THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON BRAND PREFERENCE IN PURCHASING DECISIONS OF HAND SANITIZERS IN KATHMANDU, NEPAL

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread to nearly every nation around the world. As governments struggle with lockdown measures to control the virus spread, national economies and businesses are affected by loss. Nepal also suffered from corona virus and has surpassed all the expectations. As sanitizer demand increased many sanitizer manufacturing companies were facing difficulty in supplying adequate sanitizers in market which create panic hoarding. Also newly emerged sanitizer companies were taking undue advantages of the spiked market demands by selling low quality hand sanitizers and exposing consumers to buying such products. The main purpose of this study was to find out how a pandemic affected brand preference in purchase decision of hand sanitizer in Kathmandu, Nepal. For collecting empirical data, PMO Model was built on basic of branding theory and the consumer behavior theory. Qualitative approaches were used for research and analysis where sixteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with Nepalese customers. The findings indicate aspects of price, quality, risk and loyalty were tied to the pandemic within the context of the health aspect of the COVID-19 virus. While large shifts have been preferred in sanitizer brands due to unavailable of stocks, there are also large changes in health consciousness and qualitative demands on sanitizer brands due to the pandemic affecting brand preference