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The first reported case of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, in the USA occurred in January, and in the months that followed, the virus fiercely spread across the USA. Governments imposed stay-at-home orders and encouraged individuals to practice behaviors that would slow the spread of the virus (CDC, 2020; White House, 2020). The coronavirus riddled many Americans with fear and anxiety. According to the American Psychological Association (2020), during the early part of the virus outbreak in March 2020, nearly half of Americans were anxious about the possibility of getting coronavirus, and more than one-third said that the coronavirus pandemic was having a serious impact on their mental health.
Rarely does an event have such a profound impact on states across the nation as well as countries across the globe. Individuals were anxious about their health and the health of their loved ones, as well as the disruptions to daily life and the long-term consequences of the coronavirus pandemic (Global WebIndex, 2020). This research examines the unique emotional distress caused by fear and anxiety during the coronavirus outbreak. It provides new insight by illuminating what fuels fear and anxiety during a global, calamitous event such as the COVID-19 pandemic and investigates how fear and anxiety impacts consumption and behaviors of conformity and compliance. Previous research has examined the impact of isolated catastrophic occurrences on consumption (Kemp et al., 2014; Sneath et al., 2009), but this research examines the influence of fear and anxiety during a pandemic.
Singularly, during the coronavirus pandemic, individuals grappled with confinement duration (i.e. stay-at-home orders, quarantining and self-isolation), having inadequate supplies, difficulty securing medical care, financial loss and tremendous ambiguity. Furthermore, from a consumption standpoint, many supply chains experienced disruptions. With isolated disasters or crises (e.g. a hurricane in New Orleans or an earthquake in California), supply chain interruptions are limited to a region or country; however with a pandemic like COVID-19, these disruptions impacted the entire world (Moritz, 2020). Thus, as these deleterious effects increased in intensity and duration, negative emotions like fear and anxiety abounded. Emotions like fear and anxiety can uniquely impact consumer behavior and decision-making. This research investigates some of the contributing factors that generated fear and anxiety as well as the outcomes of such emotions...