Public Health Agency’s chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell told CNBC that Sweden's strategy regarding the virus is different. Anders Tegnell stated that the plan is to slow down the spread of infection to keep healthcare and society working by social distancing. Sweden’s government has taken steps to prevent the spread of the virus, like working from home if possible and avoiding non-essential travel. In restaurants, bars, cafes and nightclubs seating restrictions have been implied to prevent overcrowding. The gatherings of more than 50 people were banned, colleges and universities were closed and switched to distant learning. Students under 16 were, however, still allowed to attend school on campus (Ellyatt, 2020). Sweden executed a less restrictive strategy based on the recommendations from the Public Health Agency (PHA). The main strategy was to protect senior and vulnerable citizens to slow down the spread of the virus in order for the healthcare system to cope with the situation. On the 17th of March 2020, non-EU/EEA citizens entering Sweden were denied entry. On the 11th of March 2020, all gatherings in public places of more than 500 people were prohibited, which was further extended to all gatherings of more than 50 people being prohibited on the 27th of March 2020. Visiting elderly homes was prohibited from the 31st of March. People who have little symptoms are recommended to stay at home and take sick leave (Lindström, 2020). According to Campta et al. (2021), the people that were mostly financially affected due to the pandemic were people that had occupations with the lowest wages prior and during the pandemic.

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4.1.5 Impact on Swedish consumers

Starting with the important part regarding consumer behavior and how Covid-19 affects their occupation. Followed by consumers during a crisis at a general level and what type of label respondents give themselves as a consumer. The respondents had the ability to choose between premium, intermediate, and budget.

An individual's occupation decides the income. Based on the occupation people's earnings fluctuate from high to low. Once a consumer knows his or her income, they can decide how much they want to spend on daily life consumption. In a crisis along with the situation, people's occupation or income is hampered because maximum industries suffer to survive. Therefore, some people lost their jobs, got fewer working hours, and couldn't find a new job. These things affect consumer behavior as income is the main source of living life. After taking all the interviews it is quite clear that people are afraid of the situation, though 5 out of 7 interviewees said that their occupation did not change during the pandemic but 2 of them mentioned that their working hours are less now because their working industry was badly affected by Covid-19. Interviewees 5 stated-

‘’Financially I would say it is very important for me because when the pandemic started our restaurant has been closed due to the recommendations put by government recommendations that restaurants need to close by 8. Before the pandemic our restaurant was closed at 12 so that's why our working hours are reduced due to pandemic. So, we get less hours and less hours means less money. So that's why I also faced a financial crisis a little bit.’’ - Interviewee 5

The general level is divided into three sub-themes like social, financial, and health aspects. Looking at the social perspective, one common theme was that all of the respondents were socially affected due to the crisis. As per the recommendations, they need to maintain a distance from people and can not meet many people at a place at a time which is affecting their social behavior. Interviewee 3 stated -

‘’Socially affected me because I am a very social person used to going out so much, now I don’t meet my friends like before and also family members’’ - Interviewee 3

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Furthermore, the financial aspect is another theme brought up regarding consumer behavior. We found varieties of answers from different respondents. Interviewee 1 and interviewee 5 are working in the restaurant industry, so they are highly affected due to the crisis. Interviewee 1 stated-

‘’... Financially for example before we have lots of opportunities for work but because of pandemics, we don’t have this opportunity. People are not going outside so much as I am working in a restaurant industry it affects our business and that’s why our working hours are also reduced.’’ - Interviewee 1

Some of the respondents faced difficulties during Covid-19 because they lost their job and found it difficult to find a new job in this critical situation. It is interesting that 2 of the respondents were not affected financially by the crisis. Their financial situation is getting better in this situation. Interviewee 6 stated-

‘’To be honest, I think it affected my finances in a good way, not a bad way. Because, yeah, I got the job before the pandemic. So, however, my income will come, and people start to call more often to the banks during the pandemic. They got some opportunities with loans and these kinds of things. So, for one industry, it can be like a good financial change. And for others it can be very bad. But for me it affected me in a good way. I receive my income and I don't waste as much. So, it's not a negative way, personally.’’ - Interviewee 6

Respondents' answers show that almost everyone's life is affected mentally by Covid-19 as they now get less opportunities for gatherings, less possibilities for visiting family and friends and everything is closed early. Interviewee 2 stated-

‘’Mentally I feel very depressed as in my family we are two people, me and my husband and he used to get work and I stay at home all the time, although because of pandemic people do not come to the home for a visit, not also like to go outside in park or restaurant for gathering.’’ - Interviewee 2

The label that respondents give themselves as a consumer during a crisis and before the crisis is very fascinating to find. We found interviewees give themselves a different label. 3 out of 7 interviewees remain the same now as before the pandemic. After starting the pandemic, the rest of the consumers changed their consumption patterns like moving from premium to budget, intermediate to budge or intermediate to premium. So, there are different types of consumers we found and Interviewee 1 stated-

‘’Before the pandemic, I would say I was a premium consumer but now I don’t know what will happen in the future, so I prefer what I need, and also I want to save money. So, you can say I am living a very normal life. Yes. Because before the pandemic my husband and I had a good income but now it’s changed.’’ - Interviewee 1

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4.1.6 Impacts on buying behavior

The second theme that emerged from the data is buying behavior. We asked respondents about their purchasing behavior in the matter of pandemics. How does the crisis affect their purchasing of food or clothing, whether online or in person? Did they experience any panic when purchasing during this pandemic? The answer in these matters is very informative as it helps to understand whether people are changing their buying behavior in this crisis.

Starting with the subtheme of buying food or clothes online or physically during Covid-19. Seven out of seven interviewees stated that they prefer to buy or eat food in person rather than online Due to Sweden not implementing any lockdowns, there are not as many restrictions towards buying products, going outside and eating in restaurants, bars or anywhere. Therefore, they didn't change their behavior regarding buying food physically. Respondent 5 stated that-

‘’I always buy food physically, as there is no lockdown in Sweden, so it doesn't affect me.‘’ - Interviewee 5.

When they answer about buying clothes online or physically, we notice that their buying pattern has changed during this pandemic. 3 out of 7 interviewees answered about how they are buying clothes in this Covid-19 situation. They mentioned that because of the pandemic, they are using websites more often. They now prefer to order clothes online than before. Interviewee 7 stated-

‘’But when it comes to clothing, then now I'm actually buying more online than I would have done before. Because in Eskilstuna, they don't have any physical stores anymore. So, you have to go to the Internet to buy them or you have to travel to Stockholm. And it's like an hour away. That's too far.’’ - Interviewee 7

Another theme is about panic buying during Covid-19. Where many of the interviewees mentioned that though they didn't experience any panic buying, they saw some people panic buying. One of the interviewees said if she was in a country like the USA or Italy where people are facing lockdown or strict restrictions, she might panic buying. We found 1 interviewee who did panic buying to avoid going outside often. Interviewee 3 stated -

‘’ Last year, it was kind of panic because I didn’t want to go outside so much. I consume stuff that is for a long period to avoid going shopping often like toilet paper, washing products, conservative food like pasta, corn, bread, that you can use a long time.’’ - Interviewee 3

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4.1.7 Factors affecting or influencing consumer buying during Covid-19

The third theme that emerged from the data is some factors that influenced consumer buying behavior during Covid-19. These themes are divided into three subparts. The first subpart is the respondents’ occupation and if their occupation affected their buying behavior. The second subpart is regarding the pandemic and how this has affected the interviewees’ social, financial, and health. The final subpart is regarding the lockdowns or restrictions that the government put on and whether these measures affect consumer buying behavior in this Covid-19.

Occupation is personally very important for every person or for consumers because, based on the occupation, the consumers’ earning income depends. Based on the income people decide what to buy, how many, what amount, which products, price, quality, etc. to fulfill their needs. Among 5 out of 7 interviewees said that their occupation is the same as before the pandemic. Some of them are students either working or full-time students and some are full-time workers. Interviewee 3 stated-

‘’I was basically a student. I finished my bachelor’s last year. Because of the pandemic, It was a risk for work so deciding to continue to study and doing a master’s now.’’ - Interviewee 3

If a person is socially, financially and health-wise good, then it will influence him or her to buy more products. The crisis affects and changes people's lifestyles. If a person is not financially healthy, he or she will not invest money in consumption. Respondents 3 stated-

‘’Financially absolutely it was a bit difficult as there was no job. I tried to do work in other types of the job, but it was difficult until now to find the job. Socially affected me because I am a very social person used to going out so much, now I don’t meet my friends like before and also family members. As we know people can adjust, we adjusted and can say better than last year. I can say I used to travel a minimum of 3 times a year but from the 2 years I did go so it’s unhealthy for me, It’s more about the mental side. ’’ Interviewee 3

The third sub-part is about how consumers experience the restrictions, how this has affected them and what they did to overcome the lockdown or restrictions. Interviewees’ most common answers was that they didn't face any lockdown.

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Sweden's recommended restrictions such as maintaining social distance everywhere for example. shops, restaurants, bars, etc. and keeping a distance of 1.5 meters. The shops maintained social distancing by only allowing 10-15 people at a shop and everything is closed by 8.30 pm. Interviewee 1 stated-

‘’Not so much but also restrictions like at present we can not meet more than 8 people at a place and also if we go to a restaurant for eating there is also restriction. I want to share one experience recently me and my husband visited IKEA for having breakfast so they told us to seat down per person per table, we both living in the same house, spending the whole day with each other but because of the restriction, we had to sit separately with 1.5-meter distance. The government neither gives us punishment nor gives us strict rules but orally gives us restrictions to control the pandemic. For example, I often go to my workplace by train, and it’s crowded every day so the government gives restrictions but does not strictly impose on people.’’ - Interviewee 1

People are now getting used to the pandemic. Almost all interviewees agree with the point that people are overcoming and trying to handle the crisis carefully. They are following the restrictions and rules put by the government such as maintaining social distance everywhere, washing hands regularly, canceling travel trips, having meetings on zoom and meeting with friends at home. Since Sweden didn’t have a lockdown people are only following the recommendations. Interviewee 1 stated how they overcame the pandemic-

’’Nothing special but what I did is that I canceled all my vacations. I don’t want to affect myself and also others. So we cancel all the tours from the beginning of the pandemic. So I will say now we don’t go outside often, and also before I visited shops and restaurants several times with my kid but now I rarely go there.’’- Interviewee 1

Interviewee 5 stated as well how they overcame the restrictions-

‘’Sweden did not give lockdown; they gave only restrictions which people had to follow. We didn't feel like other countries who give lockdowns so we just followed the recommendations put by the government and that's how I think I overcame the situation.‘’ - Interviewee 5

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4.1.8 The impact of the pandemic on product consumption

The fourth theme is about the impact of the pandemic on product consumption is divided into two sub-themes. The first subtheme is about what plays a key role in the spending and consumption of the consumer by considering price and quality as well as what the differences are now in comparison to before the pandemic. It is followed by the question when consumers purchase food and clothes if there are any products they are favoring now and if they ultimately sacrifice anything for purchasing products. The second sub-theme revolves around the topic if they notice any interesting behavior towards the retailers during Covid-19, the availability of food in stores and if they are experiencing empty shelves.

Consumer product consumption is based on people's income and financial stability. When the world or countries faces a crisis, individuals are automatically affected by the financial term. During pandemics individuals spending and consumption basically depend on their income level as well as depend on the current situation. How much a consumer consumes the product, therefore, varies from person to person. Recently, along with Sweden, the whole world is facing a new pandemic which is known as Covid-19. After the start of the pandemic consumers are now more aware of consumption and consider more how to buy, when to buy, what an important product looks like for them as well as defining necessities. In a crisis, people give importance to the product price and quality. Some consumers like to buy cheaper products to save money, some face financial instability and are therefore more willing to buy cheap products. It became clear that some consumers prefer to buy quality products in crises which they may not have preferred before. During the interview the authors found different types of consuming parties where their demand is different during Covid-19. Some are caring about the price now, some are preferring quality and some remain the same. 3 out of 7 interviewees found price and quality is important for them, 2 other interviewees find it medium important and one of the interviewees cares more about quality than price. Interviewee 3 stated-

‘’Quality is always necessary, I don’t care about the price so much when I like the product. As I said I prefer not to buy the original.’’ - Interviewee 3

Spending on consumption sometimes differs with the situation. Though Sweden did not give any lockdown or any strict restrictions, many people lost their jobs and many people's working hours decreased. As well as maintaining social distance, people do not often go outside like before. From our interviewees’ statements, the authors found that the scenario is the same.

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Consumers are now buying more necessary products. Four out of seven interviewees did not prefer to spend money on clothes as they don't know how long pandemics run and they now spend the most time at home in order to save money. Interviewee 2 stated-

‘’As we are now in a critical situation, we don’t know how Covid will stay, we don’t know how long the financial problem will run. Now we think twice about buying unnecessary things. It makes me think twice. It affects me in that way, necessary things I can not control to buy.’’ - Interviewee 2

When talking about the changing food and clothing consumption during a pandemic, three out of seven interviewees find spending many differences on clothing more than food consumption. Interviewee 4 stated-

‘’For food, there are not much differences. But clothes yes because for example every two months I buy new clothes to wear but for the pandemic, It 6 months and more. I don’t go out like before.’’ - Interviewee 4

In a normal situation, consumers buy necessary and unnecessary products. But when crises start people sometimes favor certain products for their health or for their safety. five out of seven interviewees are favoring specific products due to Covid-19 such as hand sanitizer, vitamins, and healthy food to stay fit. Interviewee 5 stated-

‘’Yes during pandemic hand sanitizer and vitamin supplements such as vitamin C which is very important which I now use frequently.’’ - Interviewee 5

In a crisis moment, those people who are affected financially may sacrifice certain things to cover up the situation and to purchase the product. Here the interviewer finds different experiences from the interviewees. six out of seven interviewees said that they didn't make any sacrifice. Interviewee 5 stated-

‘’ No, I did not make any sacrifices for purchasing products. ‘’- Interviewee 5

During the crisis, both consumers and retailers’ behavior has been changed. Sometimes because of the lockdown or restrictions, people face or notice some interesting behavior, weird behavior or some of them did not see anything noticeable. Interviewee 2 stated-

‘’I remember once me and my friend went shopping that time he gives cash money to the employee of Kassa and the employee asked my friend, are you healthy? Do you have covid? She asked before receiving the money by hand as she was afraid and we said we are healthy, so this is very different behavior from a retailer we faced. It was interesting.’’ - Interviewee 2

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Though Sweden did not impose strict restrictions but only gave advice to reduce the spread of the infection, consumers and retailers took their own approach on how to handle the situation. Interviewee 7 stated-

‘’In the retailer’s behavior. Yeah, I mean, I went into an H&M before in Stockholm and now, like they always have, like a guard at the door keeping count of people coming in and out. And there is always a sanitizer when you get into the store. And then, yeah, it's just like they are practicing social distancing in the shop. So, when you stand in the queue, you have to have like two-meter distance from the next customer. And I think at the supermarket, they have like a plastic window between you and the cashier. So, yeah, I mean, you always feel like a pandemic is going on because I have to always be cautious and think of what you're doing. And keeping distance and so on.’’ - Interviewee 7

Consumer product consumption also impacts if there is no available food in the store or if there are empty shelves. Before the pandemic, people did not panic buy as they knew that the products, they wanted would be available in the shops. But when a crisis happens some consumers becomes sensitive and buy as much as they can store. As a result, other consumers could not buy products and product shortages as well as empty shelves are often seen during pandemics. At the beginning of the pandemic, some Swedish people were panicked, some of the consumers did panic buy and as a result many people faced food shortages or experienced empty shelves. Interviewee 5 stated-

‘’No nothing from the retailer's side. But I remembered one incident, every month I had to go to a shop to buy diapers for my kid. When the pandemic started I went to the shop to buy diaper and I found there is no diaper when I asked to the staff they told me that people took 5-10 packets of diapers so all diaper are finished and they will bring diaper next week I have to come next week.’’ - Interviewee 5

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4.2 The Netherlands

4.2.1 Demographics

The Netherlands is a Western European country bordering Germany to the east and Belgium to the south. The capital of the country is Amsterdam (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2019). Dutch is the official language of the country with Fries being an additional official language in the province of Friesland and Jiddisj and Sinti-Roman being acknowledged as minority languages (Rijksoverheid, 2020). The country entered the European Union in 1958 and has implemented the Euro as a currency since January 1st, 1999 (European Union, n.d.-a). The country stands at number 17 on the largest economies of the world list with a GDP of $907.05 billion (Investopedia, 2020b). The kingdom of the Netherlands includes the countries Aruba, Curacao, St Maarten, The Netherlands, and the three territories Bonaire, St Eustatius, and Saba (Government of The Netherlands, n.d.). The country currently accounts for 17.491.833 inhabitants (CBS, 2021c). In 2020, 24.2% of the population had a migration background of which 10.5% from a western country and 13.7% from a nonwestern country (CBS, 2021b). According to the CIA (2018), The Netherlands accounts for 76.9 Dutch people, 5.4% Europeans, 2.4% Turkish, 2.3% Moroccans, 2.1% Indonesian, 2.1% Germans, 2% Surinamese, 1% Polish, and 4.8% other. The age structure consists of 0-20 years (20%), 20-40 years (25%), 40-65 years (34%), 65-80 years (15%), 80 years and older (5%) (CBS, 2021a). The median age is 42.8 years with 41.6 for men and 44 years for women (CIA, 2020). The majority of Dutch people do not associate with an ideological group in a religious way. In 2019 this number consisted of 54.1% of the population. The structure of the belief system consists of 20.1% Roman Catholic, 14.8% protestant, Islam 5%, and 5.9% other (CBS, 2020).

4.2.2 Dutch Culture

According to Hofstede Insights (n.d.-a), the culture of The Netherlands can be described as highly individual (81), feminine (Mas 14) meaning that the people value the quality of life and caring for others, having a slight preference for avoiding uncertainty (53), an indulgent society (68), valuing equal rights due to the low power distance (38) and are a long-term oriented society (67). Dutch people highly value social tolerance and this is clearly visible when looking at the Dutch soft drugs, prostitution, same-sex marriage laws and history (Britannica, n.d.-a).

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At times, the Dutch residents can be perceived as stingy to outsiders due to Dutch people valuing efficient spending and eating simple meals (Cultural Atlas, n.d.-a). Dutch people can be seen as reserved and formal to outsiders that value their privacy. A common value is that of respecting everyone regardless of their background, religion, sex, and or sexual orientation (Cultural Atlas, n.d.-a). Due to the country’s history with former colonies in Asia and Central America, the Netherlands can therefore be seen as a multicultural society with inhabitants from various backgrounds (Britannica, n.d.-a).

4.2.3 Food and Clothes

The total revenue of the Dutch food market accounted for €35.278 million in 2019, increased significantly to €39.601 million in 2020 and is expected to decrease to €38.124 million at the end of 2021 (Statista, n.d.). According to Statista (n.d.), the largest segments in terms of spendings’ within the Dutch food industry during the year 2020 consisted of meat (€7.657 million), bread and cereal products (€7.603 million) and dairy products and eggs (€5.870 million). In 2020, Dutch people spend more on all segments within the consumer food market. Dutch people bought significantly more bread and cereal products (+19.8%), convenience food (+18.5%), confectionery and snacks (+12.3%), fruits and nuts (+10.8%), fish and seafood (+10.6%) and meat (+10.5) (Statista, n.d.).

In regard to clothing and footwear, the country has had an unsteady spending behavior over the years. Consumer spending on clothing and footwear per capita consisted of 1205,94 dollars in 2018, 1174,29 dollars in 2019, 1146,29 dollars in 2020 (pandemic), and is expected to reach 1363,09 dollars at the end of 2021 (Statista, 2021b). The revenue of the Dutch apparel market had decreased by 14.6% in 2020 for women’s apparel and declined by 15.5% for children’s apparel, for men this percentage consisted of -14.6% (Statista, 2020a). According to Statista (2020d), online shopping for clothes had increased from 55% prior to the outbreak to 58% during the outbreak and lockdown.

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4.2.4 Background of Covid-19

The first person to be tested positive with the Coronavirus was on February 27, 2020, in the southern part of the Netherlands called Noord-Brabant (Hassink et al., 2021). As of the 16th of May 2021, the total number of Covid-19 cases in The Netherlands consists of 1.620.680 with 17.703 fatalities (Johns Hopkins University, n.d.). The government firstly looked at preventing the spread of the virus in the parts where Covid-19 was detected. However, on March 12, restrictions were applied to the entire country. These restrictions consisted of social distancing, advice on working from home and prohibiting gatherings of more than 100 people (Hassink et al., 2021). On March 15th, 2020, the government decided to close all schools and switch to distant learning, close all sports facilities and close all bars and restaurants (Ministerie van Algemene Zaken, 2020). The government always had a clear message to the public of applying or removing restrictions based on the advice they would receive from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. The advice was based on current developments regarding the spread of the virus within The Netherlands. Based on these developments, the government decided to close the Horeca industry on the 15th of March 2020, reopened the Horeca industry on the 1st of June 2020 and closed it again on the 14th of October (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, n.d.).

The adaptive approach of the Dutch government resulted in a curfew where residents were not allowed to exit their homes from 9 pm till 4:30 am every day (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, n.d.). Some elements of the Dutch strategy to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus have faced both criticism from governmental parties and Dutch citizens (NOS, 2021).

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4.2.5 Impact on Dutch consumers

Due to the strict lockdown and firm implementation of social distancing, all respondents expressed to have been affected socially due to the pandemic. While some still tried to spend time with their friends and find alternatives to restricted activities, some have taken an approach of fully adopting and following the restrictions implemented by the government. This was clearly stated by interviewee 3:

‘’It's almost one year now, so I feel very isolated. I haven't seen some of my friends in a while.‘’ - Interviewee 3

This thought was shared by three other respondents. All respondents expressed that their finances had not been negatively affected due to the pandemic. Therefore, all students that participated in the interview had not been negatively affected by their finances. One respondent with a full-time job was able to earn more money due to the pandemic as an account executive for a software company. Two other respondents said to have more money left over due to the lockdown and not spending it on social activities. Of these two, one respondent expressed to save money by working from home and saving money on lunches. Mental and physical health was frequently mentioned as to being affected due to the pandemic. The reasons varied across the respondents from not being able to exercise, feeling isolated and getting COVID.

The respondents varied in terms of consumer labels. Five out of all respondents described being an intermediate consumer of which four respondents expressed to not have changed during the pandemic. One person changed from an intermediate consumer to a budget consumer due to a reason not related to the pandemic. Interviewee 7 expressed to now focus more on premium food in the following way:

‘’So, I want to make sure that I get like very, very good food. And I'm also like dealing more with cooking for myself and everything. So that's why I also take a closer look on the quality.’’ - Interviewee 7

Aside from one person that went from an intermediate to a budget consumer due to buying a new house, most of the respondents have remained the same consumer label throughout the pandemic. Their financial situation could have played a role in this. All respondents expressed that they have not experienced a major change of occupation since the start of the pandemic. Due to most of the respondents being financially stable, their consumer label didn’t have to change to meet their finances and or budget.

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4.2.6 Impact on buying behavior

The overall theme that emerged from questions six and seven of the interview was buying behavior. It was then divided into panic buying and online/physical shopping. As a result of the pandemic and the restrictions put on by the government, all respondents expressed to have been affected by how they buy food online or physically during the pandemic. The closure of many stores as a measure to prevent the spread of the virus, has stimulated six out of seven respondents to buy more online. The underlying reason however varied across the respondents. The main reason given for the change in the way the respondents buy food online or physically was mainly due to the closed stores. Interviewee 3 stated:

‘’I was bored or there was not much to do, you know. So, I buy more food because there is not much to do. So, I buy maybe more food, maybe more clothing just to kill the time.’’ - Interviewee 3

Buying more online or physically during the pandemic out of boredom was shared across 3 respondents. Two of the respondents noticed themselves ordering ready-to-eat food. The reason given for this is stated by interviewee 5:

‘’For the food, yeah you don't go to restaurants anymore. So, it was also easier to just order food online and yeah basically like this.’’ - Interviewee 5

All respondents expressed to have experienced panic buying behavior during the pandemic. The common time frame was during the beginning of the first lockdown in The Netherlands. While all respondents said to have experienced the behavior with their fellow citizens, only one respondent admitted to taking part in it as a reaction to products being sold out in supermarkets. While this interviewee started out not taking part in panic buying and disliking it, the interviewee however felt forced at one point to do it in order to ensure buying the products he or she needed. It is good to note that this interviewee bakes commercial cakes as a hobby and was mostly buying ingredients to continue this side job. Panic buying was clearly stated by interviewee 3:

‘’Yeah, now I do it automatically every time I go to a supermarket. Because I don't want to go back to the period when there was no toilet paper, there was no flour, there was no baking powder, there was nothing. Nothing that I use a lot. It wasn't available.’’ - Interviewee 3

The common association among the other respondents regarding panic buying was negative. Some respondents believed that panic buying was selfish and not logical. This is clearly depicted by interviewee 1:

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‘’No, I did not buy excessive amount of items. No,no. Because the people that did, I thought really were stupid.’’ - Interviewee 1

4.2.7 Factors affecting or influencing consumer buying behavior during Covid-19

The third theme that has emerged from the data consists of the factors that influence consumer buying behavior during COVID-19. The following aspects have been taken into account: the respondent’s occupation now and prior to Covid-19, how the respondents feel to have been affected by the pandemic, and the restrictions put on by the government. The occupation of the respondents gives us a better insight into the financial stability per person. The respondents consisted of four students and three full-time workers. All respondents remained with the same occupation except for three. One went from being a student to having a full-time job, one went from a full-time worker to a student and one student added a part-time job while studying. The reason for the change in occupation was not related to Covid-19. An interesting finding however is that all respondents stated to have not been negatively affected in their finances due to Covid- 19. This was clearly stated by interviewee 2 for instance:

‘’Not really, because I could still keep on working with the same finances and the same income.’’ - Interviewee 2

While all respondents experienced the same lockdown and restrictions, their view on the restrictions was however different from another. Of all the respondents, four described many restrictions, and three described moderate restrictions. Their view could not be related to their occupation. The common answers regarding the effect of the restrictions on the Dutch citizens were regarding social aspects of life. This in turn led to spending less money on activities that are friend-related for some of the respondents. Interviewee 6 stated the following:

‘’And of course, you only stay at home, so you work like five days a week. It is very boring. Normally during the weekends, you just blow off some steam and you go do some fun stuff. The only fun stuff that you can do is go around the block.’’ - Interviewee 6

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The closure of fun activities has resulted in the respondents either complying completely with the restrictions and not finding alternatives to socializing or by finding alternatives to still seeing their friends and or family. Not spending time with friends and or family automatically changes the buying behavior of the respondents as they change their behavior regarding the consumption of food and social activities. The respondents become more individually focused. Interviewee 1 depicts a good example of shifting from socially centered too more individual-centered. The same respondent expressed having more money left over due to not being able to spend it on other things. Interviewee 1 stated:

‘’For the rest, no I didn’t do anything because of the social distancing. Because I would like to hang out with my friends but yeah that was not really possible or having a way around it. So.’’ - Interviewee 1

4.2.8 The Impact of the pandemic on product consumption

The last theme consists of the key motivation of the respondents regarding their spending and consumption behavior during the pandemic and their views on retailers during this time. The pandemic has affected the consumer in various ways. Regarding product consumption, the majority of the respondents have resulted in online shopping. Aside from one respondent, all respondents saw differences regarding their spending behavior on food and clothes during the pandemic. One of the examples given is by interviewee 7 that buys less clothes and more food now.

‘’Well, especially in regards clothes, it got way, way, way less. So, I'm barely shopping clothes anymore. I used to shop probably once a week.So, I would buy more food now or I’m buying more food now.’’ - Interviewee 7

Boredom being a driver for three other respondents of changing their product consumption and buying more is well depicted by interviewee 1. The availability and accessibility of stores and if a company does something regarding a good cause were mentioned as well as key drivers behind spending and consumption behavior. Interviewee 1 stated:

‘’I think boredom. I think that’s why.’’ - Interviewee 1

All respondents found that price and quality of food were important during the pandemic regardless of their occupation or age. A common theme was that the price and quality of food are always important and not just during a pandemic.

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Regarding favoring products due to the pandemic, four out of all respondents found themselves favoring certain types of services or products as a result of the situation. Two of the respondents found themselves favoring take-away food and delivery services. This can be linked to the governmental restrictions of closing seated restaurants. Therefore, these respondents resulted in take-out food. Another favored product consisted of interior articles. Due to the panic buying behavior experienced by all respondents, one respondent resulted in valuing toilet paper more now. Interviewee 6 stated:

‘’Just for the toilet paper. And I'm like, well, that's something that I will very appreciate, appreciate during this pandemic. So yeah, I think that is crazy. Yeah. But that's the truth.’’ - Interviewee 6

None of the respondents expressed that they had made sacrifices regarding purchasing products and clothes. However, an assumption could be made between the respondents choosing takeaway food now more than before. These respondents were not able to visit restaurants anymore and therefore resulted in still being able to purchase the food but without the seated experience. It is therefore assumed that some respondents had to make sacrifices during the pandemic regarding purchasing food. Interviewee 2 stated:

‘’Because you're stuck around, you can't go anywhere else and go to the restaurants, you can't go out. You can't go to friends.’’ - Interviewee 2

A different category within this theme consisted of the respondent’s view on the retailers during the pandemic. All respondents expressed that they had experienced empty shelves at their preferred retailer. The duration of empty shelves was commonly agreed on at the beginning of the pandemic up until a few weeks. One person differed from the duration and stated it took months for retailers to get back to normal. Interviewee 3 stated:

‘’Yes, from what I remember it took a couple of months. It was quite a while.’’ - Interviewee 3

The same respondent found the availability of food as moderate during the pandemic. The other respondents described the availability of food as good and that there was enough food available throughout the ongoing pandemic and the lockdown aside from the panic buying period at the beginning of March last year. One person noticed the lack of available food in the beginning but addresses the problem with the consumer, then rather with the retailer. Interviewee 5 stated:

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‘’Yeah, in the beginning in March 2020 or something that was really visible because of the panic buying. There was too little food for some things, and it was kind of bad, I think. But I don't know if it was, if you could blame the people who made it. It's more people who bought it.’’ - Interviewee 5

The respondents varied in terms of recognizing what their retailer did differently or interesting during the pandemic. Two respondents had noticed a lot from more online marketing to in-shop COVID measures. One respondent had noticed nothing, and four respondents had noticed a little in the retailers’ behavior during the pandemic. A common recognition was that of online marketing or pushing towards online buying. Interviewee 5 stated:

‘’Yeah, they are more focused on online. There was also more advisements for web site that sell clothes or food or anything. And they were really focused on this, actually.‘’ - Interviewee 5

As the government implemented more restrictions on the Dutch citizens and the closure of non- essential shops, companies were forced to online selling. Governmental restrictions, therefore, turned out to play a big role in the consumption behavior of consumers as well as boredom and a financially stable income.

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5. Discussion

In this section, the differences and common answers among the Dutch and Swedish respondents are presented and related to the theory.

5.1 Impact on consumers

It has become evident that all respondents from both countries were socially affected due to the pandemic as a result of the social distancing advice. While Sweden took a less strict approach to the implementation of social distancing by not making face masks as a necessity in public places and keeping the restaurants open, all respondents still took the advice of the Swedish government seriously and saw their friends and family less. The Dutch and Swedish consumers seemed to have behaved similarly in that sense. The strict rules of the Netherlands, the flexible approach of Sweden, and the findings that both respondent groups expressed to have followed the rules could be explained through the uncertainty avoidance of both countries. According to Hofstede Insights (n.d.-a; n.d.-b), the low uncertainty avoidance of Sweden (29) and moderate uncertainty avoidance of The Netherlands (53), would result in Dutch people preferring more rules regarding the prevention of the spread of Covid than the Swedish people. As a result of the social distancing, Dutch and Swedish respondents have said to have been mentally and or physically affected due to the pandemic. In some cases, this led to depression. This confirms Banks and Xu’s (2020) findings on a lockdown impacting the mental health of people. While Sweden never went into a full lockdown, some measures were taken that prevented the residents from seeing fewer people such as distant working and learning. These measures seem to have impacted the Swedish residents mentally the same as the Dutch residents that went into a full lockdown.

Another way the pandemic could have impacted the citizens of both countries is financially. This seemed to have been heavily dependent on the type of occupation a person has and have had during the pandemic. The majority of the Dutch respondents consisted of students and three full- time workers with stable jobs. While the Dutch respondents answered that they have not been financially negatively affected due to the pandemic, this turned out to be different for some of the Swedish respondents.

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The financial effect of the pandemic was most visible with the respondents working in the restaurant industry that experienced less income due to more restrictions on seated dining. For the people that were financially affected by the pandemic, the process of selecting products was mostly changed according to Kotler and Keller (2012). Their needs stayed the same, but the evaluation of alternatives changed due to financial instability during the pandemic. This group had to choose cheaper alternatives.

The findings indicate that most respondents see themselves as intermediate consumers, meaning that they buy reasonably priced items and don’t necessarily always buy the premium or budget brand. In most cases, the pandemic didn’t seem to affect the consumer in his consumer label. However, in the case of the pandemic having an effect on the finances of the respondent, it seems to have had an effect on the consumer label as well. This was a visible show with one respondent from Sweden that earned less and changed from an intermediate to a budget consumer. According to Alimen and Bayraktaroglu (2011) adjustments consumers make regarding product consumption during a crisis, this person started seeking lower prices and experienced financial anxiety. The majority of the Dutch consumers state to have remained the same due to no changes in their finances.

5.2 Impact on buying behavior

A significant finding in this subchapter was that of Dutch and Swedish respondents changing their buying behavior during the pandemic. While the Swedes expressed to not have changed their buying behavior regarding food, the majority of the Dutch respondents expressed the opposite. Dutch people experienced buying more food and clothes online as a result of the closure of many food stores (restaurants) and clothing outlets. This aligns with the findings from Statista (2020d) which depict an increase of online shopping by Dutch residents during the outbreak. The restrictions put on by the government of the country played a key role in the changing of this behavior during the pandemic. On the other hand, researchers should keep in mind the motives of people for their buying behavior during a crisis. This was more evident with some of the Dutch consumers regarding clothes. The main motive to buy more clothes online consisted of boredom.

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This aligns with Mina and Campos Jr (2018) that state that consumers purchase a product or service not only for the main problem solved by the product. In this case, the additional problem consists of boredom.

While the Swedish respondents didn’t change their buying behavior regarding food, buying behavior regarding clothes was affected for some of the respondents. The majority of the Swedish respondents resulted in online clothes shopping. While the findings from (Colliander & Rosengren, 2020) indicate that Swedish people were only moderately buying more clothes online, the respondents of this research expressed to have been impacted more than depicted by the findings. The reason for this change in behavior was due to some people experiencing the closure of clothing shops in their area as a result of the pandemic. Not due to governmental restrictions.

The last theme that was discussed in this section of the findings consisted of panic buying. All Dutch respondents said to have experienced panic buying with other people when shopping at the early stages of the pandemic. This seemed to have been the same for Swedish people. This means that regardless of the governmental restrictions, panic buying occurred in both countries. Only one Swedish and one Dutch respondent admitted to taking part in panic buying. The Swedish person took part in panic buying to not have to go outside as much and the Dutch person panic bought as a result of other people’s panic buying. The Dutch person confirmed the theory of Naeem (2020) which describes the social interpretation of individuals of empty shelves during the pandemic that leads to more impulsive panic behavior. This theory was not evident with the other respondents.

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5.3 Factors affecting or influencing consumer buying behavior during Covid-19

The Dutch respondents consisted of 4 students and 3 full-time workers. The Swedish respondents consisted of 5 students, a few working part time, and 2 full-time workers. The change in occupation among all respondents seems to be similar. In both countries, changes in occupation can be found. Some Swedish respondents have experienced difficulty in finding employment since the pandemic. This resulted in some respondents deciding to continue studying instead of searching for a full-time job. According to the theory of Simosi et al. (2015), these Swedish respondents changed their career path due to the crisis. While this wasn’t particularly mentioned by one of the Dutch respondents, the case of Dutch interviewee 6 indicates that the pandemic affected his or her career path due to him or her having to accept a customer service job instead of an occupation related to his or her Bachelor’s degree in media due to a current low unemployment rate within that field as a result of Covid-19. This person experienced a career change as a result of a crisis and having to adapt to the situation (Simosi et al., 2015).

While all Dutch respondents expressed to not have been financially affected by Covid-19 in a negative way, two of the Swedish respondents experienced the opposite. The restrictions play a key role here since the two Swedish respondents were working in the Horeca industry. This aligns with the findings from Campa et al. (2021) regarding jobs affected by COVID-19 in Sweden and Lemieux et al. (2020) stating that the jobs most likely to be affected during the pandemic are public-facing roles such as food services and accommodations. While the Dutch Horeca industry came to a halt as a result of the governmental restrictions, most of the Swedish Horeca industry remained open but with some limitations as to opening hours and the number of people that were allowed inside a closed space. This seemed to have a bigger impact on the Swedish Horeca industry than assumed. The respondents financially affected by these changes resulted in having a lower income and therefore only buying out of necessity and seeking cheaper alternatives in regards to products (Boutsouki, 2019).

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These respondents confirm the theory of Mckenzie (2006) due to this group preferring basic necessities such as vegetables, eggs and grains and focusing less to none on semi durable goods such as entertainment products, glassware and clothes. In terms of the lockdown and restrictions, both respondent groups shared similarities. Both groups experienced negativity towards the governmental restrictions. With the Netherlands having a strict lockdown and curfew in place at the time of the interviews, their opinion on the restrictions and the effect it had on them was more evident than with the Swedish respondents.

The common answer regarding the impact of the restrictions on the respondent’s life seemed to mostly have affected the social life of the Dutch respondents as they were more limited in seeing their friends. For the Dutch respondents, not being able to spend time with family and friends resulted in being more individually focused and therefore changing their buying behavior. Based on Kotler and Armstrong (2006) consumer behavior factors, the social factor is assumed to have been changed the most during the pandemic for the Dutch respondents as individualism became more evident than being with other people. While restrictions were not as evident with the Swedish respondents, their negativity towards the restrictions regarding their social life was a clear pattern throughout the interviews as well. An assumption is that small governmental restrictions of the Swedish parliament regarding the number of people in one room, sitting in a restaurant, etc resulted in the respondents less likely to want to spend time with their friends. According to Alimen and Bayraktaroglu (2011) adjustments that consumers make during a crisis, some of the Dutch respondents resulted in seeking simplicity due to the pandemic due to them becoming more individually focused. Expenditure on fun elements for friends and groups changed into individual items such as alone dinner and clothes for the person itself.

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5.4 The impact of the pandemic on product consumption

The important element within this theme consisted of the financial stability the respondents possessed during the pandemic. This would ultimately determine the impact of the pandemic on their product consumption as well as other factors such as governmental restrictions. None of the respondents from both countries mentioned Diallo and Kaswengi (2016) factors being price, quantity and promotion as main drivers for their product consumption. The respondents’ income, profession and family size are however assumed to have had a bigger impact (Diallo & Kaswengi, 2016). All of the Dutch consumers had stable incomes in which they didn’t necessarily have to think of their finances. However, they still saw differences regarding their spending behavior on food and clothes. One of the main drivers behind the change of product consumption with the Dutch consumers consisted of boredom and the availability and accessibility of stores since many of these stores were closed. There are similarities between the respondents from both countries. Both respondent groups consisted of groups that shifted towards buying more clothes and some that started to buy fewer clothes. The motivation seems to be personal but similar.

While the Swedish respondents expressed to not have changed their behavior regarding the consumption of food, some of the Dutch consumers expressed to have changed this due to the restrictions. This resulted in buying more food for individual use or ordering food from a restaurant since seated dining was prohibited. Both respondent groups found themselves favoring certain types of products during the pandemic. For the Swedish respondents, these products consisted of sanitizers, vitamins, and healthy food. The Dutch respondents were more diverse in their answers ranging from favoring toilet paper to interior design to take away food. While a direct explanation for both respondent groups and their favoring products cannot be found, an assumption towards Kotler & Armstrong’s (2018) consumer behavior model can be made. The favored products can be related to the culture of the country where Sweden is ranked as the most health-conscious country in the world (Trimble, 2018).

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All of the Dutch respondents and almost all Swedish respondents expressed to not have made any large sacrifices regarding the purchase of food and clothes during the pandemic. This finding can be related to respondents' experience with empty shelves. Both respondent groups expressed to have experienced empty shelves in The Netherlands and Sweden. However, the common answer consisted of panic buying and empty shelves being present at the early stages of the pandemic. While retailers and consumers have had time to adapt to the new situation, empty shelves are not common in both countries anymore according to all respondents. It is therefore expected that large sacrifices could have only been a part of the early stage of the pandemic. This aligns with Keane and Neal (2021) that describe panic buying as a phenomenon that is mostly present during the early stages of a pandemic. They describe the duration of presence as up to 10 days after the phenomena first occurred. The good availability of food in both countries would therefore explain that almost all respondents expressed not having had to make any sacrifices during the pandemic in terms of physical products.

A common observation of the Dutch consumers regarding their retailer’s behavior was that of going more online via advertisements and in-store advertisements. Only one Swedish respondent expressed the same observation. The Dutch shopping restrictions are believed to have played a big role here as clothing shops were forced to close during a big period of the pandemic. This wasn't the same for the Swedish respondents and companies in The Netherlands were forced to online sales during a specific period of time.

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6. Conclusion

This chapter will present the conclusion of the whole thesis and will discuss the theoretical implications, practical implications, the limitations and future research.

The global Covid-19 pandemic affected the whole world socially, economically, mentally, and physically as a result, consumers' everyday life regarding consumption has dramatically changed. Due to the worldwide impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and because of the lack of empirical data and studies on the phenomena of consumer consumption during a pandemic, this thesis explored what the impact of global health crises are on consumer consumption and how Covid-19 affects consumer product preferences. In this paper, the authors wanted to find out the impact on consumer behavior, buying behavior, product consumption, and the factors affecting their buying behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic on Sweden’s and Netherlands consumers and how the retailers respond to the customer and to the situation in this crisis.

The authors tried to understand whether this crisis affects both countries' consumer consumption patterns and to retailers equally or whether there are few or large differences among consumers' buying behavior because both countries have or face different rules, restrictions and lockdowns given by the country’s government. Literature was first reviewed to understand what consumer behavior is, buying behavior is, product consumption is both in the context of general and in the context of crises that are relevant when buying products or consumptions and more above to examine the research from previous studies on changes in consumptions in crises. The literature on buying behavior, product consumption in crisis, and the Covid-19 crisis is not the same crisis as financial, economic, or health crisis but it helps to analyze the study on the effect of Covid-19 on consumer consumption. The findings indicated that both countries' consumers were affected mentally, socially, and somehow affected financially but both countries face different restrictions such as Sweden did not implement any lockdown or strict restrictions, so consumers do shop physically and often go outside whereas Dutch people did online shopping as they face strict restrictions.

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Both nationalities changed their buying behavior in terms of food and clothes. Dutch and Swedish consumers were less likely to shop for clothes physically, due to personal reasons or due to the closure of clothing stores in The Netherlands. The Swedish respondents expressed the same reason for buying more online. However, this seems to change when looking at the online buying behaviour where both respondent groups expressed the desire to purchase more clothes online. When it comes to food. Both nationalities expressed preference. These varied however among the respondents and a clear conclusion is therefore difficult. Higher quality, cheaper alternatives, sustainable products were all answers that were given. In addition, we can conclude that the Dutch respondents become significantly more individual focused due to the strict lockdown and restrictions of the country. This played a significant role in their product preferences and consumer behavior.

Retailers and the respondent faced different situations at the beginning of the pandemic like panic buying. Swedish and Dutch consumers found empty shelves and not available products when the pandemic started. This however changed within a short period of time and everything was available again. Both nationalities state that during Covid-19, they changed their consumer behavior. This consists of favoring certain products like toilet paper, buying less clothes, cooking more at home and buying clothes and/or food online out of boredom. After doing a literature review and conducting interviews, it can be concluded that Covid-19 affected both countries' consumer consumption and product preferences. As a result, they changed their buying behavior to cope with the situation.

6.1 Theoretical Implications

In subchapter 2.2.1 and 2.3.1 literature on the topics of buying behavior in a crisis and product consumption during the crisis were discussed. The Covid-19 pandemic behaved differently than the financial and economic crisis of the past. Literature helps to analyze the effects of Covid-19 on product consumption and buying behavior. Business studies might benefit from this research by describing product consumption during a crisis, consumer buying behavior in a crisis, consumer behavior toward the crisis, and what factors have an impact on it during the crisis.

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6.2 Practical Implications

The findings of the thesis illustrated that consumers were mostly affected socially. Depending on the occupation of the respondent, the finances showed to have been impacted as well. The majority of the respondents described themselves as intermediate, they buy reasonably priced products. On the topic of food and clothes, the findings indicate that consumers' buying behavior was changed mostly in the clothing industry rather than the food industry due to the pandemic. Because of the ongoing restrictions, people didn’t have the need to spend money on clothes since they cannot leave the house as often as they wish. From this study, marketers can take a strategy for attracting consumers to buy more clothes during crises by giving discounts or giving free items by buying one particular product to sustain customers. During Covid-19 it has become evident that consumers preferred to buy certain types of products such as hand sanitizer, vitamins, healthy food, toilet paper, etc. and it has as well been seen that prices become a non-factor for the consumer as they focus more on quality products. Perhaps in the future during a similar kind of crisis retailers can reduce the number of discounts offered. To increase profitability, they might stock the higher brand of the kind of a product as it is demandable during this type of crisis.

6.3 Limitation

The researchers reviewed many articles and journals, studied previous research in this context and have conducted video interviews. However, this research still has some limitations. First, the study was conducted in a specific limited time in the pandemic which might change later in the pandemic and might come up with new results and new aspects. Second, the number of respondents is small based on the population size of Sweden and the Netherlands. Third, the interviewees of Sweden are immigrants whereas in the Netherlands 5 interviewees are natives and 2 are from mixed nationalities so there is cultural variance while collecting data. Fourth, the interviews were conducted online via Zoom because both countries are maintaining social distance which has limited the researcher’s ability to look for more insights from the interviewees. The interviews were done through audio and video, with people the researchers know as there is no chance to meet with unknown people and take interviews.

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6.4 Future Research

In this paper, there are future research opportunities. The current crisis is uncertain, the study we conducted at a specific time might change later in the pandemic and might come up with new results and new aspects. Future studies should be conducted to get more reliable results as time might change the situation. It would be more reliable if data is gathered from native Swedish and unknown people which is currently difficult as people don't want to meet with each other to avoid infection. Therefore, for future research it is important to understand the opinion or behavior of the native consumers. By face-to-face interviews, the researchers can get the actual expression and can understand as well as analyze the phenomena more accurately. To acquire better results, it would be useful to increase the interviewees’ numbers to get an extensive view of the phenomenon. Every day new information is coming, so these phenomena need to be studied to update with the ongoing situation.

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Appendices

Appendix A: Interview guide

Demographics Age: Gender: Living situation: (e.g., living alone/with others, renting apartment/house, owning apartment/house)

Introduction Hi, we are two students from Mälardalen University. Currently, we are writing our master thesis on the topic of product preference during the Covid-19 pandemic regarding food and clothes.

Method Semi-structured interviews using 7 residents from The Netherlands and 7 from Sweden. The residents have been randomly selected and not based on their age.

1. Could you give a brief description of yourself and what you do? ● Follow up question: What was your occupation prior to the pandemic?

2. How has the pandemic affected you on a general level? ● How has the pandemic affected your social life, finances, health (both mental and physical).

3. Can you tell us the restrictions you have experienced in NL/SE put on by the government? ● Follow up question: how has this affected you? ● What have you done to overcome the lockdown and restrictions?

4. What type of label would you give yourself as a consumer? (Like: premium, budget, intermediate). ● Follow up question: Has this changed since the start of Covid-19?

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5. What played a key role in your spending and consumption behavior during the pandemic? ● Follow up question: How important is the price and quality of food during the pandemic for you? ● Follow up question: What type of differences do you see when comparing your spending on food and clothes now as opposed to pre-Covid-19? ● Follow up question: Do you favor certain types of products now as opposed to pre-Covid- 19? ● Follow up question: Have you had to make any sacrifices regarding purchasing products such as food and/or clothes that you usually favor? ● Follow up question: Why do you think that is?

6. Has the pandemic affected how you buy food online or physically? ● Follow up question: Why do you think that is?

7. Did you experience any form of panic buying during Covid-19?

8. Is there anything interesting or astonishing that you noticed in the retailer’s behavior during Covid-19? ● Follow up question: availability of food. Experience with empty shelves.

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Appendix B: Transcriptions

Swedish respondents

Respondent 1

Demographics Age: 35 Gender: Female Living situation: living alone, Owning apartment/house.

1. Interviewer: Could you give a brief description of yourself and what you do? Respondent: My name is X. I am working as a restaurant manager. I live with my husband and kid. Interviewer: What was your occupation prior to the pandemic? Respondent: My occupation was the same as now. 2. Interviewer: How has the pandemic affected you on a general level? How has the pandemic affected your social life, finances, health (both mental and physical)? Respondent: Yes, I would say it affected me socially, financially, and also health. Financially for example before we have lots of opportunities for work but because of pandemics, we don’t have this opportunity. People are not going outside so much as I am working in a restaurant industry it affects our business and that’s why our working hours are also reduced. Socially of course it affects me because Sweden gives restrictions like if you are sick stay at home, don’t go outside much, make distance from people. When people are not secure financially of course it affects them mentally which creates other diseases also like depression. For example, my kid could play with others, so we have to stay all the time at home. 3. Interviewer: Can you tell us the restrictions you have experienced in NL/SE put on by the government? How has this affected you? Respondent: Not so much but also restrictions like at present we cannot meet more than 8 people at a place and also if we go to a restaurant for eating there is also restriction. I want to share one experience recently me and my husband visited IKEA for having breakfast, so they told us to seat down per person per table, we both living in the same house, spending the whole day with each other but because of the restriction, we had to sit separately with 1.5-meter distance. The government neither gives us punishment nor gives us strict rules but orally gives us restrictions

67 to control the pandemic. For example, I often go to my workplace by train, and it’s crowded every day, so the government gives restrictions but does not strictly impose on people. Interviewer: What have you done to overcome the lockdown and restrictions? Respondent: Nothing special but what I did is that I canceled all my vacations. I don’t want to affect myself and also others. So, we cancel all the tours from the beginning of the pandemic. So, I will say now we don’t go outside often, and also before I visited shops and restaurants several times with my kid but now, I rarely go there. 4. Interviewer: What type of label would you give yourself as a consumer? (Like: premium, budget, intermediate). Respondent: Before the pandemic, I would say I was a premium consumer but now I don’t know what will happen in the future, so I prefer what I need, and also, I want to save money. So, you can say I am living a very normal life Interviewer: Has this changed since the start of Covid-19? Respondent: Yes. Because before the pandemic my husband and I had a good income but now it’s changed.

5. Interviewer: What played a key role in your spending and consumption behavior during the pandemic? How important is the price and quality of food during the pandemic for you? Respondent: Before the pandemic, if I get something that is good quality, I always take it but now if I found something that is not so high quality but is medium then I buy it but in a limited portion because maybe next time I will get the offer on the product. Now price matters for me so when I buy, I look at the price first, then quality. Interviewer: What type of differences do you see when comparing your spending on food and clothes now as opposed to pre-Covid-19? Respondent: Of course, from the year 2020-2021 I didn’t spend much money on my clothes as I have already, and I think it is now as extra demand. Interviewer: Do you favor certain types of products now as opposed to pre-Covid-19? Respondent: Of course, hand sanitizer which I use now regularly. Before I washed my hands normally with soap but now, I wash for 30 seconds and also using gloves etc. Interviewer: Have you had to make any sacrifices regarding purchasing products such as food and/or clothes that you usually favor? Respondent: Now I buy the necessary products. For example, we like cookies so much so when we buy cookies from the shop, we always buy high-quality cookies. But now I try to make cookies at home by myself to make cookies more healthy as well as to reduce my cost. 6.Interviewer: Has the pandemic affected how you buy food online or physically?

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Respondent: Last year in May-June we ordered food online from Mathem as we know that their food is very good but also high price. We ordered because we didn't want to go outside at that time but now, we go to the physical store to buy our food. I don’t buy clothes for me in this situation, but I buy clothes for my son and I prefer online. 7.Interviewer: Did you experience any form of panic buying during Covid-19? Respondent: I was ready for panic buying. I wanted to buy and stock more but my husband disagrees with me. He said if we buy more than we need then other people might not get these things. I said maybe the fries price will be high so he said then you will eat less. 8.Interviewer: Is there anything interesting or astonishing that you noticed in the retailer’s behavior during Covid-19? Respondent: We always bought a dairy product like red label milk from Lidl but at the beginning of the pandemic all the shelves were empty. And also, I think for myself I found that after starting the pandemic they also increase a little bit price of all grocery products.

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Respondent 2

Demographics Age: 28 Gender: Female Living situation: Living with husband, renting an apartment.

1. Interviewer: Could you give a brief description of yourself and what you do? Respondent: I am X. I am 28 years old and living in the Hallunda, botkyrka community. I myself am a student of master degree and also doing SFI and my husband is a full-time worker and also doing some training. Interviewer: What was your occupation prior to the pandemic? Respondent: It’s kind of the same as I said Before I am a full-time student. Before the pandemic also I was studying and also searching for a job. So, the things are the same 2. Interviewer: How has the pandemic affected you on a general level? How has the pandemic affected your social life, finances, health (both mental and physical)? Respondent: As we are foreigners. The financial part is a big issue, as we didn’t face lockdown but many people loss their job. We also went through that phase. My husband also lost his job beginning of the pandemic then we have to search for other options, but it was very difficult to find the job, most of the restaurant either they are closed, they had some restriction, they don’t have enough customer so they didn’t need employee but later we managed it. In a social perspective, people in Sweden are quite reserved, they enjoy their private life. Beginning of the pandemic some of my neighbors could not come out for two months, people were not interested to get together because of safety purposes. Mentally I feel very depressed as in my family we are two people me and my husband and he used to get work and I stay at home all the time, although because of pandemic people do not come to the home for a visit, not also like to go outside in park or restaurant for gathering. 3. Interviewer: Can you tell us the restrictions you have experienced in NL/SE put on by the government? Respondent: I would say that not much restriction we have a face. I found some limited shop maintain restrictions like 15 or 16 people at a time. For example, there is a second-hand shop in Hallunda where they allow only 30 people at a time. And you have to maintain line and have to stand by two-meter distance, and they are following very strictly. I saw there is one employee who

70 stands at the entrance who checked how many people enter. Not all of the shops following that. I didn’t find lots of restrictions. Interviewer: Follow-up question: how has this affected you? Respondent: Things are not the same as before you have to maintain distance, even if you are healthy another person might not like it if you stand closer to them, I found people don’t not like it. It’s not so much restriction but generally, people don’t like for example in public transport in train or bus people don’t like to sit next to you. People are more aware and sensible in it. Interviewer: What have you done to overcome the lockdown and restrictions? Respondent: When I go to the shop I try to follow if there is a restriction. I respect their rules. 4. Interviewer: What type of label would you give yourself as a consumer? (Like premium, budget, intermediate). Respondent: I am a budget and also an intermediate consumer. Interviewer: Has this changed since the start of Covid-19? Respondent: I am quite the same because we didn’t face any lockdown and much restrictions by govt. 5. Interviewer: What played a key role in your spending and consumption behavior during the pandemic? Respondent: When Covid-19 started I used to stay home all the time, I go for shop whenever I needed only. Because of the situation, I put myself in a restriction. Normally I shop every day. I used to go grocery or centrum every day if I like something I buy even if I don’t shop anything I go there. Interviewer: How important is the price and quality of food during the pandemic for you? Respondent: I think it goes hand to hand. I may pay 10kr more if it worth it. If I found the same product at a reasonable price in another shop I will buy it and it is the same for me in this pandemic situation. Interviewer: Follow-up question: What type of differences do you see when comparing your spending’s on food and clothes now as opposed to pre-Covid-19? Respondent: As we are now in a critical situation, we don’t know how Covid will stay, we don’t know how long the financial problem will run. Now we think twice when if we gonna buy unnecessary things. It makes me think twice. It affects me in that way, necessary things I cannot control to buy. Interviewer: Follow-up question: Do you favor certain types of products now as opposed to pre- Covid-19? Respondent: Yes, hand sanitizer and hand wash. Lots of shops giving a discount on handwash.

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Interviewer: Follow-up question: Have you had to make any sacrifices regarding purchasing products such as food and/or clothes that you usually favor? Respondent: I didn’t remember if I sacrificed anything. As I said I can limit my purchase 6. Interviewer: Has the pandemic affected how you buy food online or physically? Respondent: NO, If we faced lockdown maybe it could be a different scenario. Because there's no lockdown so I can go outside and as I am a young person, I don’t fall into the risk group. I can go shopping. As I am healthy it doesn’t change anything for me. 7. Interviewer: Did you experience any form of panic buying during Covid-19? Respondent: NO. me and my husband didn’t do that but maybe if we were in Italy and the USA where strict lockdown we might do. In Sweden, at the beginning of the pandemic, I saw other families who did panic buying. 8. Interviewer: Is there anything interesting or astonishing that you noticed in the retailer’s behavior during Covid-19? Respondent: I remember once me and my friend went shopping that time, he gives cash money to the employee of Kassa and the employee asked my friend are you healthy? Do you have Covid? She asked before receiving the money by hand as she was afraid and we said we are healthy, so this is very different behavior from a retailer we faced. It was interesting. Interviewer: Follow-up question: availability of food. Experience with empty shelves. Respondent: When people did panic buying I found some necessary things like milk are empty. But people are now more used to it, so the scenario is different.

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Respondent 3

Demographics Age: 26 Gender: Male Living situation: Living with family members, owning an apartment/house.

1. Interviewer: Could you give a brief description of yourself and what you do? Respondent: My name is X. I am from Syria and I am 26 years old. Now I am studying for master’s and I am married. Interviewer: What was your occupation prior to the pandemic? I was basically a student. I finish my bachelor’s last year. Because of the pandemic, It was a risk for work so deciding to continue to study and doing a master’s now. 2. Interviewer: How has the pandemic affected you on a general level? How has the pandemic affected your social life, finances, health (both mental and physical)? Respondent: Financially absolutely it was a bit difficult as there was no job. I tried to do work in other types of the job, but it was difficult until now to find the job. Socially affected me because I am a very social person used to going out so much, now I don’t meet my friends like before and family members. As we know people can adjust, we adjusted and can say better than last year. I can say I used to travel a minimum of 3 times a year but from the 2 years I did go so it’s unhealthy for me, It’s more about the mental side. 3. Interviewer: Can you tell us the restrictions you have experienced in NL/SE put on by the government? Respondent: the most hated one is everything closed at 8.30 nut before it was 10.30 which was ok. You cannot go meet friends because they close early this is annoying. I want to do my wedding party because I didn’t do it until now, but I don’t know how It will be if I can do it or not, can I invite people until which time staff like that. Interviewer: What have you done to overcome the lockdown and restrictions? Respondent: Now all the meetings are home, so it’s less than usual. Instead of meeting like every week but now once in a month in someone’s house. You found a solution like going out to the park, walk. It is difficult to find a place to sit in the restaurant, but we used to get it because it is more than a year. 4. Interviewer: What type of label would you give yourself as a consumer? (Like: premium, budget, intermediate).

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Respondent: You can say intermediate. I am not a very shopping person. I prefer to go once or twice a year and buy like 5-6 thousand. I don’t like premium products, I don’t care about brands, I am studying marketing, so I know it is bullshit. I put money for traveling for my services, not for products. Interviewer: Has this changed since the start of Covid-19? Respondent: I can say I am less now more than usual. You don’t need clothes as you are not going outside. I didn’t buy anything from the last 6 months. Now it is always home so why do I buy. 5. Interviewer: What played a key role in your spending and consumption behavior during the pandemic? Respondent: The key role during Covid 19 for me was saving money for purchasing. Instead of eating an inexpensive meal at a restaurant that I want to enjoy is better than eating at home. You stay home and can have the same amount of food. Interviewer: How important is the price and quality of food during the pandemic for you? Respondent: Quality is always necessary, I don’t care about the price so much when I like the product. As I said I prefer not to buy the original. Interviewer: What type of differences do you see when comparing your spending on food and clothes now as opposed to pre-Covid-19? Respondent: The differences in clothes are huge, usually you had to have clothes but now I don’t care now about clothes. Food is the same as before. I was a person who liked sitting and eating in a restaurant but now I prefer at home. Interviewer: Do you favor certain types of products now as opposed to pre-Covid-19? Respondent: I can say soft drinks. I consume most now. Interviewer: Have you had to make any sacrifices regarding purchasing products such as food and/or clothes that you usually favor? Respondent: For me personally no. But last year I remember my parents were quarantined. At that time I purchase products for them so I would say that is my sacrifice. 6. Interviewer: Has the pandemic affected how you buy food online or physically? Respondent: Not me personally. I am still that of a person who may be ordered online but I go and order physically to take food. 7. Interviewer: Did you experience any form of panic buying during Covid-19? Respondent: Last year, it was kind of panic because I didn’t want to go outside so much. I consume staff that is for a long period to avoid going shopping often like toilet paper, washing products, conservative food like pasta, corn, bread, that you can use a long time.

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8. Interviewer: Is there anything interesting or astonishing that you noticed in the retailer’s behavior during Covid-19? availability of food. Experience with empty shelves. Respondent: March April last year, it was unprofessional because some shops limited products and also minimize how much you can buy.

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Respondent 4

Demographics Age: 33 Gender: Male Living situation: Living alone, renting an apartment/house.

1. Interviewer: Could you give a brief description of yourself and what you do? Respondent: I am X and I am 33 years old. Now I am studying for a master's in International marketing. I have part-time work in Zalando. Interviewer: What was your occupation prior to the pandemic? Respondent: I was a photographer before the pandemic. 2. Interviewer: How has the pandemic affected you on a general level? How has the pandemic affected your social life, finances, health (both mental and physical)? Respondent: The pandemic affected me directly with my job. Last year in march (beginning of the pandemic) many people lost their job, were fired, or had some problems financially with the company where they worked and this affected me to find another job. To work in Sweden is very tough for me as I am a graduate from another country, my homeland. So I started studying master’s to increase my experience in this marketing field. Mentally or physically it didn’t affect me but keeping distance, reducing going out, sitting home is negative which affects me little. Sometimes you can say negative, the first two months of the pandemic March April we have a tough time after that we deal with it. 3. Interviewer: Can you tell us the restrictions you have experienced in NL/SE put on by the government? Respondent: There is no direct restriction. Just trade is affected, many companies closed or bankrupt, for people in the beginning there are no much restrictions. I have friends from Europe. They said to me that I am in Sweden and I can go out. Interviewer: How has this affected you? Respondent: No, not directly. Actually, I live by myself, I have no problem going out by myself. I used to go out, hanging out, I am a social person, so it is important for me but for the situation you have to be aware not only for you but also for all the people. 4. Interviewer: What type of label would you give yourself as a consumer? (Like: premium, budget, intermediate).

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Respondent: I am an intermediate consumer. As I said I live by myself, so I don’t need much stuff I need only important things. Interviewer: Has this changed since the start of Covid-19? Respondent: No actually, I am the same as before. I shop weekly for food or personal hygiene.

5. Interviewer: What played a key role in your spending and consumption behavior during the pandemic? How important is the price and quality of food during the pandemic for you? Respondent: Before the pandemic, I wanted to try everything low price, high price, high quality, low quality, I tried food from different places but while the pandemic I fix on food quality like how many vitamins foods have, I think more about my health by eating healthy foods. Interviewer: What type of differences do you see when comparing your spending on food and clothes now as opposed to pre-Covid-19? Respondent: For food, there are not much differences. But clothes yes because for example every two months I buy new clothes to wear but for the pandemic, It 6 months and more. I don’t go out like before. Interviewer: Do you favor certain types of products now as opposed to pre-Covid-19? Respondent: I took vitamins. Interviewer: Have you had to make any sacrifices regarding purchasing products such as food and/or clothes that you usually favor? Respondent: I don’t think there is a direct effect on my consumption because of Covid-19 but when I lost my job, I thought more about how to fix my economy. 6. Interviewer: Has the pandemic affected how you buy food online or physically? Respondent: No actually. The whole time I didn’t buy food online. Even from the restaurant, I prefer to go and eat there, grocery everything physically. 7. Interviewer: Did you experience any form of panic buying during Covid-19? Respondent: No actually. First two months of last year I watched news where shelves were empty and people panicked. I went to my nearest store and I found everything but only spaghetti was missing. 8. Interviewer: Is there anything interesting or astonishing that you noticed in the retailer’s behavior during Covid-19? Respondent: As I said like spaghetti for example not found in the store. Nothing interesting I noticed.

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Respondent 5

Demographics Age: 30 Gender: Male Living situation: living with family, renting apartment/house.

1. Interviewer: Could you give a brief description of yourself and what you do? Respondent: My name is X, I live in Norsborg with my family. I am working as a restaurant manager. Interviewer: What was your occupation prior to the pandemic? Respondent: My occupation was the same as now. 2. Interviewer: How has the pandemic affected you on a general level? How has the pandemic affected your social life, finances, health (both mental and physical). Respondent: In social life what I faced was that we need to maintain distance physically, socially in everywhere, there are also some restrictions that we cannot gather in the community that's why I feel this is affected in me in social circumstances. Financially I would say it is very important for me because when the pandemic started our restaurant has been closed due to the recommendations put by government recommendations that restaurants need to close by 8. Before the pandemic our restaurant was closed at 12 so that's why our working hours are reduced due to pandemic. So, we get less hours and less hours means less money. So that's why I also faced a financial crisis a little bit. I was affected by Covid 19 and it was like for 2 weeks so yes it physically affected me. Mentally I would say after getting well from Covid 19 I started to feel less energy so when you feel less energy you cannot do work properly which gives you stress. 3. Interviewer: Can you tell us the restrictions you have experienced in NL/SE put on by the government? Respondent: When I get time I always go to the mosque. When the government put restrictions on not gathering so many people at a time at a place, I noticed that the mosque is closed in Friday prayer. Interviewer: how has this affected you? Respondent: I would say when I go for prayer, I feel mentally satisfied for myself so somehow it affected me. Interviewer: What have you done to overcome the lockdown and restrictions?

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Respondent: Sweden did not give lockdown; they gave only restrictions which people had to follow. We didn't feel like other countries who give lockdowns, so we just followed the recommendations put by the government and that's how I think I overcame the situation. 4. Interviewer: What type of label would you give yourself as a consumer? (Like: premium, budget, intermediate). Respondent: I can put myself as an intermediate consumer. Interviewer: Has this changed since the start of Covid-19? Respondent: No, it doesn't change. It is the same as before. 5. Interviewer: What played a key role in your spending and consumption behavior during the pandemic? Respondent: There is no key role which influences towards my spending and consumption behavior during this pandemic Interviewer: How important is the price and quality of food during the pandemic for you? Respondent: Quality is most important for me. It is the same as before. Interviewer: What type of differences do you see when comparing your spending on food and clothes now as opposed to pre-Covid-19? Respondent: I didn't see any differences if I compared my spending on food and clothes. It is the same as before. Interviewer: Do you favor certain types of products now as opposed to pre-Covid-19? Respondent: Yes, during pandemic hand sanitizer and vitamin supplements such as vitamin C which is very important which I now use frequently. Interviewer: Have you had to make any sacrifices regarding purchasing products such as food and/or clothes that you usually favor? Respondent: No, I did not make any sacrifices for purchasing products. 6. Interviewer: Has the pandemic affected how you buy food online or physically? Respondent: I always buy food physically, as there is no lockdown in Sweden, so it doesn't affect me. 7. Interviewer: Did you experience any form of panic buying during Covid-19? Respondent: I didn't experience any panic buying but I noticed some people are panicked when the pandemic start 8. Interviewer: Is there anything interesting or astonishing that you noticed in the retailer’s behavior during Covid-19? Respondent: No nothing from the retailer’s side. But I remembered one incident, every month I had to go shop to buy diapers for my kid. When the pandemic started I went to the shop to buy

79 diaper and I found there is no diaper when I asked to the staff they told me that people took 5-10 packets of diapers so all diaper are finished and they will bring diaper next week I have to come next week.

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Respondent 6

Demographics Age: 26 Gender: Male Living situation: living with parents.

Interviewer: All right. Thank you for being here today and willing to take part in this research. As I said, we are two students from Mälardalen University that are currently writing our master thesis on the topic of product preferences regarding food and clothes during the Covid-19 pandemic. Respondent: Yes. 1. Interviewer: I'm going to start with a general question. Could you give a brief description of yourself and what you do? Respondent: All right, so hello, my name is X, and I started the international marketing program, the master’s at Mälardalen University. And I also have a job. I work at Nordea business banking. So, it's like a call center. But for all the companies who have Nordea as a bank. Yeah. So that's the most of what I do, study, and go to the job. Sometimes I'm trying to work on some websites to create some websites, drop shipping, sell, and buy things. So, but that's just a side thing that I'm working with. It's not a lot of income as my job. Yeah. So that's it. I live in Eskilstuna with my family, with my mother, with my father, I have a brother, I have a sister. But they don't live with us. They live in other apartments. Twenty-six-year-old. Originally from Syria. I was born in Sweden. Yeah, I think that's it. Interviewer: And what was your occupation before the pandemic? Was that the same? Respondent: My occupations? Interviewer: Yes. Were you also a student and working at Nordea Bank before the pandemic? Respondent: Yeah, I was before the pandemic I was also working. So, I started my job in January 2020. So, it was almost like the start of the pandemic. People didn't realize it yet. I don't know how to say it. But, yeah, I started before. And the study I started for the first time in 2016. If you want me to be super honest, in 2014 I went to a program innovation program and I had maybe two courses and then I dropped off. Then I start to work and 2016 I started MDH, the International marketing program for three years. So yeah, I studied from 2016 to 2019, start to work and then 2020 I started the master and Nordea. 2. Interviewer: OK, ok. And how has the pandemic affected you on a general level.

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Respondent: It affected me a lot, if I'm honest. Like, before you can go out, you can eat with your friends, you can go clubbing, you can travel. You could do whatever you want. So, yeah, the pandemic, it affected me in a physical way. You don't go to the gym as often and then how to say psychology way, mental, mentally way, you don't feel as happy as you were before. Because you're so limited. You're so limited after the pandemic. So, yeah. You don't feel as good as you were before, but at the same time it affected me in a better way. Like you don't waste your time outside and hanging out with your friends and you don't spend the same amount of money as you did before. So, there are some positive things that maybe one don't think about. But yeah, so it affected me in a negative way and in a good way. I started to focus on the important things in your life after the pandemic. Interviewer: And like in regard to your finances, has the pandemic affected your finances? Respondent: To be honest, I think it affected my finance in a good way, not a bad way. Because, yeah, I got the job before the pandemic. So, however, my income will come, and people start to call more often to the banks during the pandemic. They got some opportunities with loans and these kinds of things. So, for one industry, it can be like a good financial change. And for other it can be very bad. But for me it affected me in a good way. I receive my income and I don't waste as much. So, it's not a negative way, personally. Interviewer: OK, interesting. And can you describe the restrictions that you've personally experienced in Sweden that were put on by the government? Respondent: Restrictions like this should explain them or? Interviewer: Yeah, so the restrictions that you personally experienced. Respondent: All right. All right. Yeah, I experience it. I think every day, like wherever you go, you have to. There are like posters or papers that say that you need two-meter distance. If I go with, let's say four friends to a restaurant, the chance is big that an employee will come and say it's maximum two at this table. So, like, you can't really hang out with your friends outside. So, I experienced that. But everybody needs like a distance from where they sit. It can be in the school, too, It can be in the gym, the bus. So, yeah, I think that everybody experiences it every day if they go out of their house. Interviewer: And how have these restrictions affected you? Interviewer: It affected me in a bad way because, I have understanding why they do these restrictions, of course, because of the virus. But like, I have never been sick, thank God for a disease like Corona. So, on one hand, I think maybe it affected me in a good way. Maybe the restrictions are the reason why I'm not sick. And at the same time, it's boring, like, you can't hang

82 out with your friends. You can sit close to them. You can't. It's a lot of things that you can't do. So that's why I have to say the same thing. It's both good and bad for me. Interviewer: And have you done anything to overcome the lockdown and restrictions? Like have you done anything to make it more pleasant for you? Respondent: More pleasant for me? No, like to dodge the restrictions? Interviewer: Well, I mean, like for instance different ways of meeting up with your friends. You just described the one with the restaurant and your friends and maybe you find like different ways of still seeing your friends, maybe, like at home? Respondent: All right. Yeah, I understand. I understand. Yeah, for sure. Like, let's say Friday or Saturday we go and visit each other's house more times. The digital world have been like extended a lot to as well. And as you already know, like in the school, everything is digital. You don't have any physical lectures. Everything is Zoom. And it's the same thing when it comes to work. People work from home when they book meetings at the bank, it's digital. But if I go back to the question, if I should answer the question. Yeah, it's like you said, we visit each other like more privately, in the house and we talk more on the phone. If we have something important then we go to the Zoom meetings and these kinds of things so that the digital way has been improved. 4. Interviewer: And now a few questions about you as a consumer. What type of label would you give yourself as a consumer? Like I can give a few examples. There is, for instance, being a premium consumer, which means that you tend to buy more expensive products in food and clothes. A budget means that you tend to buy like the more cheaper alternatives and intermediate means that you are in between the two. So, what type of label would you give yourself? Respondent: If we start with the clothes. I would say that I'm the consumer that is loyal to some brands and who would actually pay a little bit more to get these Nike sneakers for example. Did you have some alternatives, as you said before? Interviewer: No. I mean, those are just examples. But you can definitely give yourself a different label than I just described. Respondent: All right. All right. Yeah, I think I'm the consumer that spends more. Both on food and clothes. I think that Covid has affected my consumer behavior. Before Covid we were more looking to get the cheapest, but at the same time to have a good quality. Now, because you feel like you can't do anything that makes you happy. For example, travel. I love to travel. Now I can't travel. So, now I spend more and more money on this materialistic thing like maybe tools or a T- shirt or nice beef. Just because, like, we we can't do so much these days. So, so I spend more on these little things that maybe makes me more happy.

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Interviewer: OK, so if I understand correctly, your consumer behavior has changed throughout Covid. It has become more kind of premium? Respondent: Yeah, you have understood it correctly. Interviewer: Thank you. Do you also see any differences regarding clothes in that way, like spending on clothes? Respondent: Yeah, I would say the same thing there. Now I just spend, I don't think. If I want something, I would buy it. Interviewer: Yeah, and when you look at products in the supermarkets. Are there now certain types of products that you favor more than before Covid? Respondent: Let me think. I don't think so. Maybe you have explored more products during Covid because you visited the supermarket more often because you don't have anything to do. So maybe in that way I have explored more products, but I don't think that I have, like, if I have any favorite product. Just because of Covid now. Interviewer: And have you had to make any sacrifices regarding purchasing products of food and clothes that you usually like? Interviewer: Could you explain it a little bit more. Interviewer: Yeah, of course. So, for instance, were there certain types of products that were not available anymore that you usually really like and that you now couldn't get anymore? Respondent: No, I don't think so. Not for food and clothes. 6. Interviewer: OK. And has the pandemic affected how you buy food online or physically? Respondent: Not food, clothes yeah. But food, I never buy food online even before the pandemic or after the pandemic. But when it comes to clothes, it has affected me. Because after the pandemic, we go more to the websites, to the e-commerce. And just because we can't visit as many stores as we could before. 7. Interviewer: And did you experience any form of panic buying during Covid-19? Respondent: Panic? Interviewer: Yes, panic buying. Respondent: No. I would not say that. It is like it is 8. Interviewer: So, you didn't have any experience with empty shelves, for instance, in supermarkets? Respondent: What is empty shelves? Interviewer: Shelves are where the products are usually put on like cans of food and all these things that are on the shelf. And you personally have not experienced these shelves being empty because they are out of stock?

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Respondent: Oh, yeah. Yeah, I have experienced it a lot from the start. Many, many shelves were empty. But not now. Like, more before the Covid. Supermarkets were not as as prepared as they are today. Today they are more prepared. Interviewer: And the availability of food, was that throughout the whole pandemic, was that always available enough for you? Food? Respondent: Not always from the start. Today, yes, but not from the start of Covid. I think that the supermarkets have developed the situation, too, so they prepare themselves better nowadays. For example, today if you go to a supermarket. But before, yeah, I experienced that. It was empty and I didn't get my food that I maybe wanted to buy. 8. Interviewer: And my final question, is there anything interesting that you noticed in your retailer's behavior? So, both supermarket and your preferred shopping store? Respondent: Yeah, it's almost like I said a little bit before, it's we buy more. For me after Covid I buy more. When it comes to clothes, everything goes digital. I tend to spend a little bit more than what I did before Covid. When it comes to food, I would say that we maybe even buy more food because we can't even go to the restaurant. So that's why we sit in the kitchen and put some more food. So maybe in that way, my behavior has changed. Like to a consumer that spends more money on food. Interviewer: And in the retailer’s behavior itself. So, like your preferred retailer, the supermarket and the clothing store. Have you noticed anything interesting in how they behave during Covid? Respondent: Sorry, now I get it, the retailers. Yeah, they go more online. They focus more on e- commerce, on digital things on online things. For example, the clothes industry, there are more sales, more deals online than what it was before. At least that's what is my experience. For the food industry, they have spirit, alcohol for your hands. Let me think. Maybe that the employees are more strict that you need to keep a distance. For example, if you are in the supermarket and you buy a lot of things, and you go to the queue it's not the same as before. Like you can't just stand next to the other one in the queue. So maybe the retailers have put more focus on this and to their employees to tell their employees, to inform the customers or remind them that they always need distance. Interviewer: OK, thank you very much for that. That was my last question. I would like to thank you for your participation and wish you a very good day. Respondent: No worries. Thank you and good luck with everything.

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Respondent 7

Demographics Age: 26 Gender: Male Living situation: living with parents.

Interviewer: All right, I want to thank you again for being part of this research and taking time out of your schedule today to have this online meeting with me. So, as I said, we are two students from Mälardalen University, and currently we are writing a master thesis on the topic of product preferences regarding food and clothes during the Covid-19 pandemic. I will jump in with a general question. Could you give a brief description of yourself and what you do? Respondent: OK, so I'm a student at Mälardalen university. Doing the master’s program in international marketing and outside of school, I work at the bank and yeah, I think that's what I do. Interviewer: And what was your occupation before the pandemic? Respondent: I used to work at a clothing store. MQ the market it is called. Interviewer: And I assume you were still a student at that point as well? Respondent: Yeah. Yeah. Interviewer: OK, um, how has the pandemic affected you on a general level? Respondent: On a general level I think I feel like a bit more isolated. Because normally I play basketball. But nowadays, they closed most of the facilities where I practice. So, I'm spending more time at home. Yeah. Interviewer: And other than your social life, has the pandemic affected you in other ways, such as maybe your finances or your health? Respondent: I feel like my finances are getting better. I now have time to work a lot. So basically, all I do is go to school and then work and don't really spend much money. So yeah, like the finances are getting better. And as for my health I think that one is decreasing. Since i'm not practicing. Interviewer: I'm sorry, I couldn't hear that last part? Respondent: Like my health is decreasing. Since I'm not practicing as much as I did before. Interviewer: A you're practicing a sport. Respondent: Yeah. Yeah.

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Interviewer: Okay. Um, and can you describe the restrictions that you personally have experienced in Sweden that are put on by the government? Respondent: It's like you have to keep some sort of distance. And what else? Yeah, feel like social distancing is a major one. And you don't have to wear like a mouthpiece, but if you want to, you can do that. That happens sometimes when I'm at work. And what else. I don't know, I mean, minor things like at the gym to spray all the equipment after using it. Use hand sanitizers. So, I mean, yeah, the major one is social distance. Interviewer: And how has this affected you? Respondent: Not so much, to be honest. I mean, I feel like my life, even before the pandemic, was like sort of Corona free. I don't know how to say it. I feel like much has changed and I can't meet up with my friends as before. Interviewer: And have you done anything to overcome the lockdown and restrictions? Like, have you done anything to make it more pleasant for yourself? Respondent: Yeah. Yeah. I've been going out for walks a lot more. I think I walk in the city. I've been talking a lot more to my friends like through face time. Yeah. I think that's it really. 4. Interviewer: Now I have a question about you as a consumer. What type of label would you give yourself as a consumer? I can give a few examples. Some people can give themselves a label as a premium consumer, which means they usually tend to buy more expensive products related to food and clothes. Some people would relate to more a budget type of label where you tend to buy cheaper alternatives and then intermediate means that your kind of in the middle. Respondent: I think I like intermediate. Yeah, I think i'm that one and maybe closer to budget then to premium. Yeah, I don't buy expensive stuff. If it's easier then it's better. I mean if it's cheaper then it's better. Interviewer: And is that the same for food and clothes? Respondent: Yeah, it is. I mean, I'm a student, so I don't have that much money. I have to like to use it wisely. So. Yeah. Interviewer: And has this changed since the start of Covid? Respondent: Actually, it has. Now I find treating myself a bit more. Like now I spend more money on a decent meal. And I have been shopping clothes online, like some shoes and stuff like that. So, actually, I think I'm spending more than I did before. 5. Interviewer: And what played a key role in your spending and consumption behavior during this pandemic?

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Respondent: A key role in my spending. A key role. I think I like to treat myself. I have to enjoy myself during this time. I can't just stay at home like before. I have to do something to satisfy myself. Interviewer: Yeah, yeah. Perhaps also a little bit to entertain yourself? Respondent: Yeah. Yeah. Interviewer: And how important is the price and quality of food during the pandemic for you? Respondent: I don't know. It should be decent, I guess. Like it doesn't have to be super healthy, but it shouldn't be crap either. So, something in between. Interviewer: And would you say that this has remained the same throughout the pandemic? And if you look at before the pandemic? Respondent: Yeah, I feel like they are the same. Interviewer: What type of differences do you see when comparing your spending’s on food and clothes now as opposed to before Covid? Respondent: I mean, I think they are the same. It's just that now, like all my shoes, like they started to break down. So, it just so happens to be a pandemic going on. So that's why I'm buying a lot of stuff right now. But also, I've been working a lot more during the pandemic and therefore I have more money. So, I think that also has contributed to me spending more on clothing and food. Interviewer: And do you favor certain types of products now more than before? Respondent: No, no, I don't think so. I think they are the same as before. Interviewer: And have you had to make any sacrifices regarding purchasing products of food and clothes that you usually like? Respondent: No, no. 6. Interviewer: And has the pandemic affected how you buy food online or physically? Respondent: No, actually, I haven't bought food online. But when it comes to clothing, then now I'm actually buying more online than I would have done before. Because in Eskilstuna, they don't have any physical stores anymore. So, you have to go to the Internet to buy them or you have to travel to Stockholm. And it's like an hour away. That's too far. 7. Interviewer: Did you experience any form of panic buying during Covid-19? Respondent: Panic? Interviewer: Yes. Respondent: No, no. Actually, I was quite happy. Because it happened during my bachelor thesis. So, it was perfect for me to stay home.

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8. Interviewer: Yeah, but you didn't have any experience with empty shelves in supermarkets, for instance? Respondent: No, no. Actually, only when it came to sanitizers. Yeah. Interviewer: And a product such as canned food and pasta, for instance, those were still available in your preferred supermarket? Respondent: No, actually, they weren't. Like during the first wave all the pasta was gone. Yeah. But that was only in the beginning. Now everything is like normal. You can find everything or anything you want in the shop. Interviewer: And is there anything interesting that you noticed in the retailer’s behavior during Covid-19? Respondent: In the retailer’s behavior. Yeah, I mean, I went into an H&M before in Stockholm and now, like they always have like a guard at the door keeping count of people coming in and out. And there is always like a sanitizer when you get into the store. And then, yeah, it's just like they are practicing social distancing in the shop. So, when you stand in the que, you have to have like two-meter distance from the next customer. And I think at the supermarket, they have like a plastic window between you and the cashier. So, yeah, I mean, you always feel like a pandemic is going on because I have to always be cautious and think of what you're doing. And keeping distance and so on. Interviewer: Interesting. That was my final question. I would like to thank you for your participation and wish you a good day. Respondent: Thank you, thank you.

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Dutch respondents

Respondent 1

Demographics Age: 23 Gender: Female Living situation: Living with parents.

1. Interviewer: Thank you for being here today and willing to take part in our research. As I said, we are two students from Mälardalen University and are currently writing our master thesis on the topic of product preferences during Covid-19 regarding food and clothes. So, most of the questions that I will be asking you, will be related to your preference regarding food and clothes and your experience with that during this period. I will now start with a general question. Could you give a brief description of yourself and what you do? Respondent: My name is X, 23 years old and I’m currently doing a study. I don’t know how you say it, but to become a nurse. 1.1 Interviewer: What was your occupation before the pandemic? Respondent: I was a veterinarian assistant. So, I worked in a clinic with animals. 2. Interviewer: How has the pandemic affected you on a general level? Respondent: Hard question. In the beginning it was fine. It was kind of exiting because, you know, it has never happened before. So, it was all new. But now, yeah, you are really stuck with yourself. You are a lot in your own thoughts. So, yeah. Interviewer: So, if I understand correctly, it mostly affected your social life and being on your own? Respondent: Yeah, I’m more of a people person and that is not possible with the pandemic so. Interviewer: And are there any other factors that were affected due to the pandemic such as your finances or your health? Respondent: Finances no and health no, but I was more cautious of course. And when you have a runny nose or anything else, you become more psycho about having Corona and think that you are very ill. But not that I was sick or anything else. Interviewer: And you just said that your finances were not affected during the pandemic and prior to it. Can you give a reason why that is?

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Respondent: Well because I did receive my normal paycheck. The times that I had to work where different. I made longer days and had more off days. If that makes sense. And I changed my occupation. So, I went from having a job to being a student. So that was my own choice. 3. + 3.1 Interviewer: Okay, interesting. And can you tell us the restrictions you have experienced in the Netherlands that the government has put on the people? Respondent: Yeah, well they closed a lot. They closed shops, restaurants, schools and also gyms. And I really find it the hardest that they closed the gyms because I really like to work out. And of course, the schools because I’m in my first year. And you want to socialize with your new classmates and that was very hard to do when you are in a pandemic. 3.2 Interviewer: Have you done anything to overcome these restrictions and the lockdown? Like have you done anything to make it more pleasant for yourself. Respondent: Well in the beginning I took some walks outside to get some exercise in. But that declined very fast. For the rest, no I didn’t do anything because of the social distancing. Because I would like to hang out with my friends but yeah that was not really possible or having a way around it. So. Interviewer: And regarding school, how is that different now? How do you study now as opposed to studying without Covid? Respondent: Well, I started my school during Covid of course. But for me as a person it has changed a lot. In my first studies I was not very good at studying and do that kind of stuff. But I really would like to do that, and I am doing that so yeah me myself am different at studying. So not because of the pandemic, but because of me. Interviewer: And do you study completely online, or do you still have classes that you attend to at school a few days a week? Respondent: 99% is online. 4. Interviewer: Okay. A different type of question regarding you as a consumer. What type of label would you give yourself as a consumer? I’m going to give a few examples, there are people that give themselves a label such as a premium consumer which means that you usually tend to buy more expensive, more a-brand at the supermarket. Budget means that you usually go for the cheaper alternatives and intermediate means that you usually go for in between. It depends on the product maybe. So, this question is related to food and clothes. How do you see yourself, what kind of label would you give yourself? Respondent: The last one, in between. It depends on the product. Interviewer: Can you give an example of that?

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Respondent: I don’t know, like maybe chips or something. Something that I really like I would get the Lays or a brand and not the store brand. Because I know I like the higher price chips more. But for like, let’s say, a shirt that is really simple and basic, I would not pay a lot of money just because it’s a basic t-shirt. 4.1 Interviewer: Okay, yeah that is understandable. And has this changed since the start of Covid? Respondent: Well, I have been shopping online much more. And I have more money left over to spend. So, I was less hesitant to buy something. 6.1 Interviewer: And why is it that you started buying more online? Respondent: I think boredom. I think that’s why. 5. Interviewer: And how important is the price and quality of food during the pandemic for you? Has that changed? Has that become more important for you or has that remained the same? Respondent: The quality? Interviewer: Yeah, the quality and price of food. Respondent: I think quality yeah, because you are home a lot and food is the only thing you eat. I think. And you are ordering in more so quality should be high. Yeah, don't know. Yeah, I buy more quality products, I think. 5.2 Interviewer: And what type of differences do you see when comparing your spending on food and clothes now as opposed to pre-Covid? Respondent: Clothes is much more and food, I live with my parents, so I don't buy groceries. Interviewer: OK. Respondent: So yeah, but clothes, yeah, definitely more. Interviewer: Buy more? Respondent: Yeah. Interviewer: And is that the same for clothes as well, is that you tend to buy more high-quality clothes now? Respondent: No, not, really actually. I'm more like less hesitant to buy it, but if the price is high, then I will still be hesitant. But yeah, I don't look for items that are higher in price. I just look more. Interviewer: Yeah. Interviewer: Then I used to. 5.3 Interviewer: And are there specific type of products that you favor more now? Respondent: In what categories? Interviewer: In food and clothes. Respondent: In clothes. You mean what kind of item?

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Interviewer: Yeah, are there certain types of products, let's say for food, for instance, are you as an example, are you looking more for canned food, for instance? Respondent: Well, food, I don't know, because, again, I'm living with my parents so I'm not buying groceries. But, yeah, more take-away. Interviewer: More takeaway? Respondent: Yeah. 5.4 Interviewer: And have you had to make any sacrifices regarding the purchase of food and clothes that you usually like? Respondent: I don't really understand the question. Interviewer: Well, I mean, other than the restaurants, like being closed off, or most of the rest being closed and that you cannot order food from them. But did you have to make any sacrifices, like not being able to buy a specific type of food or clothing. Respondent: Ok. No, not that I can think of. 7. Interviewer: All right. Did you experience any form of panic buying during Covid-19? Respondent: Panic? Interviewer: Yeah, so panic buying is when during a crisis. Respondent: Oh, panic buying. Interviewer: Yes. Respondent: Yeah, yeah explain, sorry. Interviewer: So panic buying is one during a crisis, different times of crisis, but people start to buy in bulk a lot of food. Respondent: Oh, like toilet paper in Holland? Interviewer: Exactly. That could be one of them. Respondent: No, I did not buy excessive amount of items, No, no. Because the people that did, I thought really were stupid. Interviewer: Yeah, yeah. So, if I understand correctly, you did experience it with other people, but not with yourself. You said you didn't do it. Respondent: No, no, no. Interviewer: And what type of products were mostly chosen as a panic buying behavior? Respondent: From other people? Interviewer: Yes. Respondent: Toilet paper. What else. Pasta. I think that's mostly it, just canned food. I think that you could say for a long time.

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8.1 Interviewer: Yeah, and what was what is your experience with the availability of food during Covid, like the entire time Respondent: It was good, Yeah, the stores were empty in one hour and it was filled again in the second hour or so. No panic there. Interviewer: Was this during the whole Covid time or was this only during a specific period that this happened? Respondent: The excessive shopping was in the first months of the pandemic. So, yeah, just the first months that was really excessive and everything after that, it was just normal, maybe just some periods that were excessive again, but not that much. 8. Interviewer: And my final question is, is there anything interesting that you noticed in the retailer’s behavior during Covid-19? Like you just said that you don't go often, or your parents mostly do the food shopping, but maybe you can think of the clothing parts if you found anything interesting or what they did or how they behaved during the Covid period. Respondent: Yeah, I think they did not do that much, I think. I don't know. Because they were closed for a long time, I would think they would, I don't know, advertise more online or something like that. But I didn't find it. Interviewer: Ok. This was the last question so I would like to thank you for your participation and wish you a very good day. Respondent: Thank you, you too.

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Respondent 2

Demographics Age: 22 Gender: Male Living situation: Living with parents.

1. Interviewer: I would like to thank you for your participation already and being here today. As I said, we are two students from Mälardalen University and currently we are writing our master thesis on the topic of product preferences regarding food and clothes during the Covid-19 pandemic. I'm going to start with a general question. Could you give a brief description of yourself and what you do? Respondent: My name is X. I'm from the Netherlands and I studied Business Administration in the same University in Almere. 1.1 Interviewer: And what was your occupation before the pandemic? Respondent: Before the pandemic, I was also following the same study and was working as a delivery boy for Albert Hein. Interviewer: Are you still a delivery boy for Albert Hein? Respondent: No, at the moment I'm in an internship at an e-commerce company and yeah, I'm helping there. Interviewer: I'm just interested in how come you switched from these positions? Respondent: Sorry? Interviewer: I'm just interested in why you switched between the delivery boy work and e- commerce internship that you're doing right now, Respondent: Because we have to do an internship at the second year of the Business Administration study, and that's why I couldn't keep on working at Albert Hein. 2. Interviewer: OK. OK, and how has the pandemic affected you on a general level? Respondent: At the general level, it's only affected me for my personal life, so meeting with friends, doing stuff, going to other countries, and on work level it didn't affect me much because the delivery still had to be done. Maybe to get the internship was a little bit more difficult, but at the end, it all worked out. 2.1 Interviewer: And did you also see the pandemic having an effect on your finances or your health?

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Respondent: Not really, because I could still keep on working with the same finances and the same income. But my health, therefore I couldn't go to the gym for four to four and a half months, so I had to quit working out and gained a lot of kilos. 3. Interviewer: All right. All right. Thank you. Can you tell us the restrictions you have experienced in the Netherlands that were put on by the government? Respondent: A night shift. So, we were permitted to go outside after, what was it, 8 o clock. And you couldn't meet with friends and not more than one friend at the time. Other than that, I have no idea. 3.1 Interviewer: Well, that's fine, thank you. How has this affected you, these restrictions? Respondent: Not that much because you're young, so you will still meet up with your friends, but because of the curfew, you couldn't stay that long because you will get a fine if they if they see you. 3.2 Interviewer: Yeah. OK, and what have you done to overcome the lockdown and restrictions, like, have you done anything to make it more pleasant for yourself? Respondent: I just stayed more inside and did my thing with school and the internship and tried to meet up with friends each month as much as possible. Yeah. 4. Interviewer: OK, and now I have a few questions about you as a consumer, what type of label would you give yourself as a consumer? Respondent: Like, what's, what are the options? Interviewer: So, I mean, you can think of anything that you like, like as a as a person, as a consumer. Like what really describes you. But some examples could be that you see yourself as a premium consumer, for instance, where you tend to buy more expensive products related to food and clothes. Budget, for instance, means that you tend to buy the cheaper alternatives for both food and clothes and intermediate means that you're usually in the middle. Respondent: With clothes, I try to be exclusive, I think. Not like Prada or Louis Vuitton, but not that cheap, cheap or intermediate stuff. With my phone, I'm always buying Apple. And with televisions, I always pick the most expensive gadgets. With food I think I'm more like intermediate. I'm not that exclusive. I like my food, but. It doesn't have to be Michelin. Interviewer: Yeah, and also in the supermarket? Respondent: Also in the supermarket, yeah. 4.1 Interviewer: Has this changed since the start of Covid? Respondent: No, not at all. Because I think because of the finance stay the same. So, I didn't have to adjust, you know.

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5. Interviewer: OK, OK, interesting, what played a key role in your spending and consumption behavior during the pandemic? Respondent: Again, nothing changed, so maybe I even bought more gadgets because we couldn't go out and go to the restaurants. 5.1 Interviewer: OK, and how important is the price and quality of food during the pandemic for you? Respondent: I always like the quality. The quality has to be the best for the price. And if it is so, I will return to that place. 5.2 Interviewer: And what type of differences do you see when comparing your spending on food and clothes now as opposed to before Covid? Respondent: Also stay the same. Because my finances also stayed the same. 5.3 Interviewer: And do you favor certain types of products now than before? Do you see that or is that the same? Respondent: Maybe delivery, delivery meals. Because you can't go to the restaurants. So, you got stuff delivered to you. 5.4 Interviewer: OK. And have you had to make any sacrifices regarding purchasing products such as food and clothes that you usually favor? Respondent: No, no, no, no. Only in the restaurant because we couldn't go. Interviewer: Yeah, but you didn't experience certain types of products being sold out that you usually like and couldn't buy any more for a period of time? Respondent: Toilet paper. 7. Interviewer: That also brings me. So, did you experience any form of panic buying during Covid? Respondent: Panic buying? Interviewer: Yeah, so panic buying is... Respondent: No, not at all. Not at all. You mean what happened to the toilet paper? Interviewer: Exactly. Respondent: Yeah, ‘’hamsteren’’. No, not at all. 8.2 Interviewer: OK, so you didn't experience empty shelves in supermarkets? Respondent: Personally, no. 8.1 Interviewer: Did you think that the availability of food was enough during the whole pandemic? Respondent: Yes, I think only at certain times when the first lockdown happened, people were panic buying. But it wasn't that crazy, I think. Only with the special purpose, like toilet paper or canned foods, you know.

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Interviewer: And you just mentioned that you buy some food online or you have it delivered? Respondent: Yes. 6. Interviewer: Why do you think that is that you buy that more now? Respondent: Because you're stuck around, you can't go anywhere else and go to the restaurants, you can't go out. You can't go to friends. 8. Interviewer: And is there anything interesting that you noticed in the retailer's behavior during Covid, so let's say your supermarket or your preferred clothing store Did you notice anything interesting that they did? Respondent: Supermarkets did earn a lot more than previous years because everybody had to stay home, so everybody had to buy this stuff at supermarkets. Interviewer: But did you see them doing anything interesting? Respondent: No, not really. Maybe clothing stores. So not really, really noticeable. Everybody kept going on with their life as normal. Only with some restrictions. Interviewer: That was my last question I would like to thank you for your participation and wish you a good day. Respondent: Off course, thanks.

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Respondent 3

Demographics Age: 31 Gender: Female Living situation: Living with parents.

Interviewer: All right. Thank you for taking time today and being part of this interview. Respondent: You are welcome. 1. Interviewer: Thank you. So, we are two students from Mälardalen University and currently writing our massive thesis on the topic of product preferences during the Covid-19 pandemic. Let's dive in with the first question already. Could you give a brief description of yourself and what you do? Respondent: Yes, you mean my daily life or what I do for work? Interviewer: Yeah, exactly, for work. Respondent: OK, well, I am X, I live in the Netherlands. What I do for work is, I work as I have to think about how to translate this good in English, but I am like a family coach who helps children and families with their personal problems. Whether there are problems that they experience at school or problems due to domestic violence. And I try to solve their problems, but with them, with their cooperation. Interviewer: And is that a job that you do for a city or is that a private company? Respondent: No, it's for the government. 1.1 Interviewer: OK, so a governmental job. And has your occupation, your job, been the same? Like have you switched jobs between from the start of Covid and now? Respondent: Yes, but only I work at home now. Usually, I work at the office or I go visit the families at their house. But due to Covid, we had lots of meetings through video chat. Or all the contact is through video chat or just calling them. So, yeah, basically, I work a lot from home. 2. Interviewer: Now onto the second question. How has the pandemic affected you on a general level? Respondent: You mean at my work? Interviewer: No, just in general, maybe your social life, like all assets of life. How has that affected you? The pandemic. Respondent: Yeah, well, I feel very isolated, especially here in Holland. We had a really strict lockdown. It's almost one year now, so I feel very isolated. I haven't seen some of my friends in a

99 while. I haven't gone to the stores, to the shopping malls in a while. I haven't visited a restaurant in a very long time, so I feel like I'm really restricted in my social life. Yeah. And I think that's a pity. 2.1 Interviewer: And other than that, I hear a lot of social elements of the negative parts of the pandemic, other than that, have you been affected in other ways, maybe your finances or maybe health? Respondent: No, my finances, not because I'm like a social worker. Which means that our work only got increased due to the Covid-19 because of the problems of people increased. We had to deal with a lot of, how do you say, that, not patients, but clients who are dealing a lot more now with domestic violence because they are obligated to stay at home. So, my work has increased because the problems of the people that we work with got increased as well. Interviewer: Exactly. Respondent: So, there's more work for now. Sorry, more work for us now. Interviewer: And how are you dealing with that? Are you under a lot of pressure due to that? Respondent: Yes, I am experiencing a lot of stress as well because of my cases. Before the Corona I used to have a certain variation in my cases, in the typical clients. Because I was having clients who were dealing with some minor problems and clients who are dealing with big problems. But now I feel like my whole caseload, we call it a case load, all the clients that we have, I feel like now I'm only dealing with clients who have only big issues. And I experience a lot of stress as well because I feel like I have to help them, but I cannot help all of them at the same time. 3. Interviewer: Yeah, and you just mentioned already a few of these restrictions that you've experienced in the Netherlands, like the governmental restrictions, the lockdown you mentioned. Can you tell us more about all the restrictions that you have experienced in the Netherlands? Respondent: Yes, you mean the rules? Interviewer: Yes, exactly. Respondent: Well, for example, all the restaurants, the cafes, they were closed for almost a year. They were only open last summer for, I don't know, maybe three or four months maybe. Maybe a little bit longer. Well, the shops were closed for a very long time. And well at some point, the government said, well, we can go to the shopping malls, but only if you make a reservation. And I was wondering by myself, like, who goes shopping and then makes a reservation? Because sometimes you don't know how long you, we will be staying in a shop. Other restrictions are that we are obligatory to wear a facemask anywhere in a building. Like when you don't see air, you have to wear a face mask. Well, we have to stick to the one-and-a-half-meter rule from other people. You have to give them one-and-a-half-meter space. That is something that we were not

100 used to in the beginning. And some people, they do get angry when you are little, you know, when you are a little close to them. So, these are the rules that I can name now from the top of my head. 3.1 Interviewer: Yeah, and how have these rules affected you? Respondent: Well, it affected me in a way that sometimes I think, we're not living the normal human life anymore. I feel so, like I said, so isolated and I feel that everyone is a little bit I don't know how to explain, but people are so afraid of their own health and sometimes they exaggerate. And I don't know, it causes so many stress, stress and people being aggressive and so many times tension. It creates such a negative light. Interviewer: And I understand that the whole situation with the pandemic and the lockdown, that it's not a pleasant situation to be in. Respondent: No. 3.2 Interviewer: Have you done anything to overcome the lockdown and restrictions like anything to make it more pleasant for yourself? Respondent: Well, good question. Not really. The only thing that I did at my work, because now during the pandemic, you don't see your colleagues very often and with the work that I do, it's sometimes really nice to have a colleague beside you because sometimes we have not such nice conversations with clients. And when you have a colleague around you at the office, like you can immediately tell them what happened, they can advise you. It gives you a good feeling when you talk about it. But now it's different. So, what I did is when I felt the urge, I called a colleague up and then, I was just telling them how I feel and what I experienced early that day. And yeah, well, just by talking to them and them, like, calming me, giving me advice, it helped me to get a little bit calm. Interviewer: Right. OK, so being more in contact with your colleagues, kind of? Respondent: Yes, exactly. 4. Interviewer: OK, and a different question regarding being a consumer, what type of label would you give yourself as a consumer? Like a few examples I can give are, you can see yourself maybe as a premium consumer, you're trying to go for more expensive products. Budget one is usually when you try to go for the cheaper alternatives. And maybe something in the middle. Is there some type of label that you could give yourself as a consumer? Respondent: I think it must be something in between. Because sometimes, I like really cheap products. For example, I love Primark. Because I can find things that I can use for a short period of time and then I can throw it away and buy another one. But when it comes to handbags or shoes or clothing that I really want to enjoy for the next couple of years, then I go for something

101 with quality. So, I love low budget product. But when it comes to something that needs quality, for example, clothing, I like to go a little bit higher than just Primark. Interviewer: OK, and food, when you go to the supermarket is that the same. You end up in between? Respondent: Yes, it's the same because I like going to Lidl. I think their groceries are not expensive and I like the quality of the product. But Lidl doesn't have anything. So, then I go to, well it’s a Dutch supermarket and really big called Albert Heijn. And they do have those really famous brands, for example, Lays chips or I don't know, some kind of brands that you cannot buy at Lidl. 4.1 Interviewer: And when you compare yourself like being an intermediate, as we call it, so meaning that you sometimes buy more premium products, sometimes less, depending on the product itself. Has this changed when you compare now to before the pandemic? Have you changed your behavior as a consumer? Respondent: No, for me not, I know for a lot of people it changed. But for me not because like I said, I'm not in the type of situation where I am earning less money now due to Covid. But that's not the case with me. So, my behavior didn't change. If I want something to buy, I buy it. 5.Interviewer: OK, and what played a key role in your spending and consumption behavior during the pandemic? Respondent: Sorry, can you repeat that. Interviewer: Of course. So, what played a key role in your spending and consumption behavior during the pandemic? Respondent: The key? Interviewer: Like what was an important factor for you when you spend money on food and clothes during the pandemic? Respondent: I have to think about this. I think I spend it maybe a little bit more. Because sometimes I was bored or there was not much to do, you know. So, I buy more food because there is not much to do. So, I buy maybe more food, maybe more clothing just to kill the time. Because it gives me such a good feeling, you know. Because everything else was just shut down. There was nothing more to spend on, you know what I mean? There was no other. Well, there wasn't a situation where I would say like, oh no I cannot spend this money too much, otherwise I cannot go with my friends to a restaurant. No, that wasn't the case. So, maybe I kept on spending. 5.1 Interviewer: Yeah, and how important is the price and quality of food during the pandemic for you?

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Respondent: It's really important because there are so many people who lost their job or who had to shut down their own business. Yes, so many people who were left without work. So, I think as a as a country, as a government, you have to adjust to that. Adjust to the situation. 5.3 Interviewer: Yeah. And do you favor certain types of products now as opposed to pre-Covid? Respondent: Favorite types of products. No, I don't think so. 5.4 Interviewer: And have you had to make any sacrifices regarding purchasing products regarding food and clothes? Respondent: No, no, no, that wasn't the case, I think. No. 6. Interviewer: And has the pandemic affected the way you buy food online or physically, for instance? Respondent: Yes, because I remember during the first lockdown people were just buying massive food and also toilet paper. And also, they would buy certain products because they were afraid that also the shops, the grocery stores were going to be shut down as well. And I like to bake a lot, so I had to buy a lot of flour. A lot of flour because I was afraid that it wouldn't be available anymore. Which was for a certain time. So that really affected my way of buying food, because now I'm still afraid of going back to that period. So, now when I go to the grocery store or when I go to a supermarket, I make sure I buy a lot of flour. 7. Interviewer: OK. It's a phenomenon. It's called panic buying, as you described it just now. But if I understand it correctly, you didn't necessarily do it yourself, but because other people did it and you experienced it, now you are starting to do it yourself for future purposes? Respondent: Yeah, now I do it automatically every time I go to a supermarket. Because I don't want to go back to the period when there was no toilet paper, there was no flour, there was no baking powder, there was nothing. Nothing that I use a lot. It wasn't available. 8. Interviewer: Yeah, exactly, yeah, I can understand and relate to it. Is there anything interesting or astonishing that you noticed in your retailer's behavior during the Covid-19? So, you can compare in this question the supermarket Albert Hein that you just said or a clothing store that you usually go to. So, is there anything interesting that you noticed that they did during the start of Covid and now? Respondent: Yeah, well, they used to have like certain hours for priority people in some supermarkets. It was from eight to nine. We used to go to supermarkets from 8:00 in the morning. But now they made up a rule that between eight and nine in in the morning it's only for priority people. I think it's good that they did it because of all the things that were sold out and everything. I don't think that it's fair for elderly because they are older, and they are having probably struggles to go to the supermarket. And then also to go to a supermarket where things are sold out and

103 then they have to come back another day. I think it's something that is not good for them. Not good for their health. So, this is something that I noticed that they did differently. But I didn't experience supermarkets having more sale, or buy one get one free. I don't think so. At least I didn't experience it like that. 8.2 Interviewer: Yeah. And have you experienced any empty shelves in the supermarkets? Respondent: Yes, but it was more in the beginning. Interviewer: More in the beginning? Respondent: Yeah, well, like I said, there was no toilet paper, there was no flour, no baking powder. But at some point, when the government made it clear, like, please people, we have enough for everyone, things got back to normal, but only in the supermarket. 8.1 Interviewer: But did it take the supermarkets a long time to get back to, basically before Covid regarding shelves? Respondent: Yes, from what I remember it took a couple of months. It was quite a while. Interviewer: OK, that was my last question, I would like to thank you for your participation in this research, and I wish you a good day. Respondent: You are welcome. Thank you, you too. Bye bye.

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Respondent 4

Demographics Age: 26 Gender: Male Living situation: living alone, renting an apartment.

1. Interviewer: All right, I would like to thank you for your participation already and taking time out of your schedule today to be part of his research. As I said, we are two students from Mälardalen University and currently we are writing a master thesis on the topic of product preferences regarding food and clothes during Covid-19. So, the questions that I will be asking you will be mostly related to food and clothes and your product preferences towards them. We're going to start with a general question. Could you give a brief description of yourself and what you do? Respondent: Yes, of course. So, my name is X. I'm currently living in Leiden and I'm a student there. At the university, also doing my master's degree. So, I'm twenty-six years old, but I'm mostly studying, and I have a side job for the university. Is that sufficient or? Interviewer: Yes, can you only explain what your side job entails for the university? Respondent: Yes, of course. So, the title is like a student assistant at the Faculty of Humanities. I'm assisting with administrative and marketing activities. So, I help them with, you know, making Excel files up to date and working on the website, changing with what needs to be changed on the university website. And I can be in contact with teachers from the department, like asking questions and those kinds of things. 1.1 Interviewer: OK, it's clear. And what was your occupation before the pandemic? Was that the same also student and having a student job? Respondent: No, actually, I started it just this January. So, it was during the pandemic. And before that I didn't work for a while because then I was focusing on my studies. And between my bachelor and my master I was working for four or five months for another university. So that's already two years ago. 2. Interviewer: And how was the pandemic affected you on a general level? Respondent: On a general level, I mean, it affected my life quiet, quite a bit because, of course, everything went from physical activities to online. And especially at the beginning, I didn't see a lot of people. So, it became quite depressive. And of course, I mean, there were different phases

105 during the pandemic. This whole academic year has been online. So, it's kind of depressing. But it also offered opportunities. So, it's kind of double. Because the students are doing things online, which means you can go to more places, for example, and not have to be in one spot. But also, you don't see your study mates, for example. So, it's kind of double, the feeling. 2.1 Interviewer: And have your finances for instance also been affected? Respondent: No, I don't think so, because I started a new student job. So that meant that I could I make more money, actually. So, it didn't change for the worse. 3. Interviewer: And can you describe the restrictions that you have personally experienced in the Netherlands that were put on by the government? Respondent: Yeah. So, the most recent ones were the curfew, of course, and also kind of the limit of visitors which were allowed. And also, outside, the amount of people you could be with. For the curfew, we mostly did have like sleepovers or kind of work around it. But also, in general, you do things more during the day instead of meeting at night. So, you kind of find ways around it. I don't know what else to say. 3.1 Interviewer: And how has this affected you, these restrictions? Respondent: Like emotionally or? Interviewer: Just every restriction that you have experienced, how has that personally affected you? Respondent: I mean, I got upset with it whenever they introduced these new ones, but it's hard to say like how exactly. Because, you know, you kind of live with it because first you think, OK, it's just shit, but then you get used to it and everybody gets used to it. Interviewer: Yeah. Respondent: Does that answer the question? 3.2 Interviewer: Yeah, yeah, that was perfect, and have you done anything to make the lockdown and restrictions more pleasant for yourself? Respondent: I mean, yes, I think yeah. During the week, it's just it's harder to see other students. I think at one point I started meeting more with friends during the weekend. And enjoy more things, I would say. So, try to make the best out of the pandemic. Interviewer: OK, so you would focus more on your social life kind of? Respondent: Yes, exactly. Because we realize how important it is when it's not obvious anymore. When everything, you know, all the bars are closed, and universities are closed. You cannot even meet outside anymore. You start doing more inside and you realize more that personal contacts are actually very important for also your well-being.

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4. Interviewer: Interesting, interesting. We can move on to the next question, these are related to you as a consumer. So, what type of label would you give yourself as a consumer regarding food and clothes? I can give a few examples. Like you can see maybe yourself as a premium consumer, which means that you tend to buy more expensive products related to food and clothes. Budget means that you tend to buy the cheaper alternatives and then there is intermediate, which means that you're in the middle. You can also give yourself a different label, whichever you find most suitable for yourself. Respondent: OK, I would say so for food and clothes, I would say intermediate. Because it depends very much on. Sometimes I like to buy like nice products when I ask people over and I want to make nice food. Sometimes I look at a price like quite a lot, but sometimes when I'm alone I just buy just cheap things which I cook. And the other was clothes, right? Interviewer: Yes. Respondent: So, and that's also intermediate. I mean, that depends. I guess. I just combine more cheap brands with more like jeans from Levi's, for example. So, it depends but it's very intermediate I think. 4.1 Interviewer: OK, very clear. And has this changed since the start of Covid? Respondent: That's a good question. I don't think so. I think I bought less because I mean, in terms of clothes, because the stores were closed. So, I just didn't buy that much. And for food, I mean, it stayed the same basically. 5. Interviewer: And what played a key role in your spending and consumption behavior during the pandemic? Respondent: Well, the most important part was, of course, the availability or accessibility of the services. So, in the Netherlands, the clothing stores were, for the most part, closed. Only in the summer they were open, I guess. And for food. I mean, the supermarkets always remained open. So that kind of stayed the same, basically. That really did not affect my spending. 5.1 Interviewer: OK, and how important is the price and quality of food during the pandemic for you? Respondent: So, I mean, the price and quality, I mean, it's always important. I think it didn't change. Not for me during the pandemic. 5.3 Interviewer: And do you now favor certain types of products as opposed to before Covid? Respondent: No, I don't think so, honestly. 5.4 Interviewer: Have you had to make any sacrifices regarding purchasing products of food and clothes that you usually like? Respondent: No, no. Stayed the same. A

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7. Respondent: And did you experience any form of panic buying during Covid? Respondent: No, actually not. I remember that during the first lockdown a lot of people bought toilet paper. No, I know I never had that. 8.1 Interviewer: And so, the availability of food, let's say only food, was that very present throughout the pandemic? Respondent: Yes. Yes. 8.2 Interviewer: Did you experience any form of empty shelves during the pandemic? Respondent: Yes, only at the beginning in March when the Dutch government announced a lockdown. Then in the first two weeks, I think there were a lot of empty shelves. But still there was enough food, you know, to provide yourself with. To be able to cook. 8. Interviewer: And is there anything interesting that you noticed in the retailer’s behavior during Covid? Respondent: Oh. I mean, I'm not a marketing expert, but. Interviewer: Just anything that you found interesting that your local supermarket did during Covid? Respondent: I mean, of course, they were kind of capitalizing on restaurants being closed so they advertise more for, to have things at home like dinners and that kind of stuff. So that that I noticed that. But other things, not so much. 6. Interviewer: And has the pandemic affected how you buy food online or physically? Respondent: Well, It affected me that I bought more online because there were just less options to buy things when the stores were closed. Afterwards I would not buy so many things online. And of course, it's just not that convenient, actually. Interviewer: I would like to thank you for your participation, this was my last question and wish you a very good day. Respondent: OK, thank you.

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Respondent 5

Demographics Age: 25 Gender: Male Living situation: living alone, renting an apartment.

1. Interviewer: All right, I would like to thank you already for your participation today and taking time out of your schedule tor being here and being part of this research. As I said, we are two students from Mälardalen University and currently we are writing our master thesis on the topic of product preferences regarding food and clothes during the Covid-19 pandemic. So, most of the questions that I will be asking you today will be related to your preferences regarding food and clothes. Could you start by giving a brief description of yourself and what you do? Respondent: My name is X. I live in Amsterdam. I'm twenty-five years old and I started my second study, Musicology, and before I studied music management and what I do, I also make music and I am also deejaying sometimes. This is basically, yeah, what I do in regular life. 1.1 Interviewer: And what was your occupation before the pandemic? Respondent: Well, I didn't really change because I am currently working as a food delivery driver and I'm still doing that because this is basically the same as before. People still order food and study. I did before the music management study is also what i am doing right now. But it changed to digital now, digital communication and nothing really changed, actually. 2. Interviewer: And how has the pandemic affected you on a general level? Respondent: What I really don't like about this pandemic is that all the events are canceled. So, this is something I did a lot. I met at a lot of events, concerts, parties and everything was just canceled. So, it really affected me, my daily schedule that I don't have anything to do, to go to in the weekend. That is kind of, biggest thing I don't like and also that people are getting quite anxious about meeting or that you hug them because of this social distancing is kind of problematic. I think, for a social context, also for me personally. And so, it's mostly for me, a negative influence, actually. And I try to make it positive for example, I'm making my life streams now. Which I wouldn't do before, maybe, but there is too many negative influences. 2.1 Interviewer: And other factors such as your finances or your health, have they also been affected? Respondent: Actually no. Because as I told before, my job is still in place. And I also used to do another job, I worked at the cleaning job for older people's houses, and I did this job also for quite

109 some time after the lockdown. Because this is something essential that people need. So, I did it. The money kept coming in and the student loan was also still coming. So, it's basically the same. And actually, yeah, I also had to stay alone in August, and I had to say that my health was a little bit influenced by this because I had like a long-term problem with my health for a couple of months. So, this is something not because of the lockdown but actually because of the Covid itself. And regarding the lockdown, maybe some mental issues. Because you have less and less things to do as a distraction for your daily life, and maybe you are more connected to your thoughts. Yeah. So, it’s both physical and mental actually. 3 Interviewer: OK, interesting, and can you tell us the restrictions that you personally have experienced in the Netherlands? Respondent: Yeah, as I told before basically that there is no events going on and also the travel restrictions that there were a lot of countries where you couldn't go to. Or you need to go to and quarantine. So, you are very limited. You couldn't go spontaneously to a country to visit. And also, if you go to a country, there's not a lot of things to do because everything is closed. And the restrictions as I told before, also related to social. People don't really accept it a lot if you meet with a lot of people, because it's not really a smart thing to do. So, it also feels that you are socially restricted. Also, a lot of stores were closed for a long time. Like non-essential stores kind of. And restricting also from me, because you can't spontaneously go to a store to buy something. Yeah, it's basically the most things for me. 3.2 Interviewer: And have you done anything to make the lockdown more pleasant for yourself? Respondent: Yes, as I told before, I did the livestreams for my deejaying. Which was kind of fun to do because everyone is sitting at home. So, they can just watch the music. Yeah, I try to do as much as possible within the restrictions. So, I still meet some friends and I traveled in the December also to some places where you could actually go to. And yeah, basically these things, because the only things you could is basically visit friends or I was also exploring the city a little bit more. Amsterdam, because at least this was open to see and go to the parks and everything. Yeah. And I tried to work a lot on new music also. So, because you have less things to do, so you can focus more on your creative work. So, I tried not get bored at least. 4. Interviewer: And what type of label would you give yourself as a consumer? You can think of things like being a premium consumer, which means that you usually tend to buy more expensive products. Budget one, means that you usually tend to buy more cheaper alternatives and intermediate means in between. You can also give yourself a completely different label. But as a consumer, what label would you give yourself?

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Respondent: I think really in between, because I buy a lot of things which are quite cheap. And also, sometimes I like to buy clothing, which is quite expensive. So, then you can use it for a longer time. So, regarding clothing and regarding other things. Interviewer: Like food? Respondent: Food also. Sometimes I like to order food for a month delivery service, which is quite expensive, like once in a while and other times I cook like a lot. For example, a few weeks in a row, I cook like cheap things and then I conserve it so I can it for many days. But it's not like bad food. It still cheap. It's not like the most expensive one. So really in the middle, I think. It's not really one way. 4.1 Interviewer: Has this changed since the start of Covid? Respondent: Actually no, it didn't really change because my financial situation was basically the same. So, also the things I can buy were also the same. But the only thing that changed maybe, is that I have less money to spent on events. So, I think that this makes me have more money for other things. That's the only thing. 5 + 6 Interviewer: Interesting and what played a key role in your spending and consumption behavior during the Covid-19? Respondent: Yes, because most stores were closed so I was looking more online to buy things and also for comparing things. Normally you go to a clothing store and you compare things. And I did it before online, but now I did even more online because everything was closed, and I realized it's really easy to find things online even more than before actually. For the food, yeah you don't go to restaurants anymore. So, it was also easier to just order food online and yeah basically like this. 5.1 Interviewer: And how important is the price and quality of food during the pandemic for you? Respondent: Yeah, for me, actually, it didn’t really change because for me if I spent a lot of money on some food from some delivery sometimes, and I would expect this as better quality than, for example, some really cheap store. And it didn't really change because even before the pandemic, I ordered food also. And then it was the same for me. It was the same, the same expectations. 5.2 Interviewer: And do you see any differences regarding spending on food and clothes now than before Covid? Respondent: Yeah, well, I think I order a little bit more clothes. Because I think, as I said before, I have a little bit more money left and for the food it didn't really change. It's not like I bought a lot of expensive food right now. So, it's really the same actually for me. 5.3 Interviewer: And are there specific type of products that you now favor more than before?

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Respondent: Yeah, because I'm more at home now. I'm really more concerned with, for example, things in my room that I like, stuff that I use in my room. I buy more of these things because I'm here more also. Yeah, but basically only this, I think. The clothing is still the same for me, because I was always conscious about that. That I want to look good even though I don't go out a lot anymore. I still like to buy things. But it's more like that I buy them and then I think, maybe when you will be with friends again, that I can use them. And so, it is true that I bought some things that I never wear. Because I don't really dress well if I stay home for the whole day, of course. So, it's buying for the future maybe. Interviewer: And you just mentioned that you buy more things for your room now. Can you explain what you mean by that? Respondent: Well, for example, more cd's and vinyl’s because I have a record player. So, to listen to music and also some equipment for my music. But I also have to say I would buy this equipment regardless, I think. Because I always made a lot of music. And just like a closet or something or more books or some things, like plants to make your room look better. And I think I did it more now during the pandemic because you are also more online looking at things that are possible to buy. 5.4 Interviewer: And have you had to make any sacrifices regarding purchasing products of food and clothes that you usually like? Respondent: So, mean that I would spend less money on something or? Interviewer: Like a specific type of product. From food and or clothes that you usually like, but you couldn't buy during the pandemic? Respondent: No, that really didn't change because like I said before, my financial situation was the same. I would even buy more expensive things because I have less money to spent on other things like events or traveling. So, for me, that is more positive actually. 7. Interviewer: Did you experience any form of panic buying during Covid-19? Respondent: No, not at all. I saw it from other people, but I was more rational about this thing. And I just thought the same thing actually. 8.2 Interviewer: And did you experience empty shelves in supermarkets? Respondent: Yeah, I did, actually. Not really something that I really desperately need. For example, that one time there was no, products which you can keep for a longer time. Like milk or something or canned food was gone. And some eggs and toilet paper were gone. It's not that we couldn't buy something that was really necessary for me, but yeah, I did see it actually. Yeah. 8.1 Interviewer: And what is your opinion on the availability of food throughout the pandemic? Did you think it was enough, did you think there was a lack of it?

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Respondent: Yeah, in the beginning in March 2020 or something that was really visible because of the panic buying. There was too little food for some things, and it was kind of bad, I think. But I don't know if it was, if you could blame the people who made it. It's more people who bought it. But, yeah, it would be nice if it was more stocked up. If the stored would put more food in the stores, the shelves would be less empty. And for the clothing you mean? Interviewer: As well. Respondent: Yeah, I noticed that on some websites that there a lot of clothes which were not available because I think because people bought a lot more. And the shipping time was longer for actually any store, I think. So, this is something that was not pretty positive. On the other hand, I don't know how they could change it because it was just some mass hysteria, actually. 8. Interviewer: And now to my final question. Is there anything interesting that you noticed in the retailer’s behavior Covid-19? Respondent: Yeah, they are more focused on online. There was also more advisements for web site that sell clothes or food or anything. And they were really focused on this, actually. And when the shops opened here again, only with an appointment, they also really advertise with this thing that you can make an appointment if you want. I think you didn't really see advertisements on the thing itself. But more that you can buy on the website. They were really focused on this, i noticed. The online part. Interviewer: Very interesting. I would like to thank you for your participation and wish you a very good day. Respondent: Ok, thank you.

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Respondent 6

Demographics Age: 27 Gender: Male Living situation: living with friends, renting an apartment.

1. Interviewer: All right. I would like to thank you already for being part of this research and taking time out of your schedule to be part of this thesis. So, we are two students from Mälardalen University and currently we are writing our master thesis. And our topic actually consists of product preferences regarding food and clothes during the Covid-19 pandemic. So, most of the questions that I will be asking you today will be related to the food and clothes that you're buying. So, let's just start with a general question. Could you give a brief description of yourself and what you do? Respondent: So, hi, my name is X, I'm twenty-seven years old, and I live in Amsterdam. Right now, I just finished last year, my bachelor’s in media branch actually. I'm actually still looking for a job. But right now, I work for a company that actually has cable TV and Internet. I'm working with Vodafone, actually. So that's it, actually. Interviewer: And you said last year you were a student? Respondent: Yes, I was a student yes. 1.1 Interviewer: And has your occupation, been the same through like before Covid and now. Respondent: Occupation during what? Like how busy I am? Interviewer: As in like a job, the job that you currently have. Has that been the same as before Covid? Respondent: I think so, yeah. Now of course, like you work more at home. So, that's actually more relaxed than before, because then, of course, you would have to wake up early and go to the office. So that's maybe a difference. And of course, you don't have, like, a connection with your colleagues. But I think the occupation is quite the same. Interviewer: And how long have you been working there? Respondent: From November till now actually? Yeah. Interviewer: OK, Covid started last year in March, what were you doing before that? You weren’t a student then, right? Respondent: No, I graduated in June and afterwards I worked for Corendon. Actually, I think, you know what it is? it is the international one, the one with the flight and hotels. I used to work for the one at the Schiphol airport. They have like this huge plane and I used to work there.

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2. + 2.1 Interviewer: OK. OK, and how has the pandemic affected you on a general level? Respondent: Let me think. Interviewer: So, you can think of like all things of life or maybe like your social life and finances, like how has this all been affected? Respondent: I think finances actually maybe better because there are less activities. So, you cannot spend more money. So that is actually better. And of course, you save more money because you work at home, so you can eat your lunch every day. And of course, that saves a lot more money and transportation. But it, of course, also has a downside. So, it means that you cannot have all the fun stuff that you used to have, like just go into, an amusement park or the shops. Because in the Netherlands the pandemic is that bad, you cannot even go to the gym. Like in Sweden, of course, you can think still go to the gym, you can still go to the shopping mall. But in the Netherlands, everything is actually closed. So, like on a general level, it has affected a lot of people here in the Netherlands. Like making people a little bit depressed, I think. Like yesterday, we had Kings Day and you feel like everyone went out on the street. No one actually gave a shit about the pandemic because everyone is like, done so I don't think we can take any longer. Yeah, from what we are dealing with right now. 3. Interviewer: OK, and can you tell us the restrictions that you have experienced in the Netherlands that are put on by the government. Respondent: So, yeah, like I just said, actually almost everything. Like I said before, during the first lockdown they should have put the whole Netherlands into a lockdown were no one can go out. I think that would have been so much better because what the government is now doing every time, they are opening up like some activities or giving restrictions and then multiplying them like by 10. Like an example, a couple of months ago they were like, yeah people can go back to the gym and it's OK and then like two months later, no, no one can go anymore to the gym, no more shopping this time no one can go to the restaurant. So, it goes like up and then it goes ten times worse. So right now, we have actually nothing. So, we have a curfew, which just ended Wednesday which is good and we hope that we can, like, lift restrictions. 3.1 Interviewer: Yeah, and how has this affected you, all these restrictions? Respondent: Yeah, let me think. I think it's difficult. Last year I was writing my thesis and the pandemic was there. So, it was actually great. But now, because I’m not writing my thesis and just work. And of course, you only stay at home, so you work like five days a week. It is very boring. Normally during the weekends, you just blow off some steam and you go do some fun stuff. The only fun stuff that you can do is go around the block. You can go to like a park. That's the only thing that you can do right now. So, yeah.

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Interviewer: Yeah. And if you look a little bit further, how has this affected you? Like maybe mentally or in other ways, like all these restrictions. Or has it not had that big of an impact on you? Respondent: No, I think it has. I think, I don't know, you can see this on a multiple levels. First level is it can sometimes feel very isolated. So, it can also bring, like, depression. Definitely. I have some friends who are a little bit depressed and of course, it's very isolated. And the other one is that like your freedom is being taken away. So that's also impacted on us. It is a combination of like isolated and of course, your freedom is taken away. Which of course, I do understand because we do have to protect the elderly. But like an example, like I used to live in an apartment in Amsterdam where at one point the police were in my living room and all that's actually a very, very scary thought. Like the police will be in your apartment to tell you, like everyone should have distance and why is there an extra person? So, it was like the worst. It reminded me a little bit of the Second World War, like the war between the Jews and the Germans. So, it wasn't a very nice thought, but it's very real. Real, you know. 3.2 Interviewer: Yeah. And then what have you done to overcome the lockdown and restrictions? Have you made any adjustments to make it more pleasant for yourself? Respondent: Oh, yeah, of course. We try a lot of fun things when I used to live in my apartment. Like we would do a lot of things, like with the holidays and we would do more stuff together. That's also like a plus we do a lot of things together. But yeah. For me myself to overcome. I don't know it's hard to answer because it is very hard to overcome, we're like, you cannot do anything else. I think at one point as well, you have tried everything else because there isn’t a lot of things to do left. So, it is hard. Every time we are like, let's try this. Let's go to like a park. But it is, it is hard. Interviewer: Yeah. And what type of label would you give yourself as a consumer? Respondent: As a consumer? Can you give me an example like what kind of label, like very trendy or? 4. Interviewer: So, there are different types of consumers. So, a few examples would be a premium consumer, a budget one or intermediate. Where a premium one is looking mostly for expensive products. Budget one is leaning towards the cheaper alternatives. And intermediate is one you see yourself in between. Respondent: I think that last option, definitely. But it depends as well, like, are you talking about clothes or just like in general? Interviewer: So, both, you can think of food and clothes with this question. Respondent: Food and clothes. I think definitely in between. Like it depends. Like if I'm talking about clothes, if it looks good I think that's the most important thing. Like if it is a little bit expensive, I will buy it. But I will never buy something just because of the price tag or because of the name.

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That is something that I will never do. So, I'm definitely premium about that. I'm just in between or like a lower budget if it is good, you know. And the same actually for food. So, I will never like buy something that's very expensive just for the name. I try to keep it a little bit lower. Definitely. 4.1 Interviewer: OK. OK, interesting, and has this changed since the start of Covid? Respondent: To be honest, I have had a lot of changes. Like the house that I stayed in, because I have recently moved. So, everything I move, there are a lot of things that I have to buy. I had to spend a lot of money. The money that I earn, I focus on that to be honest. So, I haven't been buying a lot lately. I do want to buy things soon. But I still have to do a lot of change at my new home. And sorry, what was your question again? Interviewer: Like has the label that you placed on yourself, intermediate, has this changed? Like have you seen yourself during Covid shift more towards like buying more cheaper products, for instance, or the other way? Respondent: No, definitely cheaper. I definitely like going to the Lidl and buy a lot of cheap stuff. The reason why is because I live at home. So, I'm like, why should I buy, like, expensive stuff when I don't need to? You know. So normally when I used to work at the office, I would buy, of course, more expensive things. Because there were options. But right now, I'm like, why? It's like that. Sometimes, there are more options and better options? Interviewer: So, yeah, but do you think that's Covid related or just because you're working from home? Respondent: Just because I'm working from home. Yeah, I don't see the connection. It has of course, to do with the pandemic. That's why I'm working from home. 5. + 5.1 Interviewer: OK, that's interesting. What played a key role in your spending and consumption behavior during the pandemic? So how important is the price and quality of food for you during the pandemic? Respondent: For clothes and shoes? Interviewer: Yes, so the price and quality of food and clothes. Respondent: Price and quality of food and clothes. Of course, it is very important. But to be honest, this question, I don't think I can answer it very specific to Covid. Because for me, nothing has changed. Like with the price, I don't know how it is in Sweden. But in The Netherlands, nothing has changed for us, in comparison with the Covid. I don't know how your questions are on that, but to be honest, I don't think that has changed or like maybe our behavior has changed on that. So, the only thing that has changed actually is, because our restaurant opened today, that's also something new. And some of the prices did change for the restaurant, because the reason why is because a lot of restaurants were actually closed. They couldn't open because of the Covid. So

117 today they were finally open after, I think, November or something. Something like that. Yeah. So that's actually a very long time. And a lot of prices from the restaurants and bars, they increase them for some per cent. And the reason why is because of the months they were closed. So that's actually the thing that I've noticed here in The Netherlands that has been changing. And to be honest, like a lot a lot of people, they are willing to pay that price, same as me. That's the price and the quality I can get of it is OK. 5.3 Interviewer: And do you favor certain types of products now as opposed to before Covid? Respondent: Do I favor? Interviewer: Certain types of products now? Respondent: Certain types of products. That is actually a very good question. Let me think about that. I don't know. Like pasta or something? 7. Interviewer: Could be. Like have you just noticed yourself maybe leaning towards like more sustainable products, for instance. But just any type of thing that you find more interesting, or value more now than before? Respondent: Toilet paper, that’s something. Interviewer: Toilet paper? Respondent: Yeah, like honestly, toilet paper and pasta I think is like crazy. But like when the pandemic started, the first products to be sold out were toilet paper and pasta. So that is something that I very cerise. What I saw by the supermarket, like all my roommates, is there toilet paper like, yeah, no there's not. And then we would actually go for a supermarket which was like maybe five kilometers away. Just for the toilet paper. And I'm like, well, that's something that I will very appreciate, appreciate during this pandemic. So yeah, I think that is crazy. Yeah. But that's the truth. 8.2 Interviewer: Yeah. Uh, yeah. That what you just described like is panic buying. I was going to ask you a question about that, but good that you answered already. Did you experience also empty shelves like throughout the Covid pandemic? Respondent: Yes, definitely. I remember like the first lockdown in the Netherlands. I don't know what it is. But the thing with the people here, I don't know. I think it's Internationally when you follow the news. But of course, like, the lockdown came, and everyone was like, oh, we have to, like, get all of the stuff. And it was actually very selfish and very crazy. So, everyone went like to the supermarket. They got all the stuff, the more sustainable things, the pastas, and they can store longer that have a longer end date. So that's the thing that I noticed, like right away was very crazy, but it was also very selfish from all the citizens in The Netherlands. That think that

118 way. But yeah, of course, I didn't contribute to that because I don't feel, it's I think I can think more logical than that. 8.1 Interviewer: And did you think that the retailers had a good availability of food throughout the pandemic? Respondent: Yeah, it was only bad in the first few weeks, but this changed. Like when people stopped going crazy and the supermarkets could get more supplies. 8. Interviewer: And did retailers, um, did you see them doing anything interesting in their behavior during Covid-19? Like changing certain types of things, the way that you shop? Respondent: The way that I shop? Definitely, of course, with like the arrows on the floor, like they cleaned all the baskets for you, and they check of course if you have the mouth mask on. I think a lot of things changed. Also, the cash register with like the white plastic thing in front of them. They also had separate shelves with all the disinfecting spray and a lot of toilet paper. So that's something that they would like have. And I don't know. I think I think that it actually. 5.4 Interviewer: Have you had to make any sacrifices regarding purchasing products of food and clothes that you usually favor? Respondent: That I usually favor? Interviewer: Yes, so are there any, like, products that you usually favor that you during Covid had to make sacrifices because you couldn't get them anymore or you decided to not buy them anymore? So, for food and clothes Respondent: Yeah, I'm thinking. No, I honestly couldn't think of something. 6. Interviewer: And has the pandemic affected how you buy food online or in physical stores? Respondent: Yeah, I definitely think so because most of the shops were closed in The Netherlands during the second lockdown and if you wanted something, you had to order it or make an appointment for a shopping moment. Like a reservation to shop. So, I think that many people were kind of forced to buy online instead of in the stores. Interviewer: I would like to thank you for your time and wish you a very good day. Respondent: Thank you, you too.

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Respondent 7

Demographics Age: 29 Gender: Female Living situation: living with a partner, renting an apartment.

1. Interviewer: All right, I want to thank you already for your participation in this research and for being here today and taking time out of your schedule to be a part of this. As I said, we are two students from Mälardalen University that are currently writing our master thesis on the topic of product preferences regarding food and clothes during the Covid-19 pandemic. So, the majority of the questions that I'll be asking you today will be related to your product preferences regarding food and clothes. Let's start with a general question. Could you give a brief description of yourself and what you do? Respondent: Yes, sure. So, my name is X and I actually work in sales for a technology company. So, software as a service company, we're selling our recruitment software and I try to convince customers to buy the software and show the product. And that's basically what I do all day. 1.1 Interviewer: Interesting. And what was your occupation before the pandemic? Respondent: It stayed the same, so it was always the account executive job. Interviewer: And do you work from home or do you go to the office? Respondent: Right now, I'm working from home. Interviewer: Was this the same before Covid? Respondent: No, it wasn't before I would go to the office. 2. Interviewer: And how has the pandemic affected you on a general level? Respondent: Well, first of all, I had to move my office to my home, so I was working from home all the time. Also, I would stay at home with only my roommates all the time, so I would rarely see friends and everything. So, since I have my workplace at home and everything else as well, it was quite intense to get the right balance also. Between work and personal life. 2.1 Interviewer: And other parts of your life, have there been other parts that have been affected, such as your finances or other parts of your social life? Maybe also your health and mental health? Respondent: Well, I wouldn't say necessarily. I'm a person that can cope with that quite well. On a financial level, I can call myself lucky that I'm in an environment where we work in technology and also recruitment software, which is like a very interesting topic. And also, everyone, like every company wants to have a recruitment software, especially right now, because they also have to

120 digitize their recruitment. So, it was actually the opposite of maybe many, many other people. And I was lucky enough to even get more money and a special commission on sales and everything. So that was quite good for me. Interviewer: So, would you say Covid has affected you or the pandemic has affected your finances in a good way? Respondent: Yes. 3. Interviewer: Can you describe the restrictions that you have personally experienced in the Netherlands put on by the government? Respondent: Yes, so first of all, it started quite let's say, OK, so first of all, it was working from home so we wouldn't go to the office anymore, but we could still go out, go shopping and everything. And then there was like the first lockdown where they also ask us to wear all masks, especially in the area where I lived. I lived close to the Kalverstraat, which is like the shopping area. So, I had to wear my mask constantly when I would go out, when I would just like go grocery shopping and everything. So, yeah. Interviewer: And other than these ones, did you also experience any other restrictions in The Netherlands? Respondent: No. 3.1 Interviewer: Ok. How has this affected you, these restrictions? Respondent: Personally? Interviewer: Yes. Respondent: Well, it was quite uncomfortable sometimes, especially wearing the mask. I have the feeling that sometimes I can't breathe properly and that's something that I don't really like. Also, you constantly have to think of keeping your distance, for example, not standing too close in line when you're queuing or make sure you have your mask with you. So, there are many, many more things that you have to think about. But also staying inside all the time, barely see any of your family members or a lot of friends that are maybe all over the world or in my case, are all over the world. So, I couldn't visit them anymore, which was very hard and difficult. 3.2 Interviewer: Yeah, I can understand that. And what have you done to overcome the lockdown and the restrictions? Respondent: Well, I started doing things that I actually haven't done before. I started doing some sports inside like some workouts or something. I started puzzling again, jigsaw puzzling. I started like drawing. And I listen to a lot of audiobooks. I would read a lot of things like articles online or I would also watch a lot of videos that would motivate me and give me a good feeling. I did some

121 yoga, and I would also constantly go for walks outside because that was very important to me as well, to get some fresh air, to get my body moving. 4 Interviewer: And now I have a few questions about you as a consumer, what type of label would you give yourself as a consumer? I can already give you a few examples of common ones. For instance, like a premium consumer means that you usually tend to buy more expensive products. Budget means that you tend to buy more, cheaper alternatives and intermediate means in between. Now, you can also answer this question with any type of other label that you want to label yourself. But these are as a direction. Respondent: Intermediate. Interviewer: Intermediate and why is that? Respondent: Well, I do value good quality, which is most of the times very expensive. However, I still think that there are a lot of products out there which are equivalent and that you sometimes only buy the brand instead of the real quality. So that's why I would call myself more an intermediate person, but sometimes maybe also towards like budget, because sometimes I also maybe spend less on some things. Depends on the product. Interviewer: And if you relate this question directly to, let's say first food and then clothes? Respondent: Yeah. Interviewer: How do you look at that? Respondent: That's a good one. So, with food, I'm more on the quality side, I would say. So, everything that is more expensive, for example, organic or something that is sugar free where I know OK doesn't affect my teeth for example. With the clothes I'm more on the cheaper side I would say. I used to work in retail as well. So, I also know the production and what is behind that. So, for me, it just maybe I also look with it through different eyes, but for me I wouldn't pay for an Ermes bag, for example twenty thousand euros or something. Yeah, that's just something that I wouldn't do. 4.1 Interviewer: And has this changed since the start of Covid? Respondent: Yes, that has changed. Especially towards food. Interviewer: Could you please elaborate on that? Why has it changed? Respondent: I think it has changed because I'm eating more inside now as well. So, restaurants were closed down, shut down during the lockdown as well. And that's why I don't go outside anymore. Like before I used to eat outside as well. So, I want to make sure that I get like very, very good food. And I'm also like dealing more with cooking for myself and everything. So that's why I also take a closer look on the quality. And most of the times, as I said before, quality comes with a higher price. And yeah, it stayed the same with the clothes, though.

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5 Interviewer: And what played a key role in your spending and consumption behavior during a pandemic? Respondent: A big role is, for example, if a company does something for a good cause, that's something that always motivates me to buy. Yeah, that's it. It hasn't changed during the pandemic. 5.1 Interviewer: And when you look at price and quality of food, has this changed during the pandemic? Has it become more important for you? Respondent: Yes. 5.2 Interviewer: And what type of differences do you see when comparing your spending on food and clothes now as opposed to before covid? Respondent: Well, especially in regards clothes, it got way, way, way less. So, I'm barely shopping clothes anymore. I used to shop probably once a week. I would buy a lot of clothes. I would go to a lot of festivals. For every festival I would buy a new outfit. I would go out a lot to bars. I would buy a new outfit. So, I was constantly buying new clothes. And that's something that I don't do anymore because or also going to the office, because I don't have any occasions anymore to wear these clothes. So, I'm not buying these many clothes anymore. And with food, it got more. I bought, of course, more food because I couldn't go outside anymore. As I mentioned before, I would go a lot to restaurants. I'm not a big cooker, so I'm not a big cook. So, I would buy more food now or I’m buying more food now. 5.3 Interviewer: Very clear. Do you favor certain types of products now as opposed to before Covid? Respondent: No. 5.4 Interviewer: Have you had to make any sacrifices regarding purchasing products such as food and clothes that you usually favor. Respondent: No. Interviewer: Due to them not being available, for instance? Respondent: No. 6 Interviewer: Has the pandemic affected how you buy food online or physically? Respondent: Yes. 6.1 Interviewer: Can you please elaborate on that? Respondent: Yeah, I mean, I would also order more like I would buy something online so that it gets delivered. Yeah, that's something that I would do. But I don't know if I've done that before or that much as well. So, in general, I think it almost got less, yeah it got less. Like I ordered less online because I'm buying more my own food and start cooking. Interviewer: And in regard to clothes?

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Respondent: Yeah, I buy less clothes. 7 Interviewer: Did you experience any form of panic buying during Covid-19? Respondent: Yes. Interviewer: And when and how long did you experience that? Respondent: Well, especially during the first lockdown or right when Covid started in March last year. Like people were buying toilet paper like crazy. I would go to Albert Heijn and there was like no toilet paper left at all. Yeah. But when I went to Kruidvat I could buy it. Interviewer: So how long was this? Respondent: I think for like two weeks or something, and then they stocked up. Interviewer: OK. Did you experience yourself panic buying as well? Interviewer: No. 8. Interviewer: Is there anything interesting or astonishing that you noticed in the retailer's behavior during Covid-19? Respondent: Yes, they would do more online selling, of course, because they couldn't sell anything anymore. They would also do more like online marketing, let's say, work with more influencers, for example. Or they would like to try to come up with a concept like the employees would go to the closed store and show the clothing and everything that they could buy online. So that's also something that they haven't done before or a few of them at least. 8.1 Interviewer: And in regard to the availability of food in your local supermarket or your preferred supermarket, what is your opinion on that? Was that enough available throughout the pandemic? Respondent: Yes. 8.2 Interviewer: Did you have any experience with empty shells? Respondent: Oh, yeah. Empty shelves of toilet paper. Interviewer: Are there any other products that you've seen were chosen during the panic buying behavior period? Respondent: No. Interviewer: Only toilet paper? Respondent: Yeah. Interviewer: That was all of my questions, I would like to thank you for your participation again and wish you a good day. Respondent: Bye.

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