Abstract:
Purpose: Taking into consideration the prolonged theories and concepts of gendered
consumer guilt, this study is based on analysing whether there is an impact of gender
on the consumer guilt experienced by consumers in the Sri Lankan market context
amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design / Methodology / Approach: In order to meet this objective, responses were
gathered via a Google form survey questionnaire to measure the impact of gender on
consumer guilt across four variables of guilt; purchase, non-purchase, on-self and
others guilt. The survey was conducted among 102 customers representing 68 females
and 34 males in the Sri Lankan consumer market.
Findings: The results of this study suggest that there isn’t any difference between
women and men towards consumer guilt felt as a result of purchases. Ultimately, the
overall results suggest that Purchase Guilt factors influence a large extent towards the
Consumers Guilt while Non-Purchasing Guilt, On-self Guilt and focus on Other Guilt
factors have moderate effects towards Consumer Guilt.
Originality: This study is important for Marketers in Sri Lanka in deciding their
marketing strategies catering to different purchasing patterns in between the genders.
