COVID-19 Social Phobia and Customer Purchase Intentions in Used-Goods Market: The Role of Contamination Concern and Seller Trust

The purpose of this study was to confirm the causal relationship between COVID-19 social phobia, contamination concern, and purchase intention. Herein, contamination concern refers to consumers’ fear of exposure to COVID-19. This study sought to determine whether online communities’ trust in the seller acts as a moderator between contamination concern and purchase intention. In addition, the indirect effect of COVID-19 social phobia and contamination concerns on purchase intention was investigated. The causal relationships of the variables were examined by comparing differences in trust level ( N High = 139, N Low = 144; M age = 38.57; female = 51.9%, n = 147) in the used-goods market during the COVID-19 scenario. Using PROCESS macro model 14, the relationship between COVID-19 social phobia and contamination concern, the relationship between contamination concern and purchase intention, and the moderating effect of the level of trust on contamination concern and purchase intention were explored. Finally, moderated mediation was analyzed using the research model. COVID-19 social phobia positively affected contamination concern, and the level of trust had a moderating effect on contamination concern and purchase intention. However, the causal relationship between contamination concern and purchase intention was not significant; thus, the moderating effect could not be confirmed. As the sharing economy expanded, the influence of contamination concern on consumer purchasing decisions was confirmed. To deal with this, corporate managers must proactively implement measures to increase the trust of consumers.