Consumer’s Reaction to the Observance of Hygienic Principles in the Stores During the Outbreak of COVID-19Pandemic

The purpose of this study is to investigate the consumers’ reaction to the observance of hygienic principles in the store during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The statistical population of the present study included all Rasht citizens who are at least 18 years old. The data collection instrument for this study was a questionnaire that was prepared in the form of two scenarios an inter-subject and scenario-based experiment. According to each scenario, 138 samples completed the questionnaire based on watching the submitted video. also for data analysis purposes, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Smart PLS software. The study results illustrated that the significance level for all four behavioral reactions including store attachment, willingness to more pay, repurchase intention, and word-of-mouth advertising was less than 0.05, pointing out a significant difference between customers’ reactions in the two stages of the experiment. Also, under high and under-hygienic states, the effect of store attachment, and word-of-mouth advertising on the repurchase intention is positive but the level of influence in the hygienic state is more than that of the low hygienic state. Also, the moderating role of word-of-mouth advertising to an attachment on the store and willingness to pay more has been evaluated positively in both states, and in under hygienic state the level of moderation is higher.