Exploring Impulse Buying In The Digital Age: A Quantitative Analysis

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to explore the phenomenon of online impulse buying. The primary aim of this research was to measure the extent of online impulse buying. A survey was carried out to collect primary data from a sample of 225 online buyers who have purchased both apparels and food products/services online at least once in the last six months, using convenience sampling. A self-administered, structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the respondents. SPSS 27 software was applied on the data obtained from buyers in Punjab, India. To evaluate the extent of impulse buying, three major aspects were scrutinized: the perception of impulse buying among online buyers, the percentage of impulse purchases (both in terms of monetary value and quantity) and the frequency of impulse buying among online buyers. The results pertaining to the perception of impulse buying indicated a strong inclination towards impulse buying among online buyers, driven by psychological factors such as sudden urges while browsing an online store, purchasing products that are less expensive than initially planned, developing emotional connections with products/services leading to temporary loss of self-control and experiencing psychological conflicts regarding purchase decisions.  Furthermore, the results pertaining to the second aspect explained that a significant portion of recent apparel and food purchases were impulse purchases. The analysis of the data about last three apparel purchases reveals that approximately 39.38% to 45.03% of the total apparel expenditure belonged to impulse buying. In the category of food, the results showed that 37.58% to 45.59% of total expenditure on food belonged to impulse buying category. Lastly, the study findings highlighted that a majority of online buyers usually buy apparel and food on impulse.