Annals of “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati Fascicle I. Economics and Applied Informatics Years XXVI – n o 1/2020 ISSN-L 1584-0409 ISSN-Online 2344-441X www.eia.feaa.ugal.ro DOI https://doi.org/10.35219/eai1584040975 Consumer Behavior in Crisis Situations. Research on the Effects of COVID‐19 in Romania Silvius STANCIU  , Riana Iren RADU  , Violeta SAPIRA  , Bogdan Dumitrache BRATOVEANU  , Andrei Mirel FLOREA  ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Accepted April 2020 Available online May 2020 The emergence of some critical incidents of economic, biological type-crises, armed conflicts, natural cataclysms can affect significantly the activity of the human society. The article aims at analyzing the behavior of the Romanian consumer in the context of COVID- 19 emergence. The performed research has highlighted the particularities of the emergence of this sanitary crisis at the local economy level. Although the Romanian population’s infection degree has been more reduced as compared to the Western states, the strict prevention measures imposed by the authorities have determined a model of behavior of the consumer close to the one of other states affected by the infection with the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV2. The market studies performed by specialized companies have shown that imposing home isolation conditions, due to the emergency state, has significantly reduced the social activities of the Romanian consumer, the actions being oriented mainly towards covering the basic necessities. The health of the consumers (purchase of medicines or visit to the physician), procuring food or financial activities at the banking units are the main motivations for leaving the residence. By comparison, the sports activities or the visits for supporting family members have the lowest weight. A segment of consumers, advocate of traditional commerce, has been forced to appeal to modern trade methods based on online shopping, and the specialists’ estimations provide the maintenance of the trade behavior. Companies will have to focus on understanding the consumer’s needs and to adapt their product offer and distribution system so that to reduce the new consumption limits and to facilitate the sales act. The main orientation during the crisis towards the local products can represent an opportunity for the Romanian companies, but Government support measures are necessary for the Romanian producers. The research results are a novelty, being among the first studies conducted at national level on the complex impact of COVID-19 on the health of the population, the national economy and consumer behaviorh start. © 2020 EAI. All rights reserved. JEL Classification G18, H12, I13, D18 Keywords: COVID-19, pandemic, crisis, consumer, behavior, Romania 1. Introduction The evolution of human civilization has highlighted a series of crises generated by pandemics, wars, cataclysms or other natural phenomena, which have led to the occurrence of severe economic problems, materialized in thorough changes of the society (Jarus, 2020). The global human history has registered thousands of epidemics, including diseases from bubonic plague to smallpox, SARS for respiratory diseases, Ebola, HIV or recently, SARS-CoV2. In this context, Faust (2020) speculates on the consequences of global pandemics from social, political and cultural perspectives on a long term, forecasting a thorough modification of the actual human society, going to another development level. In most critical incidents in which the society has been affected by pandemics, the demographic reduction and major food safety problems have occurred, which have led to mass movements and political changes. It can be mentioned the loss of supremacy of Athens in the Greek world or the decay of the Western Roman Empire, the disappearance of slavery and development of feudalism due to bubonic plague, the accelerated industrialization and establishment of capitalism due to the Spanish flu, the Arab Spring and the modification of totalitarian regimes from the Middle East in the last decade of the last century (Stanciu,2015). 2. Literature review When accounting for the main pandemics which have had affected the humanity, Jarus shows that generalized epidemics have occurred since 5,000 years ago in China (epidemic wiped), followed by the Bubonic Plague in Ancient Greece (430 BC) and the Roman Empire (A.D. 165-180, 250-271, 541-542), Black Death (1346-1353) in Asia and Europe, cocoliztli epidemic in Central America (1545-1548), Great Plague of  ,  ,  ,  ,  Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Romania. E-mail address: floreaandreim@yahoo.com (A.M. Florea – Corresponding author)