The Impact of COVID-19 Containment Measures on Food Purchasing and Eating Behaviors in Canada (Research Proposal Sample)

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 CONTAINMENT MEASURES ON FOOD PURCHASING AND EATING BEHAVIORS IN CANADA Author’s Name Affiliation MKTG3210: Consumer Behavior Instructor March 31, 2023 Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Canada implemented public health measures to control and prevent the spread of the virus. The containment measures included school closures, stay-at-home orders, closure of non-essential services, restrictions on public gatherings, and the wearing of face masks. The restrictions had significant socioeconomic consequences for Canadians, key among them their impact on food purchasing and consumption behaviors. Hence, this study will investigate the impact of COVID-19 containment measures on the food purchase and eating behaviors of Canadians. This study will utilize a cross-sectional research design. The sample frame will consist of 1,200 Canadians living in both urban and rural areas. Data will be collected using questionnaires and analyzed using the SPSS statistical software. The results will be presented in percentages, frequencies, and partial least squares model for hypothesis testing. The findings and recommendations of this study will have several implications for businesses in the food service industry. It will also inform their marketing decisions, particularly with regard to channeling and messaging. The findings can also help policymakers and communities to better deal with similar crises in the future. 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Background of the Study The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) emerged in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Due to its high transmissibility, it spread rapidly to more than 200 countries (Abebe et al., 2022). On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global health emergency, and on March 11, 2020, declared the disease a global pandemic (Janssen et al., 2021). To limit the spread of the disease, governments across the world responded by implementing containment and hygiene measures, such as border closures, school and workplace closures, stay-at-home orders, restrictions on public gatherings, the mandatory wearing of masks, and regular hand washing (Janssen et al., 2021). These containment measures caused severe economic and social disruptions. The measures also impacted the socio-demographic and economic characteristics of populations worldwide, including income reduction and disruption of food supply chains (AlTarrah et al., 2021). Canada recorded the first case of COVID-19 towards the end of January 2020 and barely two months later, community transmission spiked (Government of Canada, 2022). To control and stop the spread of the disease, all of Canada’s provinces and territories declared states of emergency. The state of emergency, coupled with the invoking of the Quarantine Act by the Federal Minister of Health (for the first time since its enactment in 2005) implemented school closures, closure of non-essential businesses (including hospitality services and food outlets), prohibition on gatherings, and restrictions on entry into the country (Government of Canada, 2022). In line with the WHO recommendations and similar to many other countries, Canada took measures to maintain food supply, food safety, and nutritional status of the population (Government of Canada, 2022). During this period, supermarkets, takeaway services, and online food delivery services remained fully functional as the government continued to give assurances that food stocks were adequate and widely accessible. However, despite these assurances, COVID-19 and the related containment measures had significant effects on food supply and access, and consumer relationships with food. Lockdowns and working from home, combined with more time in people’s hands and reduced incomes, contributed to wide-ranging shifts in food purchasing and eating behaviors. Most significantly, it led to reduced shopping trips, stockpiling, and an increase in online shopping for food (AlTarrah et al., 2021). The restrictive measures taken to control the pandemic and the resulting uncertainty led to food demand and supply disruptions, which affected food prices and household food consumption patterns (AlTarrah et al., 2021). The business closures led to massive unemployment and a sharp decline in household incomes, consequently affecting food affordability, food choice motives, dietary habits, and appetitive traits. Consumers redistributed their incomes to allocate more household income to savings for medical care (Liu et al., 2021). Changes in consumption were not only observed in quantity but also in the type and quality of food consumed – consumers shifted to cheaper alternatives, reduced the consumption of animal-derived foods such as poultry and meat, decreased the consumption of fruits, and resorted to the use of shelf-stable packaged foods (Liu et al., 2021. Additionally, there was an increase in online ordering and door-to-door delivery as people thought that such channels were safer and would maintain higher household food inventory, reducing the number of trips to the market (AlTarrah et al., 2021). Several studies have investigated consumer shopping behavior and individual perceptions in Canada; however, very few existing studies have focused on food purchasing and eating behaviors among Canadians. Furthermore, most of the current research on consumer purchase behavior was carried out at the early stages or peak of the pandemic before the third and fourth waves. Hence, the present study aims to investigate the impact of the pandemic’s containment measures on Canadian food purchasing and eating behavior. More specifically, the study seeks to provide a comparative analysis of Canadian food purchasing and eating behaviors before and during the pandemic and explore how the changes (if any) vary among various socioeconomic groups. This study will contribute to the literature looking at the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food purchase behaviors in the North American context. Context-specific research is necessary as the extent of containment measures and their impact on consumer food purchasing behavior varies across time and geographies. This will enhance the understanding of the pandemic on the general consumer behavior in Canada and has significant implications for businesses. As many countries, including Canada, continue to fully ease the containment measures related to the pandemic and life slowly returns to normal, consumer buying and eating behaviors have critical implications for the Canadian hospitality industry, including food vendors. Understanding how consumers shop for food, their preferences for certain types of food, the quality-quantity trade-off, home-cooking versus eating-out preferences, and online shopping versus in-store purchasing has significant implications for businesses in the Canadian food service sector. It will assist businesses in improving their marketing decisions, especially around channeling and messaging. 2 Statement of the Problem  The COVID-19 pandemic occasioned one of the most significant historical shocks, affecting many aspects of people’s everyday lives. The introduction of containment measures to limit the spread of the disease, such as stay-at-home orders and other restrictions on movement, affected consumers’ relationship with food. The restrictions and limitations on work and commerce affected access to food and consumption patterns. The lockdowns, working from home, more time in people’s hands, and reduced incomes contributed to shifts in consumer food perceptions and behavior (AlTarrah et al., 2021). Some of the changes observed in food purchase behavior include stockpiling, decreased shopping trips, and online shopping. Eating patterns and diet have shifted towards the consumption of more home-cooked meals. While in some cases, the containment measures triggered unhealthy eating habits, such as snacking, the measures led to an emphasis on health and nutrition in some other cases (Neziraj & Sylqa, 2022). Like the rest of the world, Canada has grappled with COVID-19 over the past three years. As the government of Canada eases the containment measures it had imposed at the height of the pandemic, it is essential to look at the effects the measures had on the food purchase and eating behavior of Canadians. While similar studies have been conducted in other parts of the world, such as in Russia, Kuwait, and the United States, only a few studies have focused on the Canadian context. This study seeks to fill this research gap through an examination of the impact of containment measures on food purchase and eating behavior in Canada. 3 Objectives of the Study This research aims to examine the effects of the pandemic containment measures on Canadian consumers’ food purchasing and eating behaviors. Two questions will be addressed in this research: First, how the pandemic containment measures affected shopping behavior in Canada, and second, how the measures affected the diets and food consumption patterns of Canadians. The findings of this study will contribute to the existing literature on the relationship between health, financial, and other crises and food purchasing behavior. The study will also help businesses in the Canadian food service sector to better realign themselves with the changing consumer behavior during times of crises in the future.   4 Research Questions  The research questions that this study aims to answer are: (i) How did Canadians change their food purchasing behavior during the pandemic? (ii) How did Canadians change their dietary habits during the pandemic? 2 LITERATURE REVIEW The COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered many aspects of everyday life. The closure of non-essential businesses, including restaurants, restrictions on mobility, and lower incomes significantly influenc...