Economic behavior of students in e-commerce in the light of semiotics during the Covid-19

Abstract

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This study evaluates the consumption relations of low-income postgraduate students from Baixada Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro during the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact on economic behavior in the e-commerce environment. We conducted interviews in-depth to collect answers, coded and analyzed by semiotics. We separated them into ten themes inspired by other authors, and these themes are: Financial Education; E-commerce; Data Security; Consumption during the pandemic; Payment Methods; Employability during the pandemic; Economy during the pandemic; Shopping compulsion; Social isolation; E-commerce expectations after the pandemic. Next, we separated these topics into three blocks (Consumption, Financial Level, and Emotions) for more significant interview dynamics. We find that the pandemic impacted people's economic behavior, especially concerning awareness of health protection and social isolation, migrating a large part of consumption to e-commerce; there has been a significant development in the delivery service; and data security is still a relevant issue for customers. We also expect that online shopping will continue to rise because of the pandemic, stimulating and developing e-commerce. This interdisciplinary approach, linking behavioral economics, digital commerce, and semiotic analysis, introduces a unique lens for understanding students' economic behaviors in the context of e-commerce during the pandemic.