eprintid: 10198958 rev_number: 7 eprint_status: archive userid: 699 dir: disk0/10/19/89/58 datestamp: 2024-10-25 09:56:35 lastmod: 2024-10-25 09:56:35 status_changed: 2024-10-25 09:56:35 type: article metadata_visibility: show sword_depositor: 699 creators_name: Sun, Mengqi creators_name: Xu, Yang creators_name: Zhong, Chen creators_name: Ren, Mengyao creators_name: Park, Sangwon title: Unraveling changes of spending behavior in pandemic cities: A nationwide study of South Korea ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B04 divisions: C04 divisions: F40 keywords: Behavior change, Cities, Computer Science, Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications, Consumer spending, COVID-19, Engineering, Engineering, Environmental, Environmental Sciences & Ecology, Environmental Studies, Geography, Geolocated transactions, IMPACT, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Operations Research & Management Science, Public Administration, Regional & Urban Planning, Science & Technology, SEARCH VOLUMES, Social Sciences, Spatial big data, Technology note: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic, unprecedented in scale and impact, has significantly influenced consumer spending. This study leverages a longitudinal transaction dataset from South Korea to analyze how the pandemic, social distancing policies, and pandemic-related search interest have shaped spending within and across cities. We examine transaction volume and expenditure amount as city-level indicators of activity intensity and consumption demand across four stages of the early pandemic. The study finds that: (1) Social distancing caused reductions in both residents' and travelers' spending. The increase in search interest coincided with a rise in residents' spending but a decline in travelers' spending; (2) Resident transactions experienced a moderate and persistent decline across all stages, while expenditure rebounded after the 1st national outbreak. Traveler transactions and expenditure showed similar trends, with declines during outbreaks and recoveries during stable periods; (3) Disparities across cities were associated with proximity to outbreak centers and socioeconomic attributes. Cities with larger populations or those closer to epicenters experienced greater reductions in spending, while less densely populated cities saw increased traveler spending during the 2nd stable period; (4) Travelers' spending from distant cities significantly decreased during the 1st outbreak but gradually recovered as the pandemic continued, indicating evolving behavior and adaptation; (5) Changes across spending categories exhibited significant heterogeneity. Residents showed increased demand for essential goods and online shopping, while recreation-related industries struggled throughout. These findings highlight the characteristics and disparities among consumers, cities, and industries, providing information for policymakers to formulate tailored support programs for industries experiencing increased demand or significant impacts. This study emphasizes the need to develop robust strategies for crisis management and economic resilience to mitigate the impacts of future health crises. date: 2024-12 date_type: published publisher: Elsevier official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2024.102181 full_text_type: other language: eng verified: verified_manual elements_id: 2322805 doi: 10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2024.102181 lyricists_name: Zhong, Chen lyricists_id: CZHON86 actors_name: Stacey, Thomas actors_id: TSSTA20 actors_role: owner funding_acknowledgements: 42171454 [National Natural Science Foundation of China]; 4-ZZNC [Hong Kong Polytechnic University Research Grant] full_text_status: restricted publication: Computers, Environment and Urban Systems volume: 114 article_number: 102181 pages: 19 citation: Sun, Mengqi; Xu, Yang; Zhong, Chen; Ren, Mengyao; Park, Sangwon; (2024) Unraveling changes of spending behavior in pandemic cities: A nationwide study of South Korea. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems , 114 , Article 102181. 10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2024.102181 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2024.102181>. document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10198958/1/Zhong_Full%20Text_CEUS_102181.pdf