Role of In-Store Atmospherics and Impulse Buying Tendency ...
Impulse Buying, Personality Traits, In-store Atmospherics, And Their Interaction
Transcript of Impulse Buying, Personality Traits, In-store Atmospherics, And Their Interaction
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IMPULSE BUYING, PERSONALITY TRAITS,IN-STORE ATMOSPHERICS, AND THEIR
INTERACTION
By
NIKHIL JALAN2006
SUPERVISOR: Mr. James Fitchett
This Dissertation is presented in part completion for the degreeof MA in Marketing
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would first, like to express my gratitude to the Almighty who gifted me the
patience, intellect, determination and enthusiasm, which helped me complete this project.
I express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. James Fitchett, for being very
inspiring. His valuable directions, timely suggestion and constructive criticism, assisted
me at every level of my project.
I am thankful to all my respondents who spared their valuable time and provided
me with information relating to their shopping behaviours.
I am grateful to all the lecturers and staff members of business school for their
committed help and support.
Last but not the least; I will take this opportunity to thank my family and friends,
who have always stood beside me and supported me in all my endeavours. Without their
help and support it wouldnt have been possible for me complete this project.
Nikhil Jalan
Ma Marketing
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ABSTRACT
In todays Post-modern Era shopping is has become a social and leisure activity,
reducing the number of cognitively planned purchases made by consumers. Hedonic and
pleasure driven shopping endeavors have led to the rapid increase in impulse buying,
making it common place and socially acceptable. Even though, most impulse decisions
are made when consumers are inside the store, the effect of in-store stimuli on such
decisions has not been adequately explored. This has led to the purpose of this research,
which is to understand the interaction between consumers affective states and in-store
stimuli, with respect to impulse buying. In keeping with the exploratory nature of the
research, an interpretivist approach was employed to collect data on the garment
shopping behaviour of young females, through semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The
analysis of the information gathered highlights the importance of in-store stimuli on
impulse buying as well as illustrates its interaction with consumer specific variables and
affective states. Since, multiple interactions and associations are possible, the study
implies that retailers should seek to design the in-store environment in such a manner in
which it can have the greatest impact on its primary target segment.
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION...07-11
1.1 Overview 08
1.2 Research Purpose 09
1.3 Demarcations 10
1.4 Outline of Study 10
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW...12-40
2.1 Introduction 13
2.2 Evolution of the Definition of Impulse Buying 13
2.3 Rationality of Impulsive Behaviour 17
2.4 Myth of Impulse Items 18
2.5 Factors Affecting Impulse Buying 19
2.5.1 Internal Factors 20
2.5.1.1 Emotional States 21
2.5.1.2 Personality Traits 23
2.5.2 External Factors 26
2.5.2.1 Demographics 28
2.5.2.2 Socio-Economic 29
2.5.2.3 Marketer Controlled Environment 32
2.6 Research Problems and Relevance of Research 39
2.7 Chapter Summary 40
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CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY..41-53
3.1 Introduction 42
3.2 Review of Research Philosophy 42
3.3 Rationale for using Interpretivist Approach 44
3.4 Research Technique of In-depth Interviews 45
3.5 Interview Construction 46
3.6 The Sample 48
3.7 Conducting the Interview 49
3.8 Analysis 51
3.9 Future Considerations & limitations & how they were handled 51
3.10 Chapter Summary 53
CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION54-78
4.1 Introduction 55
4.2 Shopping a Social Thing 56
4.3 The Increase in Impulse Buying Behaviour 56
4.4 Factors Influencing In-store Buying Behaviours 57
4.4.1 Personality Traits 58
4.4.1.1 Self Control 58
4.4.1.2 Stress Reaction 60
4.4.1.3 Absorption 61
4.4.2 Retail Environment 63
4.4.2.1 Ambience Factors 64
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4.4.2.2 Design Factors 67
4.4.2.3 Social Factors 69
4.4.3 Other Factors 71
4.5 Interaction between Internal Factors and In-store Atmospherics 73
4.6 Chapter Summary 78
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION79-87
5.1 Introduction 80
5.2 Key Findings 80
5.3 Limitations and Further Scope of the Research 83
5.4 Marketing Implications 85
APPENDICES.88-108
Appendix 1: Interview Protocol 88
Appendix 2: Sample Transcribed Interview 90
Appendix 3: CD of Interview Recordings 108
REFRENCES109-128
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Factors Affecting Impulse Buying.20
Figure 2: Internal Factors...21
Figure 3: External Factors..27
Figure 4: In-store Atmospherics35
Figure 5: Internal Factors, In-store Atmospherics, and Impulse Buying...76
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CHAPTER: 1
INTRODUCTION
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CHAPTER: 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 OVERVIEW
Though, consumers have become very sophisticated these days, yet most of their
decisions are driven by an irresistible urge to belong to specific groups and be part of a
social system (Masi, 2005). In todays postmodern era consumption provides individuals
the opportunity to construct, maintain and communicate identity and social meanings. It
is a way of participating in social life and cementing social relationships (Elliot, 1997).
Marketing innovations such as credit cards, cash machines, instant credit, 24-hour
retailing, home shopping networks, and telemarketing (Rook, 1987), have made it easier
for consumers to shop and consume products not only for the material utilities (Hausman,
2000), but also for hedonic benefits (Han et al ., 1991; Puri, 1996; Kash and Green, 2004;
Laurens et al ., 2005). Consumption has been seen by Holbrook and Hirschman
(1982:135), as involving a steady flow of fantasies, feelings, and fun encompassed
byexperiential view. This has initiated a change in perspective in evaluating
consumer activities and decision making processes. For instance, consumers consider
shopping to be a hedonic or leisure activity rather than a monotonous routine activity, a
very famous saying in America states, When the going gets tough, the tough go
shopping ( anonymous ; see Gardner and Rook, 1988). Lewis (1993) stated that a store
becomes a profit power house when there is an increase in the extent to which it sells to
its customers something they did not intend to buy while making a planned purchase; and
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if [customers] went into stores only when [they] needed to buy something, andbought
only what [they] needed, the economy would collapse, boom (Underhill, 1999).
Miller (1998:68) defined shopping as primarily an act of spending, preferably
large amounts of money, almost without a care for consequences. The studies on
shopper behavior show that an increasing number of consumer purchases are being made
without advance planning (Stern, 1962; Kollat and Willet, 1967) and on an impulse
(Bellenger et al. , 1978; Weinberg and Gottwald, 1982; Cobb and Hoyer, 1986; Han et al .,
1991; Rook and Fisher, 1995). Almost 70 per cent of buying decisions are made in-store
(Berrell, 1995), 90 per cent of the consumers occasionally make purchases on impulse(Welles, 1986), and between 30 to 50 per cent of all purchases have been classified by the
buyers themselves as impulse purchases (Cobb and Hoyer, 1986).
1.2 RESEARCH PURPOSE
As highlighted in the above discussion a large number of purchase decisions are
made impulsively while the consumer is in the store. Considering the reality, that
decisions are not made in vacuum, and the decision making units are not immune to
external stimuli, there will arguably exit an interaction between the decision making units
i.e. the consumer and the external in-store stimuli. Although, experienced by almost
every consumer, the dynamics underlying the interaction and the resulting behaviour
remain largely unexplored.
When consumers make planned purchases, they know which product to buy, if
not the brand and exact specifications, restricting the influence of in-store stimuli to
influencing the choice between alternatives. However, when consumers decide upon
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buying something not considered before entering the store, the decision could perhaps be
influenced to a great extent by the atmosphere, the ambience, the design and the social
form of the store, over and above the product itself. Furthermore, the effect of these in-
store variables can be different for different consumers, making it the possible to observe
multiple associations and inter-relationships. It presents an interesting and fascinating
area for consumer research and this study will attempt to provide a deeper understanding
of the interaction between consumers affective states and in-store stimuli with respect to
impulse purchase decisions.
1.3 DEMARCATIONS
However, impulse purchase decisions are influenced not only by in-store
variables, but also by the age, nationality, income, and gender of consumers, and the
product being purchased. In order to eliminate variations arising due to some of these
variables, this research will only consider the apparel purchase decisions of young female
consumers. By focusing on this specific segment, the study seeks to meet its objective in
the given time and resource constraints.
1.4 OUTLINE OF STUDY
This research has been divided into five chapters, Introduction, Literature Review,
Methodology, Analysis and Discussion, and Conclusion. The introductory chapter
presents a background to the subject of this research, its purpose and demarcation. The
succeeding Chapter of literature review provides a critical review of the existing literature
on the central theme of impulse buying. It starts with tracing the evolution of the concept,
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identifies an appropriate definition for the behavior, discusses the age-old debate of
rationality and irrationality of the phenomenon, and then examines the several
psychological and physical variables that influence it. It elaborates not only the internal,
consumer specific factors that influence impulse buying, but also the external, marketer
controlled variables. Having discussed the relevant themes and constructs, the chapter
concludes by highlighting the objectives of the research.
Methodology, the third Chapter, of this study presents an overview of the
philosophical approach adopted in this study, and the technique of data collection used. It
also highlights the rationale behind the sampling and analysis strategy employed, closingwith the limitations of using the chosen research approach.
Chapter four offers a detailed, in-depth analysis and discussion of the data
collected with the objective of proving a sound understanding of the emerging themes. It
provides an insight into how different internal and in-store determinants affect the
impulsive behaviour of the respondents. It even draws attention towards the interaction
between the personality traits of the consumers and the in-store atmospherics.
The concluding Chapter provides a holistic overview of all the key findings, after
stating the limitations of the study and identifying areas of further research, the chapter
ends with the managerial implications of the findings from the research.
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CHAPTER: 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
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CHAPTER: 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter seeks to provide an in-depth critical review of the existing literature
on consumer impulse buying behaviour. After providing an understanding of the evolving
concept of impulse buying and the current perception of the same, it provides an insight
into the age old debate regarding the rationality or irrationality of the phenomenon. It
then examines the variables, both internal and external that affects and determines the
impulse buying tendency of consumers. The chapter concludes with a description of the
objectives of the current research that are derived from deficiencies in the existing
literature.
2.2 EVOLUTION OF THE DEFINITION
Impulse buying has been considered as a pervasive and distinctive phenomenon,
and has been receiving increasing attention from consumer researchers and theorists
(Youn and Faber, 2000). Recent marketing and retail researchers have classified impulse
behaviour as a very powerful and real influence in the consumer buying behaviour
process (Bayley and Nancarrow, 1998; Hausman, 2000; Crawford and Melewar, 2003). It
has become a widely recognized phenomenon in most countries, and it has been
suggested that purchases of new products result more from impulse purchasing than from
prior planning (Kacen and Lee, 2002), thereby highlighting its importance in marketing
activities (Rook, 1987). Thus, companies today have invested considerable resources in
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research to understand and maximize this buying behaviour in many retail environments
(Millner, 2002 a), such as, drugstores, supermarkets, department stores, variety and
specialty stores (Kollat & Willett, 1969).
For over fifty years, consumer researchers have strived to form a comprehensive
definition of impulse buying (Youn and Faber, 2000). Historically, paramount
importance was assigned to the definition of impulse buying on the basis of unplanned
purchases (Clover 1950; Applebaum 1951; West 1951; Stern, 1962; Cox 1964; Kollat
and Willett 1967). Unplanned buying was referred to as all purchases made unexpectedly
and without prior planning (Clover, 1950; West, 1951; Piron, 1993), and includedimpulse buying (Hausman, 2000) which was considered to be the difference between
actually concluded and previously planned or anticipated purchases (Weinberg and
Gottwald, 1982). This approach is too vague (Kollat and Willett, 1969) and limited by a
definitional myopia (Piron, 1993) as it does not account for the impulse involved in the
buying decisions (Rook, 1987), and the concept is much more complex than just
unanticipated purchases (Youn and Faber, 2002). Wolman (1973; see Rook, 1987) stated
that, an impulse is not consciously planned, but arises immediately upon confrontation
with certain stimulus.
Prior to 1982, definitions of impulse buying focused on the product rather than the
consumer as the motivator of impulse purchases (Hausman, 2000). It is the consumer
who experiences a sudden, often powerful and persistent urge to buy something
immediately (Rook, 1987). In an attempt to redefine the concept of impulse buying
Goldenson, (1984:37; see Rook, 1987), views such purchasing behavior as, a strong,
sometimes irresistible urge; a sudden inclination to act without deliberation. It can be
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conceptualized as thoughtless actions characterized by quick acting that are stimulated by
motivation and perception, the stimulation having to be strong enough to overcome
restraints (Weinberg and Gottwald, 1982). Whereas, unplanned buying is considered to
be an imperative desire to purchase with less positive feelings, excitement and
overwhelming urge as compared to impulse buying (Piron, 1993). Though several
researchers (Weinberg and Gottwald, 1982; Rook, 1987; Piron, 1993; Rook and Fisher,
1995) agree, that, measuring impulse buying as an unplanned purchase is not sufficient,
Wood (2005:274) disagrees and says, the purchase of a good or service for motives of
novelty, excitement, fashion, status, escape from routine, entertainment or other hedonicmotivations must count as one of the main and most important types of unplanned
purchase. Past literature has shown, not all unplanned purchases are impulse (Gardner
and Rook, 1988) and all impulse purchases are unplanned (Iyer, 1989). Lack of
planning is a necessity but not a sufficient characteristic to categorize a purchase as
impulse (Piron, 1991), so the question that needs to be answered is What portion of
unplanned buys is impulse (Wood, 2005). Kacen and Lee (2002:164) address this
concern by defining impulse buying as an unplanned purchase that is characterized by
relatively rapid decision-making and a subjective bias in favor of immediate
possession.
From this discussion it is evident that several authors and researchers have
defined the concept in different and contradictory ways, the lack of consensus about the
meaning of impulse purchasing has limited the usefulness of the concept (Kollat &
Willett, 1969), and if a definition can be selected that is conceptually sound and relatively
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easy to apply, then the concept can be used despite the lack of theoretical agreement
(Bellenger et al. , 1978).
In an attempt to do justice to the various concepts and elements involved in
impulse buying Weinberg and Gottwald (1982), defined it on the basis of affective (high
activation of customer), cognitive (little intellectual control of the buying decision), and
reactive (largely automatic behavior actuated by a special stimulus situation)
determinants of consumer behavior, (i.e. an unintended, unreflective and an immediate
action (Jones et al. , 2003)). Though this definition underlines a few very important
aspects of the concept, it neglects the issues of emotional conflict and disregard forconsequences. Rook (1987:191) comprehensively defines impulse buying as the
purchasing behavior that occurs when a consumer experiences a sudden, often powerful
and persistent urge to buy something immediately. The impulse to buy is hedonically
complex and may stimulate emotional conflict. Also, impulse buying is prone to occur
with diminished regard for its consequences. This definition brings forth the different
elements of the concept, it is characterized as sudden and spontaneous desire to act (an
urgency to buy), this sudden urge to buy on impulse might throw the consumer into a
state of psychological disequilibrium causing the consumer to be temporarily out-of-
control. The customer is pulled in two directions of pleasure and reality (Freud, 1956;
see Rook, 1987) giving rise to psychological conflict and struggle in their minds,
making impulse buying one of the most involved purchasing behaviors; at least for the
moment right after the impulse arises.
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2.3 RATIONALITY OF IMPULSIVE BEHAVIOUR
The gap between the fantasy world of consumption, day-dreams of perfect
pleasure and disappointments of reality results in limitless desire and a permanent state
of aggravation (Elliot, 1997:292). Impulse buying behavior is an enigma in the
marketing world, for here is a behavior which the literature and consumers both state is
normatively wrong, yet which accounts for a substantial volume of the goods sold every
year across a broad range of product categories (Hausman, 2000:403). In the past
researchers have characterized this behavior as negative, a sign of immaturity and lacking
behavioral control (Solnick et al. , 1980) or as an irrational, risky, and wasteful (Ainslie,
1975) activity. They also believe that, the self-indulgent behaviour is driven by an
unreasoned force (Bayley and Nancarrow, 1998), and given an opportunity, most
consumers would attempt to control and decrease (Rook, 1987) this behavior as they do
not want to be perceived as immature or irrational or being bad (Ainslie, 1975).
Other authors, however, have argued that an impulse purchase is not necessarily
irrational. Thompson et al . (1990) view the concept as an act of freedom occurring
within restricted situations, although, it appears to be a highly irrational behavior; it can
be seen as rational by the consumer (Malter, 1996). Rook and Fisher (1995:305) state,
impulse buying presumably depends both on the degree to which [consumers] possess
impulsive buying trait tendencies and on their normative judgments, and when a
generally impulsive consumer experiences an impulse buying stimulus, and subsequently
evaluates the prospective purchase as appropriate, both trait and normative influences are
harmonious, thereby making an impulsive purchase likely. Though, De Unamuno (1962;
see Elliot, 1997), Paulhus (1984), and Bayley and Nancarrow (1998), believe that, cool,
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rational, information processing choices are uncommon and rare, and most of the
decisions made are post-purchase rationalization or justification of irrational consumer
behavior; in majority of the cases impulse buying has become an efficient and sensible
way of buying goods (Stern, 1962). Contrary to Rooks (1987) claim Wood (2005)
suggests that, given a chance, a large number of consumers would increase rather than
decrease their impulse buying behavior and plan on being impulsive, because it is an
effective tactic for breaking out of an undesirable mood state and a source of immediate
self gratification (Bellenger and Korgaonkar, 1980).
2.4 THE MYTH OF IMPULSE ITEMS
It has been generally accepted that some items are more subject to impulse-sales
than other types (Clover, 1950). These products were labeled as impulse items and
characterized as, low-cost, frequently purchased goods, (like drink, crisps, chocolates,
nuts (West, 1951) and candies (Dwyer, 1993), consumed on the go ( Anonymous , 2005))
and demanding little cognitive effort from the consumer (Rook & Hoch, 1985).
Contradicting this, proposition more recent studies show impulse purchases can be
reported across a broad range of product offerings in a variety of price ranges (Cobb and
Hoyer, 1986), and it is virtually impossible to isolate and label certain products as
impulse products (Bellenger et al. , 1978). The individual purchasers motivations and
requirements, product information level, environmental variables, monetary and time
constrains vary from one individual to another, and there is really no such thing as a
group of impulse itemsbecause any item may be subject to this by some consumer at
any time (Shapiro, 1973; see Bellenger et al. , 1978:15). Thus, almost anything could be
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bought on an impulse (Stern, 1962; Kollat and Willett, 1969), an extra TV set, a VCR, a
larger microwave oven, an important piece of furniture, and a vacation cruise can all be
impulse purchases as can a package of potato chips or a candy bar (Rook, 1987).
2.5 FACTORS AFFECTING IMPULSE BUYING
According to Hausman (2000), most studies before 1987 focused on the
definitional issues of impulse purchasing, and ignored the understanding of why
consumers act impulsively on a frequent basis. In the recent past, several researchers
have highlighted various factors that can trigger the impulsive buying behavior of aconsumer. Pollay (1967:323) mentioned that such a behavior can be influenced by
anything that is going on at that time; both psychological and physical (Millner,
2002 b) or internal and external (Wansink, 1994). Though the words customer and
consumer are used interchangeably, they are not the same. A customer is the purchaser of
a product or a service and a consumer is the user of a product or a service, the buying
behavior of a customer is influenced by the needs and preferences of the consumer for
whom the products are purchased (Applebaum, 1951). In this case, when the consumer
and the customer are the same, the customer is internally motivated by his personal needs
and wants to purchase the product; but when the consumer and the customer are different,
the customer is externally influenced by needs and desires of the consumer to make a
purchase, (say a mother buying dress for herself and a candy for her child). There are a
number of other factors that internally and externally influence (see Figure1) the
customers impulsive decisions, and in order to study the shopping behavior of an
individual it is necessary to examine: individuals emotional states (Weinberg and
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Gottwald, 1982) and motivation behind the purchase, the socioeconomic context that the
shoppers bring with them, the shopping and retail environment (Woodruffe-Burton et al .,
2002), and demographic factors (Shapiro, 2001).
2.5.1 Internal Factors
The internal cues refer to consumers self-feelings, moods, emotional states
(Youn and Faber, 2000), and personality traits (Weinberg and Gottwald, 1982) (see
Figure2). Consumers emotions and personality traits have been regarded as important
components of internal triggers for impulse buying. It has been speculated that impulsive
FACTORSAFFECTING
IMPULSE BUYING
INTERNALFACTORS
EXTERNALFACTORS
Emotions
PersonalityTraits
Demographic
Socio-economic
MarketerControlled
Others
Figure 1: Factors Affecting Impulse Buying
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buyers are more likely to be responsive to their emotional conditions (Gardner and Rook,
1993) than non-impulsive buyers (Weinberg and Gottwald, 1982).
2.5.1.1 Emotional States
Emotions can be defined as, a mental state of readiness that arises from cognitive
appraisals of events or thoughts; has a phenomenological tone; is accompanied by
physiological processes; is often expressed physically; and may result in specific actions
to affirm or cope with the emotion, depending on its nature and meaning for the person
INTERNALFACTORS
EMOTIONS PERSONALITYTRAITS
Sudden
Exciting
Mesmerising
Emotional Conflict
Self-Control
Stress Reaction
Absorption
Figure 2: Internal Factors
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having it (Bagozzi et al ., 1999:184). Colin Shaw (Millner 2002 b:27), founding partner of
branding consultancy, Beyond Philosophy, said, Emotions account for more than half of
buying decisions and the marketers should ask themselves what is the emotion that
they are trying to evoke in consumers. An impulse buying episode begins with a
customers sensation of some external stimulus. As mentioned earlier that consumers
consume products not only for economic utilities and functional benefits (Hausman,
2000), but also for hedonic desires (Piron, 1991), thus, once the customer is mesmerized
by the external factors, there are a several emotional states (see Figure2) that he or she
undergoes (Rook, 1987).Since an impulse purchase is an unconscious event that occurs rapidly
(Rosendahl, 1983), the first emotional stage is of a sudden, spontaneous, intense and
immediate urge or desire to consume or buy the product (Rook and Hoch, 1985; Piron,
1993). The buyer is compelled to act instantly and quickly, showing the emotional
intensity and force involved in the process, for example, in consumers speech (Rook,
1987:193), I could only think of one thing, or Once I see it in my mind it wont
go away until I buy it.
Impulse buying has one of the highest levels of involvement with respect to
consumer buying behaviour, and is described by consumers as an exciting, stimulating,
thrilling and wild experience. It has been described as a tingling sensation, a warm
feeling, hot flashes, and a surge of energy, for example, in words of the consumers,
it suddenly strikes your head and gives you goose-bumps (Rook, 1987:194).
As Debord (1977; see Elliott, 1997) stated, The real consumer becomes a
consumer of illusions, mysterious forces traveling between the person and object,
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mesmerizes or hypnotizes the consumer into purchasing impulsively, for example, in
consumers speech, the candy bar was staring at me or the sweater was following
me it was pulling me back, (Rook, 1987:194).
The various forces give rise to an inner dialogue (Rook and Hoch, 1985) and
emotional conflict (Dittmar et al. , 1996) in the minds of the consumers. Though impulse
buying is being considered as and efficient way of buying products (Stern, 1962), it
results in few negative consequences, like in a consumers view as quoted by Wood
(2005:272), it screws up my budget when I give into the urge. This is where the
customer undertakes an internal analysis of pleasure and reality (Freud, 1956; see Rook,1987). Buying impulses are very powerful and cannot be easily ignored by rational
introspection (Rook and Hoch, 1985). Thus, most of the buyers state that, even after
analyzing and concluding not to purchase the product, they disregard the consequences
and end-up purchasing it (Rook, 1987), because they simply cannot resist and get out
of control (Woodruffe-Burton, 1998). As a result, not all impulse purchase are evaluated
as fair and, a few post purchase emotions end with guilt and shame (Piron, 1993),
developing a negative attitude towards pleasure, for example, in a consumers terms, as
quoted by Rook and Hoch (1985:26), I fear regretting the purchase later, and I think
about what would happen if others found out how much it cost.
2.5.1.2 Personality Traits
The strength or intensity (how exciting or inspiring the emotion was), direction or
symptom (whether the emotion was pleasant and amusing or not), and quality or content
(how much joy, guilt, or astonishment did the emotion elevate) of an emotion
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(Reykowski, 1973; see Weinberg and Gottwald, 1982), highly depend on the personality
traits of the customer (Weinberg and Gottwald, 1982; Rook and Fisher, 1995; Puri, 1996;
Kacen and Lee, 2002). Though Rook and Fisher (1995) developed a nine-item scale for
measuring the impulsive traits of a consumer, Youn and Faber (2000) highlighted the
three major personality dimensions (see Figure2), lack of self control , stress reaction , and
absorption , which affect the emotional behavior, impulsiveness and normative decisions
of a consumer.
Self Control here relates to the influence of the self over ones own emotions,
cognitions, motivations, and behaviors (Vohs and Faber, 2003:125), it makes thecustomer say I really shouldnt (Baumeister, 2002:670) and represents psychological
conflict between desire (primary process thinking) and willpower (secondary process
thinking) (Hilgard, 1962). Whyte (1943; see Rook, 1987) stated the failure to have an
effective control over impulses more prevalent among the lower classes. Controllers are
careful, cautious, and plan their activities (Waller et al ., 1991), where as impulsive
buyers, on the other hand, lack control over emotions, they make spontaneous and rapid
decisions and their emotional fluctuations are readily visible (Youn and Faber, 2000).
When the willpower is greater than the desire the customer stays in control, but when
desire dominates willpower, akrasia or weakness of willpower (Mischel et al ., 1988), the
customer looses self-control which leads to impulsive behavior (Hoch and Loewenstein,
1991). Generally when the secondary thought process generates willpower to evaluate the
rationality of the buying decision, the primary thought process overshadows this attempt
and pulls the human mind in the opposite direction, thereby resulting in impulsive
behavior (Rook and Fisher, 1995). Therefore, a generalized lack of control and lower self
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regulatory resources would likely be a contributor to impulse buying behaviors (Vohs and
Faber, 2003).
Stress reaction represents systematic individual differences in the frequency and
intensity of responding to situational cues with negative emotional states (i.e., anxiety,
anger, distress, and guilt) (Youn and Faber, 2000:180). These negative emotional states
are experienced by individuals under everyday conditions (Bar-Tal et al ., 1998) and lead
people to engage in behaviors that provide relief, such as impulse buying (Faber and
Christenson, 1996). Research has shown that consumers feel better after experiencing an
episode of impulse purchasing (Gardner and Rook, 1988), for highly stress-reactivepeople, it is hypothesized that short-term gratification accompanied by impulse would
enhance their positive self-feelings and mood states and can act as a good mood
management function (Youn and Faber, 2000). Under stress consumers capacity to
change and question the decisions they make is reduced, thereby decreasing control and
increasing their impulsiveness, this reduced capacity of self control is called ego
depletion (Baumeister, 2002). Therefore, stress reactive people act without delay (Faber
and Christenson, 1996) and with less control (Baumeister, 2002), thus it has been
speculated that stress reaction is positively associated with the probability of acting and
purchasing on impulse (Youn and Faber, 2000).
Youn and Faber (2000:180) stated, Absorption is a tendency to become
immersed in self-involving experiences triggered by engaging external and imaginal
stimuli. A highly absorptive person has an imaginative mind and thinks
unconventionally (Waller et al ., 1991). They are emotionally receptive to sights and
sound, easily mesmerized by tempting stimuli, think in images, and experience episodes
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of expanded awareness and altered states (Youn and Faber, 2000), like, the candy bar
was staring at me (Rook, 1987:194). Absorption plays an important role in how
customers react to environmental and sensory cues that influence the purchase and
consumption of products (Youn and Faber, 2000). Marketers exploit this personality trait
of the consumers and create an environment where the rate at which highly absorptive
people act on impulse is increased (Eroglu and Machleit 1993; Mitchell 1994). Such
people are highly responsive and lack the skills of monitoring and keeping track of the
relevant behavior (Baumeister, 2002) and have less control over self (Polivy, 1986), for
example, alcoholics and dieters (Carver and Scheier, 1982). Thus, people with highabsorption levels have a greater probability of being influenced by external sensory
stimulation, and are more likely to engage in impulse buying (Youn and Faber, 2000).
Consumers do operate out of unconscious feelings and motivations (Masi, 2005),
but to have an impulse, does not necessarily mean to act on it, various factors may
intervene between the impetus and the action. Even highly impulsive buyers do not easily
give into very spontaneous buying demand (Bettman 1979; see Rook and Fisher, 1995),
variety of external factors, may enforce on customers the immediate need for the product,
and constantly interrupt the decision processes to complete the transition from
impulsive feeling to impulsive action (Bloch and Richins, 1983).
2.5.2 External Factors
Though emotional states and personality traits are important ingredients for
impulsive purchase, these factors in most circumstances are activated or triggered by the
external cues (Youn and Faber, 2000). The impulsive behavior is viewed to be directly
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controlled by stimulus (Wolman, 1973; see Rook, 1987), and though a large part of
individuals reaction depends on his or her personality traits (Weinberg and Gottwald,
1982), a major role is played by the external factors as the initiator of impulse (Beatty
and Ferrell, 1998). Having discussed the internal factors (emotional states and personality
traits) that influence the impulsiveness of a buyer, it is now important to understand the
affect of various external factors, that are not in control of the consumer, on customer
impulsivity, to fully answer the why of impulse buying.
Several researchers and authors have highlighted different and many external cues
that contribute to the consumers acting on impulses. These can be broadly grouped under
(see Figure3) the socioeconomic context that the shoppers bring with them, the shopping
EXTERNAL
FACTORS
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
DEMOGRAPHICS IN-STOTREENVIRONMENT
Gender
Age
Culture
Income
Lifestyle
Ambience
Design
Social
OthersFigure 3: External Factors
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and retail environment (Woodruffe-Burton et al ., 2002) or atmosphere (Eroglu and
Machleit, 1993), and demographic factors (Shapiro, 2001).
2.5.2.1 Demographics
Several researchers and authors have concluded that demographics play a very
important role in the purchasing and consumption decisions of consumers (Crask and
Reynolds, 1978; Zeithaml, 1985; Fox et al ., 2004; Carpenter and Moore, 2006). Variables
(see Figure3) like gender (Dittmar et al ., 1996), age (Bellenger et al ., 1978), and
education level (Mogelonsky, 1994) make a significant difference to consumerimpulsiveness and in the number of impulse purchase transactions completed (Shapiro,
2001).
As mentioned earlier, consumers consume products not only for its functional
benefits, but also for the symbolic meanings associated with it (Holbrook and Hirschman,
1982). Women and men relate differently to the symbolic meanings they seek in products
purchased (Dittmar et al ., 1995). Women value their possessions for emotional and
relationship-oriented (i.e. social) identity reasons; whereas men value their possessions
for functional and instrumental (i.e. personal or independent) identity reasons (Dittmar,
1989). This states that products purchased and the reasons for purchases are different
between genders, and thus the impulse buying pattern of men and women, differ
instrumentally and emotionally. For example, women are more likely to act impulsively
with clothes, jewellery, cosmetics etc. (Solomon and Schopler, 1982), whereas men have
a higher probability of buying electronics and sports equipments on an impulse (Dittmar
et al ., 1995). Mitchell and Walsh (2004) found that, gender has an affect on the impulse
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buying decisions of a consumer, and because of confusion due to excess information
about the products, decisions made by women are more impulsive than men, and thus,
impulse purchases made by women are higher than men.
Wood (1998) stated an inverse relationship between age and impulse buying, i.e.
the younger the consumer the higher would be the impulsiveness and the older the
consumer the lower would be the impulsivity. Bellenger et al . (1978) also say that
shoppers under the age of 35 years are more prone to impulse buying compared to those
over 35 years of age. Research on trait impulsiveness shows that younger individuals
score higher on impulsivity compared to older people (Eysenck et al ., 1985; Helmers et al ., 1995) as they demonstrate less self-control than adults (Logue and Chavarro, 1992).
Impulsiveness is linked to emotional stimulation; and older individuals display greater
command over emotional expression than the younger adults (Lawton et al ., 1992). The
younger consumers are more experimental and flexible, and lack experience to help them
guide and edit their decision making processes. They try everything because they do not
understand what they really want (Millner, 2002 a). Over time people become more
aware of and more in line with their wants, likings and desires. The older adults generally
have an idea about what works for them and what dose not (Kacen and Lee, 2002). Thus,
findings suggest that age is an important variable of impulsivity and with age the
consumers become less impulsive.
2.5.2.2 Socio-Economic
In the past impulse buying behaviour had been considered socially wrong
(Solnick et al. , 1980) and economically superfluous (Rook, 1987), and people tried to
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suppress their natural impulse instinct in accordance with social norms (Hausman, 2000).
With time the consumption pattern has changed and people now consume conspicuously
to express a sense of self-identity (Dittmar et al., 1996) and make an impression in the
social world (Crawford and Melewar, 2003), making shopping a leisure and lifestyle
activity (Wood, 2005). This has changed the perception about the phenomenon of
impulse buying, which is now categorized as an intelligent way to shop (Shapiro, 2001).
It is strongly believed that culture (Maheswaran and Shavitt, (2000); Kacen and Lee,
(2002)), consumers lifestyle (Tao et al ., 2004), and income or monetary status
(Mogelonsky, 1994), have a significant influence on the consumers impulsive buyingbehaviour.
Antonides et al ., (1998) defined culture as, societal knowledge, norms and values.
Though, culture helps shape consumer behaviour, very little research has been done to
find its influence on consumer behaviour (Maheswaran and Shavitt, 2000). Culture
influences an individuals emotional reactions by determining their feelings (McConatha
et al ., 1994). It induces how individuals interpret an environment, which emotions they
express and how they express them (Ekman, 1972). Individualistic and collectivistic
dimensions (i.e. the relationship one perceives between self and the group one belongs to
(Hawkins et al ., 2001)) have been identified as one of the major aspects of consumer
culture (Hofstede, 1980) and lifestyle (Tao et al ., 2004) influencing purchase decisions.
People in individualistic cultures tend to prefer independent emotional relationships from
other collectives, and prioritise their personal goals to those of their in-groups (Hofstede,
1980). They often ignore the potential negative consequences of their impulsive buying
behaviour and focus on the positive consequences of the behaviour on their personal
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feelings and goals (Kacen and Lee, 2002). Individuals in collectivist societies on the
other hand, see themselves as integral part of one or more collectives and in-groups and
are emotionally connected to them (Triandis, 1994). They focus on the negative
consequences of their behaviour and how would it affect the people or collectives they
are emotionally attached to (Triandis, 1995). Kacen and Lee (2002) concluded that
individuals with more independent self-concept will have a stronger impulse buying trait
than those that are interdependent, i.e., impulsivity will be higher for people belonging to
individualistic cultures than for those from collectivist cultures. Though impulsive traits
are in equal measures for both collectivists and individualists, the collectivists suppressthese traits in order to act within their cultural norms (Kacen and Lee, 2002). Thus, it can
be said the consumers culture and lifestyle does moderate consumer impulse buying
behaviour.
It is all true that people react impulsively and do get stimulated by several factors
to buy a product (Woodruffe-Burton et al ., 2001; Crawford and Melewar, 2003), but one
of the most important intermediaries for converting an impulse to a purchase is money
availability (Beatty and Ferrell, 1998). If a person does not have the money then no
matter how strong the impulse is, the chances are higher for it not to result in a purchase
(Hoch and Loewenstein, 1991). In the past few years, the consumers themselves have
rated phenomenon of impulse buying as an act of freedom and fun (Thompson et al .,
1990), but the act is fun only if they have the freedom of spending money (Wood, 2005).
Mogelonsky (1994:14) said, Impulse buying may be reserved only for those who can
afford it. He also says that the poorer shoppers are smarter than the richer ones, as they
carefully and extensively evaluate their decisions before making a purchase. Consumers,
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who are rich and have excess money to spend, are considerably less careful about their
expenses and have a higher probability of purchasing on an impulse (Mogelonsky, 1994).
Thus, it can be concluded that consumers with a higher income or monetary status have a
greater probability of completing the transaction of impulse buying with respect to those
people with considerably less amount of money to spare.
2.5.2.3 Retailers and Marketers Controlled Environment
The 90s were taken as the era of retailing and merchandising (Miler, 1990).
There are various variables that influence the consumers impulse buying urge, and manyof these are controlled by the retailers and the marketers (Betty and Ferrell, 1998). Lewis
(1993) states, the success of a retail store depends on, the percentage of impulse
purchases that store generates, and several Special Management Periodicals advise
managers to structure shopping environments so as to increase impulse buying (Wood,
2005). With the shift to experience economy (Pine and Gilmore, 1998), it has become
necessary for the marketers and retailers to concentrate on not only the wants but also the
needs of the customer (Kash and Green, 2004) and provide an experience by controlling
the retail environment (Adelaar et al., 2003) which can be used for setting a stage that
sells related products and/or services (Pine and Gilmore, 1999; Kenny and Marshall,
2000).
The term retail environments or retail atmospherics, refers to, all the physical
and nonphysical elements of a store that can be controlled in order to influence the
behaviours of its customers and employees (Eroglu and Machleit, 1993). Acting with the
consumers personality traits it can influence the consumers emotional responses such as
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pleasure (happy or sad), dominance (ability to control self or be submissive) and arousal
(to be motivated or de-motivated to act) (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974). Many retailers
and researchers have acknowledged the importance of in-store environment as an
important tool for market differentiation and competitive advantage (Iyer, 1989; Levy
and Weitz, 1995). It may increase the consumers interest in differentiated aspects of the
environment and thus capture their attention (Peck and Childers, 2006). The shoppers
who like the retail environment may surprisingly spend more because of the positive
mood generated by the atmosphere. Even if individuals are in a negative emotional state
at the time of entering, the stores atmosphere might create positive feelings and uplift theconsumers emotionally, and thus may influence the consumers to spend more money than
they intended to (Sherman et al ., 1997). This sensory stimulus can also reduce self
control and resistance power, and give way to instant gratification (Adelaar et al., 2003).
Retail places have evolved towards bringing a wide assortment of attractively
displayed goods closer to consumers and enhancing the attractiveness and amenities of
the shopping environmentBrowsing, exploring and dreaming of potential ownership
among sumptuous and abundant displays of goods [have] became an experience open not
just to an exclusive few but to the public as a whole (Lancaster, 1995:17). Bloch et al .
(1989) defined in-store browsing as the in-store examination of a retailers merchandise
for leisure and/or information. When individuals browse longer, they will tend to
encounter more stimuli, which would tend to increase the probability of experiencing
impulse buying urges (Jarboe and McDaniel, 1987). In other words, the more time an
individual spends browsing inside the store or shop, the more impulsive the individual
would be (Beatty and Ferrell, 1998). Retailers need to constantly work at creating
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positive shopping environments (Bloch and Richins, 1983) where consumers can be
relieved of their negative perceptions of impulse (Donovan and Rossiter, 1982). When
the consumers recognize that products are more than commodities and they are buying to
fulfill both, their hedonistic as well as physical desires, they would be more comfortable
with their impulsive buying behaviour (Hausman, 2000). Thus, the marketers and
retailers can make the environment more complex and create exciting atmospherics,
which may be useful to increase impulse buying decisions.
In-store stimuli are promotional techniques employed to increase unplanned and
impulse purchases of products (Abratt and Goodey, 1990). With the growing number of in-store decisions made by the consumers (Berrell, 1995), the marketers are deploying
more and more resources within the store to stimulate impulse purchases (Millner.
2002 b). As mentioned earlier, in-store atmospherics consists of several physical and non-
physical factors (Eroglu and Machleit, 1993). Baker (1986) further divided these in-store
variables (see Figure4) into ambient (the background characteristics of a store, such as,
temperature, ambient scent, lighting, noise, and music), design (stimuli that exist at the
forefront, such as, architecture, colour, layout and materials) and social factors (social
conditions, like, number, type, and behaviour of employees and customers) (Bitner,
1992).
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Ambient Factors
Music is capable of evoking complex affective and behavioural responses in
consumers (Mattila and Wirtz, 2001) in retail environments (Milliman, 1982; Yalch and
Spangenberg, 1990). A musical composition is composed of three dimensions, physical
dimension, emotional tone and preferential dimension (Bruner, 1990). The consumer is
likely to stay longer in an environment where the music is being played to his preference,
compared to, the environment where the music is not up to his/her taste (Milliman, 1982;
Yalch and Spangenberg, 1990). Music also helps the consumer to relieve tension and
generate a positive affect (Lam, 2001).
IN-STORE
ENVIRONMENT
AMBIENCE DESIGN SOCIAL OTHERS
Music
Scent
Lighting
Display
Layout
Colour
Employees
Crowd
Price
SalesPromotions
Figure 4: In-store Factors
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Scent has been divided along three different (not necessarily independent)
dimensions, the affective quality of the scent, its arousing nature, and its intensity
(Spangenberg et al ., 1996). Ambient scent is different from non-ambient scent, as it does
not originate from any particular object but is present in the environment (Mattila and
Wirtz, 2001). It affects individuals perception about the store and the products (Gulas
and Bloch, 1995). In the past, researches have shown that consumers respond more
positively in a scented rather than an unscented environment (Mattila and Wirtz, 2001).
Gulas and Bloch (1995) concluded that ambient scent influences emotional responses and
the shopping behaviours of individuals. When an inoffensive scent is present in theenvironment the consumers tend to spend more time in the store and evaluate the store
and its merchandise more positively than when an offensive scent is present in the
environment (Mitchell et al ., 1995; Spangenberg et al ., 1996).
In-store lighting is an extremely important determinant of the environment, and its
affect on consumer behaviour can be evaluated with the level of arousal it can create
among the consumers (Mehrabian, 1976). In a highly arousing environment the
consumers would be stimulated to purchase, whereas, in a non-arousing environment the
consumers would feel sluggish and sleepy (Gifford, 1988). Stores that are brightly lit are
more arousing and stimulating than the ones that are dimly lit, and generate a higher
probability for a consumer to make impulsive decisions (Birren, 1969). The retailers can
influence the amount of time customers spend shopping and consumers affective state
via their-selection of in-store lighting levels (Areni and Kim, 1994).
The longer consumers stay in a store and the more positive the affect, the greater
would be the chances for them to react impulsively (Sherman et al ., 1997). Thus, the
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ambient factors, music, ambient scent, and lighting, influence the in-store buying
decisions of a consumer.
Design factors
Colour can produce certain autonomic biological reactions, create certain
emotional responses and obtain attention (Bellizzi et al ., 1983). Bellizzi et al . (1983:22)
defined approach orientation of colour as the power of stimulus colour to encourage
attention during and after exposure to this stimulus. Retailer have used colour to put
consumers in the buying mood. The use of warm colours like, red or yellow, onpackaging, and the use of cool colours, like blue or violet, on the background and walls,
draws customer attention (Bellizzi and Hite, 1992). In previous researches it was found
that overall warm colour help attract consumers and cool colours help generate consumer
responses favorable to the retailers (Lam, 2001), thereby, influencing the consumer
behaviour in the store.
The store layout represents the task environment (Iyer, 1989:42). The
characteristics of the in-store situation (Bloch and Richins, 1983) may increase interest in
differentiated aspects of the environment and thus capture the consumers attention
(Underhill, 1999). The various store design layout variables like, product locations, shelf
locations, and types of displays (Kollat and Willett, 1969). Underhill (1999) states that
most of the unplanned purchases are results of touching, and the retailers and marketers
should create such an environment in order to encourage the customers to touch the
product (Peck and Childers, 2006). The various store design variables encourage the
consumers to touch and thereby increase the probability of impulse purchases. Cox
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(1964) found that impulse purchases also depend on the amount of shelf spaces awarded
to a particular product range, the more the shelf space the greater would be the impulse
purchase of that item. It is very important to display the products appropriately in the
store, the better the display the better would be the chances for a consumer to purchase on
an impulse (Abratt and Goodey, 1990).
Social Factors
The density and behaviour of consumers and employees in a retail environment
has a major impact on consumers decision making processes. With an increase in thenumber of consumers and employees in an environment the atmosphere gets crowded and
reduces pleasure for consumers (Eroglu and Machleit, 1990). In a crowded surrounding
individuals will have less control over the environment and the satisfaction would be less
(Hui and Bateson, 1991). The leisure activity of shopping of the consumer would be
interrupted in a crowded setting and the consumers impulse buying decisions will
reduce. On the other hand, pleasant behaviour of the other customers and the employees
may act as a positive motivator and increase the chances of impulse reactions (Baker et
al ., 1992; Lam, 2001).
Other Factors
A few other factors like price and in-store sales promotions, act as major initiators
of impulse purchases. Goff (1995:124) proposed that prices can make even the smartest
of the executives to buy a product at an impulse and it even makes it easier for the
children to buy the small toys (pick-up items) at the billing counters just because it cheap
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(Kellachan, 2002). Boorstin (1973:113) describes the basic principle upon which
Woolworths built a successful business: If an attractive item was offered at a low
enough price, the customer would buy it if he needed itbut if the price was low enough
and in convenient coin, perhaps the customer would buy it anyway on the spur of the
moment, whether or not he needed it. Special offers and promotional schemes generate
a positive desire in the minds of the consumer (Millner, 2002 a), the consumer evaluates
the impulse purchase as a benefit on the whole and makes a purchase, and such an act
may even deliver a positive post-purchase response (Adelaar et al ., 2003). Thus, price
and in-store promotions have an impact on the buying decision of the consumer, a lowpriced product and a favorable promotional offer may generate an impulsive response.
The multiplicity of factors creating impulse urges, and thereby impulse purchase
highlights the complexity and intricacy of the phenomenon. It also demonstrates the
inadequacy of existing quantitative scales for measuring impulse buying tendency as they
focus on only some of the variables determining the behaviour.
2.6 RESEARCH PROBLEMS
The above discussion reveals the different factors and determinants that motivate
or influence an individuals impulse buying behaviour. Though a large number of
individual variables, such as, personality traits, affective states, demographics, socio-
economic, and in-store atmospherics have been identified and explored in isolation from
one another in the existing literature, only stray suggestions regarding the association
among the constructs have been provided. However, the suggestions highlight an
opportunity for expanding the current knowledge base with respect to impulse buying by
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considering one or more of the interactions among the above mentioned determinants.
Rook and Hoch (1985), Lam (2001) and Jones et al . (2003) have uncovered the need to
investigate the role of atmospherics and situational variables with regards to consumers
personality traits and affective states, and evaluate their responses with respect to impulse
purchasing behaviour. Thus, this study will explore:
The influence of personality traits and the in-store atmospherics on the
consumer impulsive behaviour.
The direct impact of store environment and the mediating role of
psychological states in the relationship between store environment andimpulse buying.
2.7 CHAPTER SUMMARY
The chapter explores the evolution of impulse buying, and critically evaluates the
changing perceptions about the concept. It discusses the rationality and irrationality of the
phenomenon and uncovers the myth of impulse items. After discussing the various
internal and external factors affecting consumer in-store behaviour and impulse buying
decisions, the chapter ends by highlighting the research problems and the relevance of
current research.
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CHAPTER: 3
METHODOLOGY
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CHAPTER: 3
METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter will present the two main contrasting research traditions in social
science research and provide a rationale for selecting and employing the interpretive
research paradigm. It will then highlight the appropriateness of using the chosen research
technique and sampling strategy. There after it will provide a description of the
procedures followed during the data collection process, and the strategies used to analyse
it. It will conclude by highlighting the limitations of the research methodology and how
they were handled.
3.2 REVIEW OF RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY
Philosophers have debated the relationship between data and theory in social
sciences for many centuries (Easterby-Smith et al ., 2003). The debate arises due to a
difference in their philosophical stance with respect to the nature of reality (ontology) and
assumptions about the best ways of inquiring into it (Epistemology) (Travers, 2001),
which largely determines the methods and research design used to derive theory from
data (Easterby-Smith et al ., 2003; Deshpande, 1983). The two contrasting views are that
of positivism and interpretivism. The positivists believe that the social world exits
externally and should be measured using objective methods (Easterby-Smith et al ., 2003),
and social science should aim at the prediction and control of behaviour (Kvale, 1996).
Until recently, there has been a strong preference for preserving scientific integrity
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through the application of quantitative methods using the positivist paradigm (Bonoma,
1985). However, the positivist assumptions have been challenged by interpretivists, who
believe that reality is not exterior and objective, but is socially constructed and given
meaning to by people (Easterby-Smith et al ., 2003). They maintain that, the mind is the
source and creator of all knowledge (Deshpande, 1983:102), and question the logic and
method of science with respect to understanding human behaviour. This philosophical
position acknowledges the social, complex, and unpredictable nature of individuals, as
well as the irrationality of consumer behaviour (Goulding, 1999; Easterby-Smith et al .,
2003). Thus, social science should not focus on assembling facts and quantitativelymeasuring patterns, but on understanding the diverse meanings that people place upon
their experience (Easterby-Smith et al ., 2003).
An understanding of the strengths and weakness of each tradition from a neutral
perspective can help identifying the appropriateness of using a particular paradigm in a
given situation. Research conducted using the positivist approach can cover a wide range
of situations and can be fast and economical (Easterby-Smith et al ., 2003). Scientific
techniques can be used to verify how closely the measures correspond to reality
(validity), whether the measures will yield the same results on other occasions
(reliability) and the extent to which the patterns observed in the sample will be seen in the
population (generalizability) (Easterby-Smith et al ., 2003; Mason, 2002; Hoepfl, 1997).
However, the methods adopted are rather inflexible and artificial, and are ineffective in
understanding processes or the importance that people attach to their actions (Easterby-
Smith et al ., 2003). Though, the interpretivist paradigm can help increase understanding
of a particular situation by incorporating the complexity of the whole situation and
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diverse perspectives (Easterby-Smith et al ., 2003), according to Silverman (2000) it is in
the danger of being dismissed as undisciplined journalism since there are few measures to
safeguard the quality of the research. However, as qualitative methods become more
popular, several techniques and principles such as triangulation (Denscombe, 2002),
refutability, constant comparison, comprehensive data treatment (Silverman, 2000), and
transparency have been developed to improve the quality of research.
Thus, according to Reichardt and Cook (1979; see Deshpande, 1983:17)
quantitative methods have been developed most directly for the task of verifying or
conforming theoriesand qualitative methods were purposely developed for the task of discovering or generating theories. Although, this distinction appears to be clear at the
philosophical level, as Burrell and Morgan (1979) argue, when it comes to the choice of
specific methods, and to the issues of research design, the distinction breaks down. Some
researchers such as Fielding and Fielding (1986) propose that both qualitative and
quantitative methods should be used as it provides more perspectives on the phenomenon
being investigated.
3.3 RATIONALE FOR USING THE INTERPRETIVIST APPROACH
According to the interpretivist tradition, the attribute distinguishing human action
from the movement of physical goods is the inherent meaning of the former. Thus, in
order to understand a particular social action, the researcher must seek to understand the
deeper meanings, which constitute the action (Schwandt, 2003). This study aims to
provide a deeper understanding of the interaction between an individuals affective states
and personality with the in-store environment and atmosphere that may conclude in an
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impulse purchase of items on display. It desires to understand this phenomenon from the
point of view of the impulse buyer or respondent through descriptions of their cognitive
and symbolic actions. According to Miles and Huberman (1994:10), Qualitative data,
with their emphasis on peoples lived experience, [are] fundamentally well suited for
locating the meanings people place on the events, processes and structures of their lives:
their perceptions, assumptions, prejudgments, presuppositions; and for connecting these
meanings to the social world around them. The emphasis on lived experiences will
help provide a deeper understanding into the aspect of consumer behaviour studied in this
research. A careful review of the existing literature reveals that adequate measures havenot been developed to quantify the effect of the several in-store factors and elements
considered, thereby limiting the application of scientific methods. Moreover, consumer
behaviorists have not adequately explained the interaction between buyers mood and
affective states with these in-store factors in the realm of impulse buying (Rook and
Hoch, 1985). Thus, in keeping with Reichardt and Cooks (1979; see Deshpande, 1983)
advice an interpretivist approach using qualitative techniques will be adopted in this
study to generate and discover associations and relationships between the constructs.
3.4 RESEARCH TECHNIQUE OF IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS
According to Deshpande (1983), if a social science researcher accepts a set of
linked assumptions about the world and reality, then the researcher to a large extent also
accepts the tools, methodologies and instruments appropriate for investigating the social
world. The interpretivist paradigm relies on holistic analysis and detailed description of
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qualitative data collected using techniques such as in-depth open-ended interviews, and
personal observation (Patton, 1978).
For the purpose of this study, in-depth open-ended interviews were considered to
be the appropriate research technique as it is well suited to delve into the thoughts,
feelings and behaviour of informants, and discover new ways of understanding human
behaviour and interactions (May, 2000). Interviews usually involve some form of
conversation with a purpose (Burgess 1984:102 see May, 2000). According to Kvale
(1996:5) the purpose of in-depth interviewing is to obtain descriptions of the life-world
of the interviewee and to interpret the meaning of the described phenomenon. Due to itspopularity among interpretivist researchers it is commonly taken as the gold standard of
qualitative research (Silverman, 2000:291 see May, 2000).
3.5 INTERVIEW CONSTRUCTION
Interview styles vary in terms of their position on a continuum of control
(Bernard, 1998) and for this study semi-structured, open-ended interview style was
considered appropriate as it allows the freedom to explore new ideas (Saunders and
Thornhill, 2003) as well as address the need for comparable responses, in the sense that
each interviewee will face similar questions (Wisker, 2001). Semi-structured interviews
require substantial forethought an advance planning (Gerson and Horowitz) which
includes the development of a theoretically informed interview guide (see Appendix 1),
consisting of questions and issues that need to be raised in the interview to meet the
research objectives. Miles and Huberman (1994) emphasise the importance of such pre-
structured research when working with areas where some understanding has already
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been achieved but more theory building is required before theory testing can be done (as
is the case with the current study). The interview guide was used for each interview
conducted and is presented in Appendix 1. In addition to checking the progress of the
interview, it also demonstrates to the respondents that the researcher was prepared and
competent in conducting the interview (Bernard, 1988).
The key research objective of evaluating the interaction between buyer affective
states and in-store environment with respect to impulse buying was the prime focus in
developing the questions (Wengraf, 2001), for example, how does the in-store music
affect your mood state . The themes and issues arising from the review of existingliterature were used to generate specific questions using a technique simpler to the tree
and branch method suggested by Rudmin and Rudmin (1995). Attention was given to
formulating probe questions that distinguish among various aspects of the lived
experience, including the actual event, persons behavioural response, feelings and
perception before, during and immediately after the impulse purchase (May, 2002), like,
could you please explain your recent shopping experience . However, these perceptions
were uncovered by questioning respondents after their shopping activity using a post
only design strategy as suggested by Bayley and Nancarrow (1998). This serves as a
better technique for understanding impulse buying as opposed to the conventional pre-
post design that questions shoppers before and after the purchase. In the pre-post
design, shoppers generally try to shorten the before interview by reporting the shopping
list only partially, thereby resulting in a larger number of unplanned purchases at the
exit interview (Bayley and Nancarrow, 1998; Sherman et al ., 1997).
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3.6 THE SAMPLE
With respect to Qualitative research, Miles and Huberman (1994:27) argue that,
as much as you might want to, you cannot study everyone everywhere doing
everything. A theoretically focused study should choose a carefully selected target
sample that can illuminate the issues central to the research (May, 2002). Moreover,
unlike quantitative research, qualitative research usually includes small samples of
people, nested in their context and studied in-depth (Miles and Huberman, 1994; May,
2002). Thus, in such research sampling is purposive (Kuzel, 1992), implying that it is
necessary to decide in advance which portion of potentially infinite reality are crucial
and can resolve relevant theoretical debates (May, 2002).
From the range of purposive sampling strategies suggested by Patton (1990),
critical case sampling has been considered appropriate for this study. Since a critical
case proves or exemplifies the main issues of the research, it is well suited for
exploring interaction between constructs that have not received significant research
attention (Miles and Huberman, 1994), such as the interaction between buyers affective
states and in-store environment in the domain of impulse buying. However, as the
discussion in the previous chapter highlights, there are several factors such as age
(Mitchell and Walsh, 2004), gender (Bellenger et al ., 1978), product categories (Abratt
and Goodey, 1990), culture (Maheshwaran and Shavitt, 2000) and lifestyle (Tao et al .,
2004) that affect impulse buying, in addition to the buyers personality traits (Youn and
Faber, 2000) and in-store environment (Lam, 2001). Thus, to explore the interaction
between the last two variables only, it is necessary to control the effect of the rest. This
was achieved in the present study; by selecting twelve female respondents as prior
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research shows that they are more likely to act impulsively (Mitchell and Walsh, 2004);
moreover since individuals below the age of 35 are relatively more impulsive than older
ones (Bellenger et al., 1978), females below this age were considered in the study.
However, even if female respondents below the age of 35 are considered, there can be
considerable inconsistency in findings if the product categories vary across respondents.
Thus, exploration was limited to fashion oriented, clothing and apparel purchases as they
are considered to be material symbols of personal and social identity (Dittmar et al .,
1995) and hence more likely to be bought on impulse (Bayley and Nancarrow, 1998). In
a nutshell, the sample for the current study includes twelve females below the age of 35,who were questioned on their shopping behaviours with respect to fashion and apparel
oriented products.
3.7 CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW
Since unpacking an experience and gaining access to deeper levels of meaning
is not straightforward, conscious attempts were made to create a comfortable
environment and earn the confidence of individual respondents (Polkinghorne, 2005). To
this end, interviews were conducted according to the convenience of the respondents
(Patton, 1990). Moreover, before the interview began, interviewees were assured that the
contents of the interview would be confidential and their responses would we presented
in the report under a pseudonym (Perry, 1998). Such a measure was considered important
for ensuring the respondents willingness to provide detailed descriptions and insight into
their impulse purchase decisions, which may have evoked negative post-purchase
emotions (Hausman, 2000). In addition, it concurs with ethical issues of the academy
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that, respondents should not be identified in print and they should not suffer harm or
embarrassment as a consequence of the research (Punch, 1994:92).
As suggested by Patton (1990), the overall purpose of the research and the
interview were explained to the respondents in the introductory briefing. The interview
was initiated with a grand tour question (Spradley, 1979) to give time to the interviewer
and interviewee to relax and develop a rapport (Cassell and Symon, 2004; Smith, 1972).
During the course of the interview, specific incidents and experiences of the respondent
were touched upon and explored using mini tour questions (Spradley, 1979). To
develop important issues directly related to the research, but not sufficiently wellexplained, the playback technique suggested by Smith (1972) was used. It involves
repeating phrases said by the respondent with a rising inflexion in the voice of the
interviewer, for example, you said you are an impulsive buyer, what makes you think
that . Attempt was made to maintain the flow of the interview by avoiding intervention
and introduction of new subjects by the interviewer. However, structural and contrasting
questions were employed to uncover specific meanings of the respondents phraseology,
to obtain reason for what has been said, and to introduce a new subject not yet covered by
the respondent (Berent, 1996).
The interviews were recorded using a Dictaphone (see Appendix 3), after
acquiring the respondents permission to avoid loss of information and overcome any
recall bias (Polkinghorne, 2005). Imposition of a strict time scale was considered
unrealistic and constraining in this study, and interviews were continued to the point at
which it was felt that further questioning would cover aspects already mentioned and
discussed.
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3.8 ANALYSIS
The challenge of qualitative analysis lies in making sense of massive amounts of
descriptive data collected. In order to treat evidence fairly and to produce compelling
analytical conclusions, the pattern coding analytical strategy suggested by Miles and
Huberman (1994) was used. This approach involves grouping of data into smaller sets,
themes or constructs to reduce large amounts of data into analytical units so that a
cognitive map or schema for understanding the phenomenon can be developed.
This analytical strategy was implemented in the current research by first
transcribing the interview recordings (See Appendix 2 for the transcription of a randomly
selected interview). As suggested by Cresswell (1998:51) it helps the researcher to think
about what the interviewees were saying and how they were saying it. Moreover, it
allows to-and-fro reading, increases familiarity with the data, and thereby facilitates the
grouping and coding into broad categories (Polkinghorne, 2005). But, since important
aspects of the oral information such as the pacing, intonation, and emphasis are lost in the
transformation (Polkinghorne, 2005), the recordings were also heard several times. The
analysis of the interviews was done simultaneously with the collection process so that
new and potentially viable issues raised in the interviews already conducted could be
incorporated in subsequent interviews.
3.9 FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS/ LIMITATIONS AND HOW THEY WERE
HANDLED
For most purposes in research there is an assumption that objectivity is needed to
ensure the credibility of findings (Denscombe, 2002), however such objectivity is
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difficult to establish in qualitative research as the researcher itself acts as a human
instrument of data collection and analysis (Hoepfl, 1997). Subjectivity guides everything
from the choice of research topic, to formulating research questions, to selecting
methodologies, and interpreting data (Ratner, 2002). It is argued that subjectivity can
create biases and challenge the validity and reliability of the findings.
But the biases arising out of subjectivity are not inevitable. Scholars have
suggested that researcher reflexivity, i.e. an awareness of the personal concerns and
values and how they shape the research, can keep a check on such biases (Denscombe,
2002). With respect to the current study it can it can be observed that the author who ismale and does not indulge in impulse buying personally, may experience the
phenomenon in question differently to the respondents who are females and inherently
impulsive in their purchase decisions. However, attempt has been made to be receptive to
different perspectives and opinions to provide a balanced and transparent account of the
findings. Through the use of comprehensive accounts of sampling decisions made, the
data collection procedure and analytical strategies used, the current research meets at
least the minimum requirements for methodological transparency suggested by Miles and
Huberman (1994) to ensure reliability and validity of findings.
However, since the quality of qualitative research depends not only on the
techniques used to collect and analyze data, but also the skills, judgment and creativity of
the individual researcher (Patton, 1990; Miles and Huberman, 1994)), the reliability and
validity of research can only be inferred and not proven by reference to objective criteria
(Mason, 2002).
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3.10 CHAPTER SUMMARY
The chapter begins by discussing the two research forms, and then provides a
rationale for adapting an interpretivist approach to achieve the research objectives. In-
depth interview method was used to collect data, the chapter elaborates on the interview
construction and the sampling criteria. In order to reduce the influence of factors other
than personality traits and in-store atmosphere, twelve females under the age of 35 years
where interviewed regarding their shopping behaviours with respect to fashion and
apparel products. After discussing the major issues of analyzing the data collected the
chapter ends with a few limitations of the approach and the way they were handled.
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CHAPTER: 4
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
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CHAPTER: 4
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 INTRODUCTION
The interviews conducted provided a great deal of narrative data, gave insights
into consumers various shopping behaviours, and was informative regarding issues like
personality traits, emotions or mood state and in-store shopping environment. Shopping
as the central issue of discussion was of interest to the respondents, who showed
enthusiasm in actively participating in it, and willingly shared ideas, during the
conversation.
This chapter will seek to consolidate and analyze the data gathered from the
interviews, on the basis of the themes and