Shopping for beauty: The influence of the pandemic on body appreciation, conceptions of beauty, and online shopping behaviour

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has created shifts in consumer behavior. Beauty customers who normally purchased products in physical stores shifted to purchasing online. Because beauty products are sold at various types of retailers, beauty customers have multiple options for online purchases. This study focused on factors related to beauty that may change group behavior (social norms) using objectification theory and the theory of reasoned action. Broad conceptualizations of beauty and body appreciation and their effect on social norms that in turn affect customers’ purchase intentions with omnichannel beauty retailers were analyzed. A series of hypotheses were developed and empirically tested. Trust in online retailers was also analyzed as an indirect effect on purchase intention. 756 participants completed the online survey through Amazon MTurk. The findings show that broad conceptualizations of beauty have no significant effect on social norms, but body appreciation does have a negative effect on social norms. Trust was also shown to have an indirect effect on purchase intention. These findings demonstrate that people’s views of their body can also impact group behavior. When individuals have a positive body image, their individual perception outweighs the group’s social behavior, which in turn affects their purchase intentions.