Impact of Impulsive Buying Behavior on Post-Impulsive Buying Satisfaction

Impact of Impulsive Buying Behavior on Post-Impulsive Buying SatisfactionMatt HoranBUS 307Introduction to Marketing ResearchProfessor WatleyApril 3, 2015

(Li, 2015)Yalin Li is the author of this research study titled Impact of Impulsive Buying Behavior on Post-Impulsive Buying Satisfaction. Yalin is a professor at Hubei University of Economics located in Wuhan, Hubei, which is in China. This study investigates the satisfaction consumers have after they make impulse buying decisions and how they measure this satisfaction. Many studies research what factors go into impulse buying but this study focuses more on the satisfaction or dissatisfaction that happens after impulse buying occurs.1Purpose of this StudyFind out how many people will be likely to impulse buyTo investigate how consumers satisfaction is after they make impulsive buying decisionsFind out the degree to which certain factors (mood, mixed emotion response, and product type) affect the level of consumer satisfaction with their impulse buys(Li, 2015)Based on page 339 in this study, impulse buying is defined as when a consumer experiences a sudden, often powerful, and persistent urge to buysomething immediately, (Li, 2015). In this day and age with computers and smart phones, impulse buying is as easy as it ever was. This study wants to find out how consumers feel after making these impulse decisions and why they feel that way. 2Problem being ResearchedWhat are causes of satisfaction/dissatisfaction after impulse buying and what does this mean for marketers?

(Li, 2015)It is noted that many other factors are not considered in this study as to what causes satisfaction after impulse buying behavior. Things like budget and price for example were not researched. This study did not want to get too complicated with looking at many variables, so only a few were selected to be examined. This indicates that future research studies are needed to look into these other variables. 3Research HypothesesHypothesis 1-1: Impulse buying will produce higher levels of happiness than nonimpulse buying willHypothesis 1-2: Impulse buying will result in a stronger feeling of guilt than nonimpulse buying willHypothesis 2-1: A stronger feeling of happiness that is triggered by the consumers impulse buying will result in higher postimpulsive buying satisfaction(Li, 2015)The idea here is that impulse buying can produce both positive and negative emotions depending on the person. Someone may feel happy because they acquired a product or service but another person may feel a sense of guilt because they felt they wasted money. It also depends on the goals of a person. Some people love to impulse buy and get satisfaction from that while others are focused more on saving money. The emotion response is based on the comparison of product expectations before purchase and the after purchase performance of the product. Also, emotion response is based on the comparison of different products.4Research HypothesesHypothesis 2-2: A stronger feeling of guilt that is triggered by the consumers impulse buying will lead to lower postimpulsive buying satisfactionHypothesis 3-1: Relative to low internal evaluation products, there will be less change in the happy mood triggered by purchasing high internal evaluation productsHypothesis 3-2: Relative to low internal evaluation products, there will be less change in the guilty mood triggered by purchasing high internal evaluation products

(Li, 2015)High internal evaluation products are products that can be easily evaluated right away when you first use or buy them. This study uses a camera as an example. When you buy a camera, you can evaluate it right away and it is less likely that outside references will be used in this evaluation. These cause more subjective feelings than low internal evaluation products. This study uses fashion as an example of a low internal evaluation product. These products often require references for evaluation and comparison purposes, and this can cause differing feelings.5Sample Participants250 college students at Hubei University of Economics in ChinaMale and female students sampledAges ranged from just under 18 to just over 24 years old (the typical age range you would expect to find on a college campus)

(Li, 2015)College students were selected because Professor Li works at a college, so it was easy. Also, Yalin wanted a group of people who all had similar characteristics or something in common, and college students living on tighter budgets fit the bill. 54% of the respondents were women and 47% were men. 21% of the respondents were 22 or older in age which means 79% were under 22. 6Research MethodologyParticipants read about a scenario where a shopping scene was describedThey were given information regarding high and low internal evaluation products and promotion informationThe students decided whether or not impulse buying would occur and then they selected emotion response to that decisionPost-purchase satisfaction was evaluated as well

(Li, 2015)To get everyone in the same relative mood, the students watched a video about the history, scenery, and development of the university. This made their moods all neutral at the beginning of the process. This methodology was selected because Professor Li did not have the necessary resources to go out and study the students purchasing decisions. This would take up too much time and Yalin wanted to see how the participants would react to a real life situation where they have the money to where they can afford to impulse buy. This was an easy way to collect a lot of data quickly. 7Research DesignQuantitative1 to 7 Likert scale was used in the survey questions-1 being strongly disagree and 7 being strongly agreeThis helped to establish which respondents leaned toward impulse buying and their satisfaction with those decisions

(Li, 2015)Quantitative indicates that the focus of the study is on collecting data and running various tests on them to find results. The students filled out the survey at the same time as this was found to be the most efficient design. 8Data Collection MethodsBulletin advertisements were placed on campus to get respondentsRespondents filled out a survey questionnaire Data on impulse buying behavior and satisfaction was gatheredPersonal information (demographics) were gathered as well

(Li, 2015)The majority of the students used were the ones who responded to a bulletin that was put up on campus along with some students that Yalin recruited who were a good fit for the study. Data was easy to collect once the respondents were done filling out the survey. Of the 250 students who filled out the survey, 243 were found to be valid and data was collected for those 243. 9Data AnalysisIndependent samples t testsTwo-way analyses of variance (ANOVA)Linear regression

(Li, 2015)Independent sample t tests compares the means of two independent groups. It then determines if there is statistical evidence that the population means are different. These t tests were used in analyzing mixed emotion response for the most part. Two-way analyses of variance involves analyzing the effects of independent variables on certain expected outcomes. It also takes the variables relationship to the outcome itself into account. A linear regression shows the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. These tests were used to analyze the effect of impulsive buying behavior on mixed emotion response and product type as well as satisfaction after the impulse buying occurred.10Results126 students showed impulsive behavior while 117 did notImpulse buying brought a higher level of happiness than nonoccuring impulse buyingAlso, impulse buying brought a higher level of guilt than those who did not impulse buyEmotion changes caused by low internal evaluation products was much higher than that of the emotion change caused by high internal evaluation productGuilt changes caused by low internal evaluation products were much higher than the guilt changes caused by high internal evaluation productsGuilt had a significantly negative influence on postimpulsive buying satisfactionHappiness had a mediating effect on impulsive buying behavior and postimpulsive buying satisfaction

(Li, 2015)All of the hypotheses stated in this study were supported by the data analysis and the various tests run on the data. Impulse buying can bring happiness, guilt, or a little of both. This mixed emotion response affects post-impulsive buying satisfaction. 11Learning OutcomesMarketers should consider consumers emotions when they impulse buy, especially the negative emotionsThese negative emotions affect postimpulsive buying satisfaction the mostMarketers should use different marketing techniques for high and low internal evaluation productsOver half of the students showed impulsive behavior, indicating that impulsive behavior can occur in everyday life(Li, 2015)Negative emotions means that the consumer will not buy that product again or buy from that business again potentially. Marketers need to keep this information in mind. For high internal evaluation products, marketers should focus on the product itself by showing its quality and benefits. For low internal evaluation products, marketers should focus on the unique product features, that way postimpulsive buying satisfaction is extended. An area of future research is the influence of more time on satisfaction and a major limiting factor was the use of only 250 participants who almost all of younger age.12ReferencesLi, Y. (2015). Impact of Impulsive Buying Behavior on Post-Impulsive Buying Satisfaction. Social Behavior & Personality-an International Journal: 43(2), 339-351. Ebsco Business Source Premier. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.