Monday, April 29

Research Project & Discussion

Introduction and Lit Review

Imagine this, you’re with your best friend to help them pick out an outfit. You have no intention

to spend money. When walking in the store there is a big sign that reads sale. There are deals that

seem so good, it would be crazy to pass up on. Something in you feels compelled to get the

product. But you can’t stop. Store after store, more money is being spent. In the moment it feels

great, until arriving home and realizing loads of money was spent. That is what impulsive buying

can do.

According to Economic Times, impulsive buying is “the tendency of a customer to buy goods

and services without planning in advance” (Bennett & Coleman, 2017). When a customer takes

such buying decisions at the spur of the moment, it is usually triggered by emotions and feelings.

Consumers unconscious minds are often driving their behavior under the influence of tactics by

retailers. The reason marketers do this is to tap into the uncontrollable behavior in order to boost

revenues.

Independent and dependent variables are some of the many characteristics that can affect one’s

need to buy off of a quick decision. Factors such as store environment, window display, income

level, and gender all reflect on the customers decision.

Throughout this paper, research will be conducted on the background of impulsive

behavior, marketers objectives, and the significance of the buying under impulsive.

The average shopper will make an average of 3 unplanned purchases in 4 out of every 10 store

visits they make. So what does this mean? Why do certain factors contribute to the purchase of a
product or service? In marketing research, impulse-driven and compulsive consumer behavior

are referred to as two adjacent and common phenomena in consumers’ lives.

Store Environment

Most consumers are being exaggerated by internal environmental factors. The stimulus is being

formed when consumers are shopping. The retail settings of stores are influencing

Do people who buy compulsively have any similar qualities amongst them? This is a lot of

evidence to show that this is correct. This data has been provided through surveys and other

questions that were asked to a wide audience. “This article investigates the probable causes of

compulsive buying, proposes a conceptual framework to explain the phenomenon, and develops

an appropriate measuring scale.

The results of the analysis testify to the reliability and validity of the scale which was

administered to 76 consumers. (Valence, 1988)” The research found was both interesting and

eye opening to a wide range of people. Many did not expect the data to show the way it did. So,

what exactly did the research show? “This article investigates the probable causes of compulsive

buying, proposes a conceptual framework to explain the phenomenon, and develops an

appropriate measuring scale. The results of the analysis testify to the reliability and validity of

the scale which was administered to 76 consumers.(Valence, 1988)” Like mentioned in the text,

impulse buying can serve as a “quick fix”.

There are many quick fixes that people try and use to mask larger problems. Normally when this

happens, small problems that could have been fixed by talking to someone lead to something

else. Anxiety is not the only the thing that people try to fix with buying more than they need to.

There have been many cases of people with eating disorders taking part in impulse buying. Also,

people who are alcoholics have this same issue. “ Moreover, he retain a symptomatology
accepted in most of the disciplines concerned with pathological consumption, be it alcoholism,

toxicomania, bulimia, etc.:acquisition of an obsessive desire and of a compulsion to consume;

personal dependence and loss of control and tendency to increase the consumption of a product.

Other authors take into account some signs that take the place of or supplement the prodromic

signs identifies by King: Rejected pulsions, denial of negative consequences that this behavior

may lead to multiple failures in quest to modify or control one’s behavior (Valence,

1988)” Although there are many things that people do that can be masked with impulse buying,

it can be helped.

There are also many things sources that show many people have similarities that show people

who shop like this are normally in the same socioeconomic level. “The rate of response was

56.3%, which compares favorably with rates in federal national health surveys. The cooperation

rate was 97.6%. Respondents included a higher percentage of women and people ages 55 and

older than the U.S. adult population. The estimated point prevalence of compulsive buying

among respondents was 5.8% (by gender: 6.0% for women, 5.5% for men). The gender-adjusted

prevalence rate was 5.8%. Compared with other respondents, compulsive buyers were younger,

and a greater proportion reported incomes under $50,000. (Koran, 2006)” Why is it that all of

these people have the same income level and take part in the same actions. Sometimes ads make

it seem like they are taking part in a better deal than what they are. “ A study using clinically

valid interviews is needed to evaluate these results. The emotional and functional toll of

compulsive buying and the frequency of comorbid psychiatric disorders suggests that studies of

treatments and social interventions are warranted. (Koran, 2006).” Also, people can do it as an

activity to pass time. “For some adults, shopping is also a leisure activity , a means of managing

emotions, or a way to establish and express self-identity. For others, the inability to control
buying urges brings significant adverse consequences . Uncontrolled problematic buying

behavior has been referred to as uncontrolled buying , compulsive buying , compulsive shopping

, addictive buying , excessive buying , and “spendaholism”(Koran, 2006)

The internal and external factors of impulse buying are related to online impulse buying

behaviors. In a study conducted by Sandy Dawson and Minjeiong Kim, 2009 “External and

internal triggers cues of impulse buying online” describes how internal factors of impulse buying

(impulse-buying tendency (IBT), affective and cognitive state, normative evaluation) are related

to online impulse-buying behaviors.

The findings of this study extends the Consumption impulse formation Enactment model into an

online shopping context. The model makes “the distinction between constant (harmonious)

impulses and dissonant (conflicting) impulses and elaborates on the role of the impulsivity trait,

situational variables, and constraining factors in enactment or resistance of the consumption

impulse.” The purpose of this study is to characterize consumers with high impulse buying

tendency IBT by comparing them with low-IBT consumers/ in an online shopping context.

A postal survey was used to collect data through a random sample of Swedish citizens. The

results of this study indicated “that high-IBT consumers, compared to those with low IBT, are on

average younger, more likely to be female and more frequent online shoppers with higher levels

of trust in the internet...they seem more likely than low-IBT consumers to abandon their online

shopping carts before completing the purchase, often because of need uncertainty.”

The understanding of impulsive buying addresses the roles of situational and socio-demographic

attributes of high IBT consumers compared to low IBT consumers. Personal traits are a main

factor in the differences in online purchases and the intentions to buy fashion online, shopping
cart abandonment and trust in the internet suggest that even if IBT is a relatively stable and

general personal trait to act on buying impulses may be more context-specific.

RQ&H

Research question 1: How does website atmospherics such as music product presentation

influence consumers within online shopping?

Research question 2: :How internal factors of impulse buying (impulse‐buying tendency (IBT),

affective and cognitive state, normative evaluation) are related to online impulse‐buying

behaviors?

Hypothesis 1: Attitude towards targeted ads positively relates to your intention to buying

Hypothesis 2: The moods of the people will be greatly uplifted from them shopping.

Research Method

1. How old are you?

a. 18-24

b. 25-35

c. 36-44

d. 45-55

2. What do you identify as?

a. Man

b. Woman

c. Gender Non-Conforming

3. On average, how many hours do you spend on social media?

a. 1-4
b. 5-7

c. 8+

4. How often do you see ads on social media?

a. Every time I scroll

b. Not that often

c. Never

5. Where do you see the most ads?

a. Facebook

b. Twitter

c. Instagram

d. Snapchat

6. "The ads I see are similar to what I search"

a. Strongly agree

b. Agree

c. Disagree

d. Strongly Disagree

7. Which do you prefer

a. Online Shopping

b. In-Store Shopping

c. Neither

8. How often do you buy something online?

a. 1-3 times a week

b. 1-3 times a month

9."I have trouble controlling my urge to shop"

a. Strongly agree

b. Agree

c. Disagree

d. Strongly disagree

10. "I tend to buy things even if I don't need them"

a. Strongly agree

b. Agree

c. Disagree

d. Strongly disagree

11. "When I go shopping, I feel better about other things"

a. Strongly agree

b. Agree

c. Disagree

d. Strongly agree

12. "I buy more when items are on sale?"

a. Strongly agree

b. Agree

c. Disagree

d. Strongly agree
 Results

The data was collected on Google Sheets from 4/19/2019_to 4/22/2019_. Participants

were recruited and filled out the questionnaire.

Among the 40 participants, 34____ reported being 18-24 (N = 34 , 85 %) while _5__ reported

being 23-35 N= 14%, 2 reported being 36-44 (N=5%).

In the second part of the data, it was reported that 24 of the participants were female

(N=65%). 13 of the participants were male (N=35%). The third part measured time spent on

social media. 15 of the participants said that they spend 1-4 hours (N=41%) on social media. 12

of the participants spent 5-7 hours (N=32%) on social media. 10 people said that they spend 8+

hours (N=27%) on social media.

them every time they scroll. 19 people (N=51%) said they don’t see them very often. The other 3

people (N=8%) said that they never see ads when they scroll. Another question we asked was

“Where do you see the most ads?”. Majority of the people said that they saw the most ads on

Instagram. 14 people (N=38%) said that Instagram is where they see the most ads. We also asked

our participants if the ads they see are similar to what they search. 17 people (N=46%) said that
they strongly agree. 11 people (N=30%) said they agree. There were 7 people (N=19%) that

disagreed. There were also 2 people (N=5%) that strongly disagreed.

Next, we asked people if they prefer shopping online, in-store, or neither. 18 people

(N=49%) said that they prefer online shopping. 16 people (N=43%) said they prefer in-store

shopping. There were three people (N=8%) that said they prefer neither. We also asked how

often they buy things online. There were 12 people (N=30%) who said they buy online 1-3 times
a year. There were 16 people (N=40%) who said that they buy online 1-3 times a month. There

were also 12 people (N=30%) who said that they shop online 1-3 times a year.

Another question that we had asked people to state whether they agreed or disagreed with

“I have trouble controlling my urge to shop”. There were 8 people (N=20%) who strongly

agreed, 12 people (N=30%) who agreed, 13 people (N=33%) who disagreed, and 7 people

(N=18%) who strongly disagreed.

Another question that we had asked people to state whether they agreed or disagreed with

“I tend to buy things, even when i don’t need them”. 17 people (N=50%) strongly agreed, 5

people (N=14%) agreed, 12 people (N=30%) disagreed, and 3 people (N=8%) strongly

disagreed.

There were two other questions that we asked the participants. We had asked people to

state whether they agreed or disagreed with “when I go shopping, I feel better about other

things” and “I buy more when items are on sale.” There were 13 people (N=35%) who strongly

agreed with the first one, 14 people (N=38%) who agreed, 9 people (N=24%) who disagreed,

and 1 person (N=2%) who strongly disagreed). For the second question, 20 people (N=54%)

strongly agreed, 10 people (N=27%) agreed, and 7 people (N=19%) disagreed.

with impulse shopping. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a correlation analysis and the

results was not significant. Therefore H1 was not supported.

that impulsive buying is significantly and negatively related with impulsive buying (N = 40, r = .-

.168, p< .05). For the same test, people buying when items are on sale is significantly and

positively related with perceived usefulness (N=40, r = .108, p<.01). The use of social media

carried no significant correlation between impulsive buying from seeing online ads.

Discussion: Why do people buy things online off impulse: Behavior and Neurological Research
 Interpretation of the findings...The purpose of this study was to investigate the internal

and external factors of impulse buying in online shopping on local college students. We found

out that this study extends internal factors of impulse buying (impulse‐buying tendency (IBT),

affective and cognitive state, normative evaluation) which are related to online impulse‐buying

behaviors. Another interesting thing we discovered is that people feel better when they shop. We

predicted this. Through our research, we discovered that impulsive buying releases dopamine.

This is a chemical in the body that excites people and makes them feel better. In a sense, people

get addicted to impulse buying because of the chemical. This can also be seen a quick fix for

other problems going on in people’s lives. Studies have also been done to show people who

cannot control their daily lives have trouble controlling their urges to buy all of the time. This

can also be seen with online shopping.

A previous studies that had a similar theory was Sandy Dawson, Minjeong Kim, 2009

who also conducted research on the internal and external factors of IBT (Impulse buying

tending.)The identified dimensions of convenience and their related sub‐items comprised a

validated scale for measuring Web‐based service convenience and served as building blocks for

further studies in e‐commerce customer relationship management.

Some practical implications that limited our study was the survey stage, where our group

limited the time span of the survey. People who are curious to search the correlation between the

usage of social media and impulsive buying would benefit from our groups research. It would

interest them as some of our results did not correlate to our groups predictions.

After meeting with our professor, we realized that our research would have been better if

we had restated some of our questions. For example, when asking "I have trouble controlling my

urge to shop" we should have had an answer choice for the people who did not know. We only
had strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree. Not having a neutral answer for

participants could have possibly made our data incorrect.

The people who wanted the neutral answer may have picked a different answer, since

they did not see the one that they initially wanted. Another factor that could’ve made our survey

better would have been having more answers for some of the questions. This also would help

with people not seeing the answer that best fits them. Our questionnaire could have also been

longer to get a better sense of the different ways people online shop. This would have also given

us more data to see what contributes to people partaking in impulse buying. For future study, our

group plans to incorporate different variations of questions, give a wider span or shortened

answers choices if needed, like explained above. We truly believe that if this were to happen, our

survey would have been greatly improved.

Some reasons you would get different results in a study like this because it varies by the

person. Every person has a different motive and is different than the next person. I personally

believe that these conclusion

Social media gurus and companies can get help from our studies because when stores

want feedback from their customers on Why people buy the things the buy or Particular reasons

on why they purchased the item they purchased, they can connect with their targeted audiences.

Online, many sites come up with targeted ads to magnify their audience and increase growth in

revenue. This research can help real-world situations because it can add reason to why people

make the decisions they make subconsciously through impulse. If I could make any suggestions

for this study, I would suggest doing a thought experiment by having participants beyond the

university take the survey. That way it is not limited to only college students but a much larger

demographic.