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Online shopping and COVID-19: The effects of a global pandemic on the consumption of fashion A marketing research report by Daniel Mitev Wordcount 1478  Executive summary This report explores consumer’s purchase intentions of fashion products in relation to online shopping and how they are influenced by perceived convenience and personal safety in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. By utilizing both primary and secondary data sources, this paper examines the following hypotheses: H1 The perceived convenience of online shopping positively affects the consumer's online purchase intentions for fashion apparel H2 The perceived personal safety of online shopping positively affects the consumer’s online purchase intentions for fashion apparel H3 The perceived personal safety of online shopping positively affects the consumer’s perception of convenience In order to investigate their validity, an online survey was conducted in order to establish customers’ perceptions of convenience and safety. The questionnaire was administered in an online format, although a face-to-face method would have been preferred to better capture the social cues in the conversation and increase the trustworthiness of the data gathered (Opdenakker, 2006). The findings of the research indicate that the majority of respondents were taking into account the safety of online deliveries when making online purchase decisions for fashion apparel. In addition, newfound considerations such as the level of person-to-person contact were observed, indicating a positive relationship in all three hypotheses. However, certain limitations must also be taken into account, such as the demographic homogeneity in the questionnaire participants and the constraints inherent to small sample sizes. It is suggested that the use of probability sampling techniques needs to be explored to gain more meaningful insights into the research problem and an increase in the sample size may bring more representative and generalized results.  Introduction The most popular items sold on the Internet used to be those for which the shopper already had sufficient information, such as books, travel, health and beauty products (Schaeffer, 2000). However, as technology improved, items previously thought to be saleable only in a touch‐and‐feel environment like fashion apparel, are now dominating the online shopping scene. Fashion products are the top-selling online shopping category in the world, accounting for $665.6 billion of revenue in 2020 (See Appendix A). With an 11 percent year-over-year increase in online fashion spending, it is projected to become the first trillion-dollar online category by the year 2025. Considering the central role it plays in the world of e-commerce, understanding the drivers in purchase behaviour of online fashion consumers has become an increasingly important topic for marketers. Previous studies, such as the one by Monsuwe, Dellaert & de Ruyter (2004) have looked at what drives customers to shop online and have concluded that purchase intentions are motivated by dozens of exogenous factors, including ease of use and personal or situational environment. There is also an abundant volume of academic papers citing the advantages of in-person interactions with fashion products and staff within a retail environment over online shopping (Silva et al., 2020). Nevertheless, this relationship between physical product involvement and buying intentions are being reconsidered today due to the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19. Unlike the abovementioned marketing concepts, the effects of a global health crisis are not as deeply explored yet. This paper will attempt to join a novel field of work analysing the impact of COVID-19 on the online purchase behaviours of fashion consumers and contribute to the discussions therein.  Context and theoretical background One of the primary concepts in marketing literature is the study of purchase intentions and its influences (Nasution et al., 2019). It can be broadly defined as a decision-making process, leading the consumers’ willingness to buy a particular brand or product. (Shah et al, 2012). Fishbein & Ajzen (1975) have stated that purchase intentions are a good predictor of future buying behaviour. The attractive attributes of Internet have been thoroughly examined and include ease of access, time effectiveness, convenience and accessibility to information for purchasing decisions (Then and Delong, 1999; Schaeffer 2000) Based on these preliminary insights found from previous academic literature, the following hypothesis was developed: H1 The perceived convenience of online shopping positively affects the consumer's online purchase intentions for fashion apparel Researches like Yoon (2002) have also included safety as an online purchase intention consideration, but only from the perspective of security and privacy concerns within the digital transaction. It is only in recent works, like the research from the OECD (2020), that the health aspect of safety is being examined in online purchases. One limitation of utilizing such contemporary literature is the lack of established consensus in the field. Nonetheless, considering the contemporary nature of the pandemic, such measures are justified. Based on this insight, the second hypothesis was developed: H2 The perceived personal safety of online shopping positively affects the consumer’s online purchase intentions for fashion apparel In 2020 the COVID-19 outbreak became a global pandemic, affecting people’s lives all over the world. Online technologies became a core channel for business continuation, social interactions and consumption in a time of strict lockdown rules. The “new normal” brought about behavioural and in turn economic changes that businesses everywhere were forced to adapt in a short amount of time. One such change is that the pandemic compelled customers to use internet more than ever before and make it habit in their daily routine (Abiad, Arao, & Dagli, 2020). Contemporary research suggest that today’s consumer avoids going brick and mortar stores due to the perceived dangers of crowded areas (Bhatti et al, 2020). The drastic growth in e-commerce spending, accompanied with the decline in physical buying (See Appendix B), indicates a fundamental change in the forces driving online shopping (Lee et al., 2020). Based on this economic data and academic literature, the following hypothesis were formulated: H3 The perceived personal safety of online shopping positively affects the consumer’s perception of convenience Methodology