Impulse buying behaviour: an online-offline comparative and the impact of social media

Abstract

Purpose-This paper aims to explore the phenomenon of impulse buying in the fashion industry. The online and offline channels are compared to determine which is perceived as leading to more impulsive buying. Design/methodology/approach-As the result of the literature review, three research questions are proposed and examined through an online self-administered survey with 212 valid responses. Findings-Results show that the offline channel is slightly more encouraging of impulse buying than the online channel; factors that encourage online impulse buying explain this behaviour to a greater extent than do discouraging factors; social networks can have a big impact on impulse buying. Research limitations/implications-Findings are limited by the sampling plan, the sample size and the measurement of some of the variables; only one product type is analysed. Further research is needed to confirm that shipping-refund costs and delayed gratification (traditionally, discouraging factors of online buying) encourage online impulse buying; clarify contradictory results regarding the role of online privacy and convenience. This research contributes to the validation of a scale to measure the influence of social media on impulse buying behaviour. Practical implications-Offline companies can trigger the buying impulse to a greater extent than online retailers. Managers must carefully select social networks to encourage impulse buying, Facebook and Instagram being the most influential; Twitter has the least impact. Originality/value-This study compares the impulse buying phenomenon in both the physical store and the internet. Moreover, the influence of social networks on impulse buying is also explored.

Do social media platforms develop consumer panic buying during the fear of Covid-19 pandemic

“…Researcher have shared that the business activities and consumer buying patterns are changed due to Covid-19 ( Ting et al, 2020 ; Cogley, 2020 ; Mao, 2020 ). Consumer buying behaviour is complicated and subjective reality especially in the presence of social commerce ( Aragoncillo and Orus, 2018 ; Abdelsalam et al, 2020 ; Algharabat et al, 2020 ). Other researchers stated social media enhanced the information sharing among consumers through online rating, sponsored ads, online reviews, social motivation, and social influencers ( Alalwan et al, 2017 ; Alalwan, 2018 , 2020 ).The social media has increased the online purchasing behaviour therefore many businesses and consumers are engaged because it facilitates to take optimal buying decision ( Alalwan, 2018 ; Alalwan et al, 2019 ; Baker Qureshi et al, 2019 ).…”

Trust and product as moderators in online shopping behavior: evidence from India

“…Though some consumers may perceive risk involved in online shopping because of prevalence of credit card frauds, the convenience involved in online shopping overshadows the risk. There has been unanimity among researchers that online shopping convenience has been an important factor the consumers consider while making purchase decisions (Aragoncillo and Or us, 2018;Beauchamp and Ponder, 2010;Chiang and Dholakia, 2003;Wu et al, 2011). Consumers are also influenced by discounts in prices offered by companies such as Amazon and Flipkart.…”

Understanding Online Impulse Buying Behavior in Social Commerce: A Systematic Literature Review

“…This purchasing behavior occurs when the consumer is feeling a strong, sudden and an irresistible desire to buy some product immediately, without reflecting on the consequences of the purchase [69], [78]- [82]. In direct contrast, unplanned buying involves all the buying decisions with a lack of advanced planning and may not be due to strong buying-related feelings or an urgent desire to buy something [83]- [85]. Thus, impulse shopping is unplanned; however, not all unplanned buying is considered to be impulse buying [86].…”