Consumers' Channel Preference for Fresh Foods and Its Determinants during COVID-19-Evidence from China

The public has been experiencing unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic for the past two years. Government measures, such as improvements in offline markets and the encouragement of contactless e-commerce use, have been taken to abate the spread of infection. This study explored whether public channel preferences for fresh foods have changed and aimed to identify potential determinants. Data from 10,708 consumers were obtained by issuing questionnaires, and the binary logic measurement model was used for the empirical analysis to study the core factors that determine consumers' choice of online and offline purchase channels for fresh food. The results show that, from the perspective of consumers' personal behavior, consumers who do not pay attention to online evaluations and consumers who do not buy products based on their purchase experience have increased the frequency of online fresh food purchases during the epidemic. Food safety also significantly affects consumers' choices of purchase channels. Consumers who believe that online fresh foods are safer prefer to purchase fresh food online. Among the factors affecting the performance of online fresh food, consumers concerned about food safety increased the frequency of online purchases, while consumers concerned about the reputation of the platform decreased the frequency of online purchases. These findings can help online and offline retailers better understand consumer needs and then determine their marketing strategies.