PANIC BUYING FACTORS AMONG MALAYSIAN HOUSEHOLDS DURING FIRST PHASE OF MOVEMENT CONTROL ORDER

Abstract

The coronavirus epidemic also known as COVID-19 had posed major public health and governance concerns worldwide including Malaysia. To break the chain of COVID-19, lockdowns are implemented in many places with the Malaysian government imposing a Movement Control Order (MCO), igniting fear and panic buying among consumers. The objectives of this study are first, to determine the contributing factors that influence the type of goods during panic buying and then to identify the significant factors that contribute to panic buying. This study used secondary data based on a questionnaire given to 300 respondents among Malaysian households. Principal component analysis extracted two main components, named as basic needs and other needs. By comparing the mean of these two components, basic needs are found to be the most important factor that contributes to panic buying. Next, binary logistic regression analysis is compared between forward and backward selection method with backward selection method as best model due to the lower AIC value. Only two significant variables among Malaysian households are involved in panic buying; they are young adults and the B40 groups. These findings on consumers’ panic buying behaviours during COVID-19 pandemic may give a better understanding and managerial insights for retailers and policymakers.