earticle

영어

This study investigates how stimulus payments intended exclusively for the fast recovery of small offline retailers during the COVID-19 affect the spending patterns of consumers across channels (e.g., online/offline channels) and the sales performance of retailers of different sizes. Findings reveal that the increase in disposable incomes from the financial aid spills over onto alternative retailers (i.e., established offline stores) and online vendors that have been less affected by the crisis. Sales inequality among small offline retailers widened after the payment disbursement. Small offline retailers in low-income regions and remote areas obtained minimal benefits compared with retailers in high-income regions and commercially dense localities. Individual-level analysis shows that male consumers spend less at small offline retailer stores than their female counterparts. Consumers belonging to low-income brackets spend considerably less at offline merchants than their high-income equivalents. We draw marketing implications for the recovery of small offline retailers during the pandemic.