Factors Affecting Panic Buying during COVID-19 Outbreak and Strategies: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to assess factors affecting panic buying and strategies to deal with them during COVID-19 with a scoping review. Method: The review was performed based on Arksey and O’Malley. PubMed, Embase, Scopus, ProQuest, and Science Direct databases were selected to search. All English language full-text articles from Jan 2020 to May 2021 were included. Initially, the titles and abstracts of the retrieved articles were read and screening was accomplished based on the research question. After that, the full text of eligible studies was examined. A third reviewer was resolved disagreements at any stage by a consensus meeting. A self-assessment form was designed for data extraction. The causes of panic buying were assessed as a descriptive study. Results: The search process returned 23 articles after deletion for complete data extraction and analysis. Through thematic analysis, the factors influencing panic buying were divided into six categories including cognitive, emotional, behavioral, social, and economic factors as well as government action, and finally, the recommended strategies were categorized in two categories included psychosocial and economic. Conclusion: A holistic view of panic buying’s causes allows planners and decision-makers to design categorized strategies beyond the suggested strategies. Increasing customer awareness and monitoring the flow of information through social media and mass media, psychotherapy, counseling, and economic strategies are considered by planners to combat panic buying.

Keywords

• Panic buying
• COVID-19
• Causes
• Factors
• Strategies