An analysis of the effect of COVID-19 on the usage of entertainment mobile applications

This study examines the effect of COVID-19 on consumer behaviour in the mobile-based entertainment industry. In particular, we demonstrate those consumers’ COVID-19-induced psychological factors, such as fear of contagion and social deprivation, significantly affect entertainment-purposed consumer behaviour. We perform the fixed effects regression utilising mobile app-level usage data and COVID-19-related data. The results revealed that in the entertainment category, ‘offline-to-online apps’ usage decreased, while ‘online-only apps’ increased as the pandemic worsened. Furthermore, the usage of ‘social functioning apps’ increased because consumers pursued social presence during the pandemic. This study is among the first to examine the COVID-19-induced effect on consumer behaviour in the entertainment industry and one of the few to analyse mobile app usage during the pandemic. This study also contributes to the literature on offline-to-online consumption transition, showing that COVID-19 can accelerate the transition trend. Moreover, it can provide valuable insights to marketers, particularly those at the forefront of the pandemic.