The purpose of this thesis is to examine impulse buying from the consumer’s perspective, pinpoint criteria that help to identify impulse shoppers, and help retail managers increase the level of impulse buying in their stores. Two studies were conducted: An online study (N=72), and a field study in a drugstore that comprised 111 participants. The extant literature on impulse buying was comprehensively reviewed to give the reader profound background
knowledge. The online study yielded rich descriptions of consumers’ definitions of impulse purchases and self-reported impulse purchase episodes. Both studies corroborated the important role of emotions in impulse buying and identified the most prevalent emotions. The pervasiveness of a variety of impulse buying motives was determined, as well as the importance of different retailer-related buying determinants. The field study also served to detect seven variables, out of fifteen, that help to distinguish impulse shoppers. The author addresses the studies’ limitations, indicates promising future research avenues, and derives managerial implications from the studies’ results. The thesis provides insights into shoppers’ view of impulse buying and serves as a starting point for retail managers seeking to increase the level of impulse purchasing in their stores.
Contents
Introduction
1.1. Purpose of the thesis
1.2. The framework and related research questions
1.3. Organization of the research
2. Literature Review
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Who makes impulse purchases?
2.3. What is bought on impulse?
2.4. Where are impulse purchases conducted?
2.5. How much is bought on impulse?
2.6. When are impulse purchases made?
2.7. How is impulse purchasing defined?
2.8. How are impulse purchases measured?
2.9. Types of impulse purchases
2.10. Why are products bought on impulse?
2.11. How do people act upon impulses? Resistance strategies
2.12. Factors that influence consumers’ impulse buying behavior
2.13. How to boost impulse purchases? Tactics for retail managers
2.14. Areas for further research
3. Study 1
3.1. Method section
3.1.1. Participant characteristics
3.1.2. Sampling procedures
3.1.3. Measures
3.1.4. Measurement instruments
3.1.5. Data collection, procedures, and analysis
3.2. Result section
3.2.1. Respondents’ definitions of impulse buying
3.2.2. Emotions and Cognition
3.2.3. Impulse Buying Motives
3.2.4. Buying determinants
3.2.5. Involvement, perceived risk, and impulse buying tendency
3.2.6. Shopping company and store visit frequency
3.2.7. Results concerning gender differences
3.2.7.1. Emotions and cognition
3.2.7.2. Impulse buying motives
3.2.7.3. Buying determinants
3.2.7.4. Involvement, perceived risk, and impulse buying tendency
3.2.7.5. Shopping company
3.2.8. Correlations
3.3. Discussion section
3.3.1. Respondents’ definitions of impulse buying
3.3.2. Emotions and Cognition
3.3.3. Impulse Buying Motives
3.3.4. Buying determinants
3.3.5. Involvement, perceived risk, and impulse buying tendency
3.3.6. Shopping company
3.3.7. Gender differences
3.3.7.1. Emotions and Cognition
3.3.7.2. Impulse buying motives
3.3.7.3. Buying determinants
3.3.7.4. Involvement, perceived risk, and impulse buying tendency
3.3.7.5. Shopping company
3.3.8. Correlations
3.3.9. Limitations and recommendations for further research
4. Study 2
4.1. Method section
4.1.1. Setting
4.1.2. Participant characteristics
4.1.3. Sampling procedures
4.1.4. Measurement instruments
4.1.5. Data collection, procedures, and analysis
4.2. Results section
4.2.1. Individual and situational difference variables
4.2.1.1. Significant effects
4.2.1.2. Insignificant effects
4.2.2. Emotions and cognition
4.2.3. Impulse Buying Motives
4.2.4. Buying determinants
4.2.5. Non-buying reasons
4.2.6. Results concerning gender differences
4.2.6.1. Emotions and cognition
4.2.6.2. Impulse buying motives
4.2.6.3. Buying Determinants
4.2.6.4. Involvement, perceived risk, and impulse buying tendency
4.2.6.5. Shopping company
4.2.7. Correlations
4.3. Discussion section
4.3.1. Individual and situational difference variables
4.3.1.1. Significant effects
4.3.1.2. Insignificant effects
4.3.2. Emotions and cognition
4.3.3. Impulse buying motives
4.3.4. Buying determinants
4.3.5. Non-buying reasons
4.3.6. Results concerning gender differences
4.3.6.1. Emotions and cognition
4.3.6.2. Impulse buying motives
4.3.6.3. Buying determinants
4.3.6.4. Involvement, perceived risk, and impulse buying tendency
4.3.6.5. Shopping company
4.3.7. Correlations
4.3.8. Limitations and recommendations for further research
4.3.9. Managerial implications
5. Conclusion
6. List of References
Research Objectives & Key Themes
The primary purpose of this thesis is to understand impulsive consumer behavior in a retail context to help retail managers develop effective strategies for increasing impulse sales, while also identifying segmentation criteria to distinguish impulse shoppers from non-impulse shoppers.
- Analysis of consumer perceptions and experiences of impulse buying.
- Evaluation of individual and situational determinants of impulse buying.
- Exploration of the role of emotions and mood states in impulsive decision-making.
- Examination of gender differences in shopping and impulse buying behavior.
- Development of managerial tactics to stimulate impulse purchases in retail settings.
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2.2. Who makes impulse purchases?
Who is the impulsive shopper? The answer to this question is essential to retailers if they plan on targeting this elusive type of person. Almost 90% of people purchase goods on impulse occasionally (Welles, 1986). In essence, this is basically everyone! Out of this mass of people who shop on impulse, what are the characteristics that can at least give retailers a clue as to which group of people is most prone to buy on impulse? This first section gives an overview of the most commonly encountered characteristics derived from research on impulse purchasing.
The two most researched characteristics of impulse shoppers are their age and sex. Surely, one reason for this is the fact that these two characteristics can be observed rather easily and without complication, whereas, for instance, a consumer’s attitude is much harder to determine. Regarding age, two findings deserve to be pointed out: First, there is extensive evidence for a negative relationship between age and impulse buying (Rook & Hoch, 1985, p. 25; McGoldrick, 1982, p. 30; Verplanken & Herabadi, 2001, p. 79; Tuyet Mai et al., 2003, p. 18). Second, the relationship between age and impulse buying seems to be curvilinear (inverted U-shape), i.e., people in the middle-aged group are the ones most prone to buy on impulse, whereas younger and older people tend to buy less on impulse (Cobb & Hoyer, 1986, p. 394; Bellenger et al., 1978, p. 17; Wood, 1998, p. 312). These findings contradict each other to some degree and need further explication. An explanation for the curvilinear relationship may lie in the fact that people tend to “underconsume” during the periods before and after they are employed, i.e., roughly until they reach 25 and after they turn 65. In turn, people tend to “overconsume” during their working years, i.e. between 25 and 65 (Courant et al., 1984). This period of overconsumption will naturally contain a certain number of impulse purchases which could result in the curvilinear relationship that has been observed by the aforementioned studies.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Outlines the significance of impulse buying as a widespread economic phenomenon and states the primary goal of helping retailers understand and influence this behavior.
Literature Review: Provides a comprehensive overview of existing research on impulse buying, covering definitions, measurements, contributing factors, and management tactics.
Study 1: Describes an online survey that gathered consumer-defined characteristics of impulse buying and examined the influence of emotions, motives, and determinants on impulse purchase episodes.
Study 2: Details a field study conducted in a drugstore setting using an inspiration island to test individual and situational variables in a real-world shopping environment.
Conclusion: Synthesizes the main findings from both studies and provides a summary of the conceptual framework used to evaluate impulse buying.
Keywords
Impulse buying, retail management, consumer behavior, emotions, shopping motives, segmentation criteria, impulse buying tendency, in-store stimuli, decision-making, shopping lists, gender differences, retail atmosphere, purchase determinants, inspiration island, consumer psychology.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The thesis focuses on examining impulse buying from the consumer's perspective to help retail managers identify impulse shoppers and implement strategies that increase the frequency of impulse purchases in their stores.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The work explores individual and situational difference variables, the role of emotions and cognition, specific impulse buying motives, and the influence of retailer-related determinants such as store atmosphere and product presentation.
What is the main research objective?
The primary goal is to discover how retail managers can increase the level of impulse buying by understanding the factors that push customers to make unplanned purchases and by identifying effective segmentation criteria.
Which scientific methods were applied in the thesis?
The author conducted two empirical studies: an online study (qualitative and quantitative) to collect consumer definitions and experiences, and a field study in a drugstore using an inspiration island to observe shopping behavior.
What is addressed in the main part of the thesis?
The main body comprises a thorough literature review, detailed descriptions of the methodology for two empirical studies, and an extensive analysis of the gathered data concerning consumer characteristics, emotional states, and environmental factors.
What are the key terms that define this work?
Key terms include impulse buying tendency, consumer perspective, retail management, in-store stimuli, shopping atmosphere, and segmentation strategy.
How do emotions influence impulse buying according to the findings?
The research indicates that positive emotions like joy and excitement are significantly associated with impulse purchases, and that shoppers often use impulsive buying as a technique to alter their current mood state.
What specific management recommendation is derived from the field study?
The author recommends that retailers keep product presentations clear and uncluttered, as an overloaded "inspiration island" can overstrain customers and lead them to ignore the display entirely.
- Quote paper
- B. Sc. Pirmin Sessler (Author), 2012, Impulse purchases in retailing, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/231747
