Environmental Awareness Survey in the Hungarian Online Food Trade

Abstract

By the time of publishing this article, the economic situation created by the pandemic had caused us to face some serious issues. The food sector underwent significant changes in the first year of COVID-19 with online shopping and e-commerce becoming one of the most important channels for market operators. The rapid and significant increase has made everyone face challenges, particularly from the perspective of environmental protection. There are more vehicles on the road and more packaging is being used. When the pandemic started, customers did not consider how this business affected the environment, but conscious customers now give priority to environmental impacts. This study is aimed at exploring how customers' expectations mirror their environmental consciousness. The article is based on the evaluation of a questionnaire, in which the authors investigated whether customers, driven by environmental awareness, were willing to pay more for transport and packaging in a situation when COVID-19 intensified food e-commerce activities. Based on the respondents' level of education and income, the article shows their reaction to the topic. The result indicates that the behaviour of the younger generation differs from that of the older generation, and it is suggested that service providers react to this by focusing on green solutions, such as ecologically friendly packaging, electric vans, or other alternative delivery solutions. Additionally, it is also expected that the increase of order numbers won't have a negative impact on social sustainability, such as traffic jams, air pollution, and noise. Based on the findings, the service provider is seen as responsible with only a limited willingness by customers to bear the financial consequences. It can be concluded that the economical challenge of the increase in e-commerce caused by the pandemic remains with retailers in Hungary.