Influence of Increased Online Information on Consumption Patterns during COVID-19: Case of Priority Medical Devices

The study investigates the unusual purchase behaviour of priority medical devices, observed during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The study proposes a structural model connecting online information consumption to this unusual purchase. The study also investigates the mediation of perceived severity and information overload, along with testing the direct influence of self-efficacy. To test the proposed model, 205 respondents from India participated in an online survey, and analysis was carried out using PLS-SEM. We found a strong link between online information consumption and unusual purchase behaviour. Perceived severity mediated the relationship between online information consumption and unusual purchase behaviour. Also, the direct relation between self-efficacy on unusual purchase behaviour was significant. The results confirm that increased online information consumption led to unusual purchase behaviour of priority medical devices used for the care and management of COVID-19.