Determinants of safety-focused product purchasing in the United States at the beginning of the global COVID-19 pandemic

Public preparation for the COVID-19 pandemic was widely covered in the media due to its intensity and fast-pace. While some individuals prepared with personal safety supplies such as soap and hand sanitizer, many others did not purchase such preparatory products. There are many health and safety benefits to quick engagement and emergency preparedness in a pandemic, and it is important to identify those who conduct these behaviors. The present study examined who engaged in preparatory purchasing of safety and health care products during the early stages of the spread of COVID-19 and what stimulated this action. Results of a cross-sectional study (N = 344) indicates that possessing, or uncertainty about possessing a COVID-19 risk factor (but not differences in age, gender, race, or income), increased purchasing of preparatory health and safety products. Also, in line with past research on risk, affect, and behavior, worry mediated this relationship. Further, gender moderated the relationship between worry and purchasing, such that worry increased product purchasing for men, who were initially low in worry, but not for women. This study lends additional support to worry as a mediator between risk and safety-related behavior and has implications for understanding factors related to preparatory purchasing of health care products during pandemics.