Abstract

After the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, retailers have faced an unusual situation in which consumers hoard daily necessities amid a sharp increase in the proportion of online sales in several countries. scholars recently investigated consumers' pandemic-induced hoarding behavior, but studies examining hoarding behavior concerning online commerce are insufficient. This study investigates how pandemic-related stress has led to the daily necessities hoarding model. Next, we explore whether consumers' trust in online commerce strengthens the hoarding mechanism. The results show that pandemic-related stress affects hoarding behavior through perceived scarcity of necessities, anticipated regret, and the urge to buy. In this process, the relationship between anticipated regret and the urge to buy is and more substantial in those who highly trust online commerce. The results of this study promote an understanding of the theory by expanding the existing hoarding behavior model. In addition, by confirming that consumers' trust in online commerce strengthens the hoarding mechanism, the result suggests that it would be helpful for online commerce providers to build trust with customers during the pandemic.