purchase decision research paper

An examination of the factors affecting consumer’s purchase decision in the Malaysian retail market

PSU Research Review

ISSN : 2399-1747

Article publication date: 13 February 2018

Issue publication date: 12 April 2018

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of corporate social responsibility, social media marketing, sales promotion, store environment and perceived value on a purchase decision in the retail sector.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative research methodology was used and the data were collected from 278 customers of retail stores in Malaysia. The collected data were analysed using SPSS 19 and structural equation modelling on AMOS.

The findings showed that corporate social responsibility has significant positive effects on a purchase decision, whereas sales promotion has a negative effect on purchase decision. The outcomes of this study also indicated that store environment has a significant positive effect on consumers’ purchase decisions. Contrary to expectations, the findings revealed that the effect of social media marketing on purchase decision is insignificant. Finally, the results showed that perceived value has a significant positive effect on a purchase decision.

Originality/value

The findings of this study contribute to an understanding of the importance of the selected factors in affecting a consumer’s purchase decision in the retail industry.

Purchase decision

Sales promotion, perceived value, social media marketing, store environment.

Hanaysha, J.R. (2018), "An examination of the factors affecting consumer’s purchase decision in the Malaysian retail market", PSU Research Review , Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 7-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/PRR-08-2017-0034

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Jalal Rajeh Hanaysha.

Published in the PSU Research Review: An International Journal . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Introduction

In today’s continuously changing and dynamic business environment, it has become necessary for retail managers to clearly understand and foresee how different types of consumers behave when buying different products and services to fulfil their needs. Thus, to establish a competitive advantage in the marketplace, several retailers have focused on creating favourable images about their brands in the minds of consumers to influence their purchase behaviour ( Shamsher, 2015 ). Consumer behaviour emphasizes on understanding the purchase decision process of individual consumers and how they utilize their existing resources such as time, money and effort to get a product or service ( Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007 ). Hence, retail managers should have knowledge about consumers’ characteristics and preferences as they play an important role in forming purchase decisions. This information could enable them to foster their competitiveness and ensure their long-term survival.

The consumer decision-making process can be described as the phases that consumers go through in making a final purchase decision. The task of a marketer is to focus on the whole purchasing process instead of emphasizing solely on a purchase decision, because consumers experience different phases before reaching a conclusion ( Basil et al. , 2013 ). Understanding buyer behaviour is not easy because several factors can influence consumer behaviour before making a purchase decision. In some cases, consumers tend to spend less time in thinking about purchasing either low- or high-value products, because they consider that fulfilling their needs is more important. This has urged marketing managers to adopt strategies that motivate consumers to purchase their offerings by creating an effective marketing plan. Previous studies reported that corporate social responsibility ( Elg and Hultman, 2016 ) and social media marketing ( Duffett, 2015 ) play significant roles in influencing a consumer’s purchase behaviour and attitude towards a brand. Other scholars also considered store atmosphere ( Hosseini et al. , 2014 ), perceived value and sales promotion ( Andreti et al. , 2013 ) as important predictors of consumer behaviour and brand choice.

However, although previous studies emphasized on both corporate social responsibility and social media marketing in influencing consumer behaviour, only few scholars examined their effects on purchase decision in retail industry settings, particularly in Malaysia. Furthermore, limited studies have explored the role of store environment and sales promotion in forming purchase decision. In other words, considerable research has already been done on examining consumers’ purchase decisions in various business sectors, but there is no mutual agreement towards the factors conditioning consumers’ purchase decision. Thus, this paper is designed to examine the effects of corporate social responsibility, social media marketing, store environment, perceived value and sales promotion on consumers’ purchase decision with empirical data from department stores in Malaysia. The next sections present a brief review on past literature and methodological approach used in data collection; finally, the conclusion and recommendations for this study are established based on the findings.

Literature review

Purchase decision involves a sequence of choices formed by a consumer before making a purchase which starts once he/she has a willingness to fulfil a need. The consumer should reach a decision with regard to the place of purchasing, the desired brand, model, purchase quantity, time to buy, amount of money to be spent and the method of payment. These decisions can be influenced by marketers by providing information about their products or services that may inform consumer’s assessment process. Schiffman and Kanuk (2007) stated that consumers normally search for information relevant about a specified consumption-related need from their past experiences before looking for external sources of information. In other words, past purchase experience is regarded as an internal source of information that a consumer relies on before making a decision. In addition, several consumers’ decisions are most likely to be formed by integrating past purchase experience as well as marketing programs and non-commercial information sources ( Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007 ). Past literature also stressed that consumers usually attempt to minimize the risk in their purchase decisions ( Chaipradermsak, 2007 ).

Blackwell et al. (2001) reported that to comprehend consumers’ purchasing decisions, marketing managers should understand their consumption process and the benefits of organizational products and services in their perceptions. The authors also added that when consumers intend to buy certain products, they pass through numerous phases which would influence their purchase decision process and post-purchase behaviour. The first phase represents the problem recognition wherein consumers intend to satisfy their needs and wants. The role of marketers in this phase emerges while using advertisements, personal selling and packaging to arouse the recognition of desired needs or wants. In the second phase, consumers begin to seek information from either internal sources (usually from their past experiences) about the products or outside sources, for example, friends, family, relatives, neighbours, annual reports, publications, sales persons, social media or packaging label. Finally, consumers evaluate the alternatives and select from brands that best suit them and satisfy their needs.

Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility has been conceptualized in the literature by a number of scholars. However, there is no consensus on its definition and measurement despite the significant amount of research on this topic. According to Kilcullen and Kooistra (1999 , p. 158), corporate social responsibility can be conceptualized as “the degree of moral obligation that may be ascribed to corporations beyond their simple obedience to the laws of the state.” Similarly, Kotler and Lee (2005) expressed the concept of corporate social responsibility as an organization’s commitment to enhance the welfare of a society through voluntarily business activities and support from its resources. Erkollar and Oberer (2012) also illustrated that the majority of scholars view corporate social responsibility as a term through which organizations incorporate social and environmental aspects or considerations into their business processes and in their dealings with various stakeholders. Corporate social responsibility is usually used as a tactical tool for creating a positive brand image and attracting a larger number of customers ( Reich et al. , 2010 ).

In today’s business environment that is characterized by strong rivalry, corporate social responsibility is regarded as an important strategy for assisting businesses to maintain their competitive strengths ( Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006 ). Albus (2012) reported that corporate social responsibility represents an important strategic marketing tool than can be employed to develop a positive brand image. Corporate social responsibility is a key strategy that organizations should exploit, not only for the purposes of uplifting profit margins, but also due to the necessity to protect the environment. For example, organizations can be involved in social responsibility activities, such as treating business stakeholders (customers, vendors and staff) well. Pakseresht (2010) reported that several brands can be distinguished based on how they behave under the observation of business stakeholders. Consequently, the investment in corporate social responsibility programs enables a brand to foster its competitive advantage and improve its performance in the long term ( El-Garaihy et al. , 2014 ; Ghosh and Gurunathan, 2014 ).

Corporate social responsibility has a positive effect on purchase decision.

Social media is an important marketing communication tool to reach and interact with customers at minimal cost and at different times of the day. Effective management and implementation of social media marketing is one of the key objectives and interests of several brands ( Hanaysha, 2016 ). Successful brands have become aware of the power of social media marketing in today’s interactive marketplace for building and maintaining customer relationships, as well as communicating and interacting with larger numbers of customers ( Bulearca and Bulearca, 2010 ). Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) conceptualized social media as an internet-based program that provides a platform for consumers to express their own opinions, share information and past experiences using different social networks, blogs and other content areas. The efficiency of social media has empowered the marketers and customers with fast interaction and communication processes to enhance customer service, increase brand awareness and build strong customer–brand relationships. Using social media tools, consumers will have the chance to express their opinions to a larger number of individuals and also find the desired information quickly without incurring much cost ( Severi et al. , 2014 ).

Social media channels have appeared as the foremost convenient digital communication media through which several consumers can learn, share information and directly interact with business stakeholders ( Chappuis et al. , 2011 ; Qualman, 2013 ). With the existence of social media, business marketers will have the opportunity to interact with their existing and potential customers using two-way communications to obtain rich and valuable insights quickly and at lower costs. Marketers have also realized the additional values of social media channels through easier collaborations with brand referrals and quality of information sharing ( Hudson et al. , 2016 ). In addition, social media has enabled consumers to easily share important information about products or services offered by certain brands with their peers ( Erdoğmuş and Cicek, 2012 ; Mangold and Faulds, 2009 ). Such exchanges have provided companies with several advantages represented by cost-effectiveness, increased brand awareness, improved brand recognition, higher customer loyalty and greater profit margins.

Effective implementation of marketing programs on social media can enable organizations to create beneficial relationships with their customers by increasing customer satisfaction ( Hanaysha, 2016 ) and commitment as well as generating positive word of mouth. Through the continuous development and wide-ranging applications of several social media channels, many businesses considered this way of communication to be a noteworthy prospect. They have also started looking for the best ways of using social media for sustaining their businesses, creating healthier relationships with their consumers, marketing their products and services and developing reputable images for their brands to the public. To stay competitive in today’s challenging business environments, it requires firms to put prime emphasis on social media as a marketing strategy. Global companies employ several experts and consultants in social media to gain better recommendations on the contents and features of their advertisements before sharing them on social media to maximize the efficiency of the marketing program ( Erdoğmuş and Cicek, 2012 ).Moreover, customers regard social media communication as a tool to engage with various brands any time.

Social media marketing has a positive effect on purchase decision.

The importance of constructing an appealing physical environment has attained considerable attention from several scholars and business managers due to its power in attracting and satisfying customers ( Ali et al. , 2013 ; Han and Ryu, 2009 ). In retail stores, the atmospheric environment is considered as a key competitive tactic employed by retailers to stimulate consumer behaviour and increase sales volumes ( Chebat and Michon, 2003 ). The attributes of atmospheric environment focus on several stimuli such as colour, music, scene, layout and space, as they have been considered to be important clues for consumers ( Oh et al. , 2008 ). Lee and Jeong (2012) described physical environment as an environment that is shaped through overall layout, colour, design, decoration, surroundings and aesthetics. Particularly, the atmospheric environment in a store includes various stimuli such as ambience, colour, sound, scent, taste, layout and space, which are important clues for buyers. Prior research also established that physical environment enables a service provider to differentiate itself from rivals and influence customer’s choice ( Mahmood and Khan, 2014 ).

Assessing consumers’ perceptions of the characteristics of a store’s environment may form certain brand associations in their minds, enhance their perception of brand value and elevate buying intentions by minimizing cost and time, as well as the efforts in acquiring potential customers ( Kumar et al. , 2010 ). According to Mahmood and Khan (2014) , the physical environment allows service providers to distinguish their brands from those of competitors and influence consumers’ purchase decisions. Prior literature showed that store environment had a positive impact on consumer purchase behaviour. For instance, Belk (1975) found that the physical environment of a retail store influenced consumer’s buying behaviour. Likewise, creating an attractive store atmosphere was stressed in the past studies as a key strategic factor that many retailers consider to stimulate consumer behaviour and improve their performance ( Chebat and Michon, 2003 ). Further support can be found in the study by Richardson et al. (1996) who revealed that store atmosphere enhances the consumers’ perceptions toward the service and product quality of the department store. Similarly, Newman and Patel (2004) indicated that store environment plays an important role in affecting consumer choice.

Store environment has a positive effect on purchase decision.

In the theoretical literature, promotion is regarded as a key element of marketing mix that aims to inform, encourage and remind the target market about a product of service offer in an attempt to influence the consumers’ feelings, perceptions or purchasing decisions ( Stanton et al. , 2007 ). In other words, promotion programs are used by organizations with the purpose of communicating the benefits of certain products or services to a group of potential and existing customers ( Reibstein, 1985 ). Sales promotion is widely accepted as an important component in marketing campaigns for inspiring and stimulating quicker and effective response (comprising purchase quantity and speed) to the sales of particular products or services. According to Kotler and Keller (2012) , sales promotion represents a strong incentive tool for attracting consumers and increasing sales volumes. Agrawal (1996) conceptualized sales promotions as an aggressive strategy used by many brands to attract profitable customers and avoid issues of switching to other competitors. Thus, sales promotions are adopted by brands to motivate customers’ purchases and reward fast responses ( Kotler et al. , 2004 ). Other benefits of sales promotion can be achieved by attracting the attention of consumers and influencing their purchase decisions.

In the previous studies, it can be observed that price promotion is one of the main strategies frequently used by a number of marketing managers to exploit their sales and performance ( Zoellner and Schaefers, 2015 ). Essentially, promotional sales that can be grasped through several approaches such as customer coupons, displays and price reductions are usually used in diverse retail stores around the world. Price promotions as explained by Mullin and Cummins (2010) can comprise numerous forms such as buy one and then get the other one free, extra packs and money-off coupons. In the early 1990s, several retailers used price promotions to influence consumers who have price sensitivity by presenting to them the discounts on various product items. Generally, retail managers apply promotion strategies as incentives for obtaining a greater number of consumers and uplift their sales revenues ( Cui et al. , 2016 ). Currently, consumers deemed to be price sensitive tend to have high awareness towards the promotional deals and look for them frequently ( Yeshin, 2006 ).

Sales promotion has a positive effect on purchase decision.

Perceived value has a positive effect on purchase decision.

Based on the above literature review and existing research gaps between the selected variables, the framework for this research is presented as follows ( Figure 1 ).

Methodology

This research aimed to examine the predictors of a purchase decision in the retail industry. Therefore, the data was collected using a survey method from 278 customers of several department stores in East Coast Malaysia. The selection of a quantitative approach to conduct this research was considered appropriate to involve as many participants as possible and obtain larger number of responses. Additionally, a quantitative survey methodology is the researchers’ best choice when the targeted population comprises a larger number of individuals without requiring special skills to fill in the questionnaire. McDaniel and Gates (1998) illustrated that the quantitative survey enables researchers to conduct statistical analysis and generalize the results in a given context. To minimize the response bias and sampling error, the respondents were briefed about the purpose of the study and assured that their answers will be kept confidential.

Before starting the data collection process, the questionnaire was designed based on several measurement items for the constructs. Purchase decision was measured using a five-item scale adapted from the study of Shareef et al. (2008) . Furthermore, the measurement scale of corporate social responsibility was adapted from Tong and Wong (2014) . To measure social media marketing, five items were taken from the study by Schivinski and Dabrowski (2014) . In addition, the items used to measure store environment were taken from the study by Hussain and Ali (2015) . To measure sales promotion, a total of four items were taken from Villarejo-Ramos and Sánchez-Franco (2005) and modified to fit the context of this study. Finally, perceived value was measured using four items taken from Puncheva-Michelotti and Michelotti (2010) . All of the items were measured on a five-point Likert scale which ranges from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

Analysis of results

Out of the 384 sets of questionnaires distributed to visitors of department stores in East Coast Malaysia, only 278 responses were received from the participants. While analysing the demographic characteristics, it was found that 54.7 per cent of the respondents were women and men represented 45.3 per cent. The respondents’ profile also showed that most of the participants held a bachelor degree certificate. Additionally, the respondents were classified based on monthly income and it was found that 48 participants (17.2 per cent) received an average income of less than RM 500 per month, while 15 participants (5.4 per cent) obtained a monthly income between RM 501 and RM 1000. A total of 44 responses (52 per cent) were represented by the participants with an average income of RM 1,001 to RM 4,000. Those whose monthly income ranged from RM 4001 and above accounted for 71 (25.4 per cent) responses. Furthermore, the reliability assumptions were established on all constructs and the results revealed that the value of Cronbach’s alpha for the measurement scales of constructs exceeded the cut-off point of 0.70. Therefore, the reliability assumptions are fulfilled ( Appendix ).

For testing the hypotheses of this study, structural equation modelling method was used and the procedure was carried out using AMOS 18. At first, the measurement model comprising all measurement items of the constructs was drawn to calculate confirmatory factor analysis. The results indicated that the factor loadings for remaining items of each construct exceeded 0.50; therefore, convergent validity was achieved. Then, the structural model with the residual items was estimated. According to Hair et al. (2010) , the hypotheses can be tested when the fit indices in the structural model fall in the accepted range. Overall, the findings as shown in Figure 2 indicate that the structural model for this study maintained a reasonable fit with the data with the chi-square value being 376.333 1( p = 0.000); values of other criteria (GFI = 0.841, AGFI = 0.792, df = 230, TLI = 0.909, CFI = 0.924 and RMSEA = 0.063) attained the acceptable cut-off point based on the suggestions of Hair et al. (2010) .

To check the normal distribution of the data set, multicollinearity was calculated using AMOS 18 for all variables. According to Tabachnick and Fidell (2001) , multicollinearity issues exist when the relationship between any two distinct variables is 0.90 or more. As shown in Table I , the relationship between any two different variables is less than 0.90; thus, there is no sign of multicollinearity issues in the current data set. Furthermore, the discriminant validity among the constructs was verified by computing the average variance extracted (AVE) and correlation values between each pair of constructs. As cited by de Pablos (2016) , Bagozzi et al. (1991) reported that discriminant validity is achieved when the correlation values between pairs of constructs are less than 1.00. This was further advocated by Mohammad and Yusoff (2017) who stated that discriminant validity exists when the correlation values between pairs constructs are below 0.95. Overall, the output confirmed the existence of discriminant validity among the constructs.

After achieving an acceptable fit for the structural model and fulfilling the reliability and validity assumptions, the hypotheses in this study were verified. The results presented in Table II show that corporate social responsibility has a significant positive effect on purchase decision ( β = 0.188, C.R. = 1.803, p < 0.10); hence, H1 is accepted. Contrary to expectations, the results showed that social media marketing has an insignificant effect on purchase decision ( β = −0.165, C.R. = –1.536, p > 0.05); therefore, H2 is rejected. Moreover, the analysis confirmed that store environment has a significant positive effect on purchase decision ( β = 0.351, C.R. = 2.637, p < 0.05); consequently, H3 is accepted. The results also indicated that sales promotion ( β = −0.158, C.R. = −2.035, p < 0.05) has a significant positive effect on purchase decision; thus, H4 is rejected. Finally, the findings of this paper showed that perceived value has a significant positive effect on purchase decision ( β = 0.593, C.R. = 4.142, p < 0.05), which implied that that H5 is validated. Overall, these factors explain 72 per cent of the total variance in purchase decision.

Discussion and conclusion

This study aimed to examine the effects of corporate social responsibility, social media marketing, sales promotion, store environment and perceived value on purchase decision in the retail industry. The findings revealed that corporate social responsibility has a significant positive effect on purchase decision and this is in line with previous researches ( Elg and Hultman, 2016 ; Green and Peloza, 2011 ). Hassan et al. (2013) stated that if individuals feel that a brand has social responsibility towards them and the society, they will prefer to select its products/services. Similarly, Handelman and Arnold (1999) found that marketing activities which are socially responsible influence consumers’ evaluation of a brand and enhance their willingness to purchase its offerings. The second purpose of this paper was to test the link between social media marketing and purchase decision. Contrary to expectations, the results showed that the effect of social media marketing on a consumer’s purchase decision is insignificant. The insignificant result could be attributed to the lack of or inefficient marketing activities among the selected retail stores through social media. Additionally, negative word of mouth through social media sites could lead to negative perceptions among consumers, which may hinder their purchase intentions. Overall, social media sites can be a strong platform for building brand awareness, but its effect on purchase decision may not be strong enough in the retail context.

The findings of this study also showed that the store environment has a significant positive impact on purchase decision. The result was supported by many scholars ( Amofah et al. , 2016 ; Hasan et al. , 2016 ) who confirmed that the store environment plays an important role in affecting consumer purchase behaviour. Mahmood and Khan (2014) indicated that the store environment enables a brand to distinguish itself from competitors, thus leading to favourable customer’s choice. Therefore, store environment is an important means through which retailers can influence consumers’ behaviour and their purchase decisions. Furthermore, the results revealed that sales promotion has a negative effect on purchase decision. Eleboda (2017) also confirmed that sales promotion had a negative impact on consumer purchase decision. The result was supported by Santini et al. (2015) who stated that much discount leads to a state of discomfort among consumer, which will ultimately causes a sense of caution highlighted earlier, associating negatively with the hedonic features. Furthermore, Simonson et al. (1994) confirmed that sales promotion had a negative impact on brands. Similar views were shared by Shrestha (2015) who revealed that sales promotion does not have any effect on brand building and may lead to declining impacts for the brand, especially those which are well established. Thus, this study concludes that sales promotions could have a negative effect on consumers’ perceptions towards brand quality as lower priced items tend to have low quality.

Finally, the outcomes of this research confirmed that perceived value has a significant positive effect on purchase decision. The results were supported by a number of researchers ( Astuti, Silalahi, and Wijaya, 2015 ; Bakırtaş, 2013 ; Cheng et al. , 2006 ; Nochai and Nochai, 2011 ) who reported that perceived value plays a significant role in affecting purchase decision. Demirgünescedil (2015) also reported that perceived value plays an important role in affecting consumers’ purchase decisions. This means that marketing programs associated with added values reinforce consumers’ purchases and improve organizational profitability. Consequently, retailers are recommended to cultivate their customer value to attain greater competitive advantages in the presence of competitive marketplace environment. This study also suggests that retailers should focus on communicating their product values to customers and compare their prices with those competitors and observe how they influence consumers’ purchase decisions.

This study has some limitations which would provide directions for future research. Firstly, the main focus of the study was restricted to department stores and involved only consumers. Therefore, future studies can extend the scope by collecting the data at different areas in the country and include several staff of department stores to get better insights into the important factors in retail sector. Secondly, the data were gathered through quantitative survey using structured questions; thus, future studies can involve other research methodologies to confirm the findings. Additionally, the sample size used in this study may not be enough to represent the population. Thus, future studies are recommended to rely on larger sample sizes and in different industry contexts. Future studies may also examine other marketing factors, such as cultural factors and reference groups to gain further insights about their role in affecting consumers’ purchase decision in the retail sector. Finally, only five independent variables were examined in this study; hence, future research can consider other factors that can influence consumers’ purchase decision in the Malaysian retail sector such as service quality and store image.

Implications

The examination of the direct effects of corporate social responsibility, social media marketing, store environment, sales promotion and perceived value on purchase decision in the retail industry provides a theoretical contribution to the existing literature in this field. This study is one of the few research studies which attempted to examine the causal link between these variables. Particularly, the findings have theoretical significance by providing empirical evidence with regard to the relationships between the stated factors and purchase decision. Furthermore, there are useful practical implications for the business practitioners of retail stores. Managers can benefit from the results of this research to achieve better recognition and sustainable competitive advantage. The findings of this study also indicate that managers should understand the implications with respect to social media marketing in the Malaysian context; although this variable was found to be insignificant in affecting purchase decision in the retail context, it may yield different outcomes in future research.

Research framework

Structural model

Discriminant validity

Results of hypotheses

Measurements of constructs

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Corresponding author

About the author.

Jalal Rajeh Hanaysha is currently a Senior Lecturer at DRB-HICOM University of Automotive Malaysia. He obtained his PhD majoring in Management from Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia, in 2015, as well as an MSc (Management) from Universiti Utara Malaysia in 2011. He also received a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Arab American University – Jenin, Palestine in 2008. To date, he has published more than 45 research articles in international journals and conferences. He has also received several awards for best research papers being presented at local and international conferences. His research interests include business management and marketing, in particular branding, consumer behaviour, social media marketing, CSR, business and product innovation, human resource practices, and business strategy.

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OPINION article

Factors affecting impulse buying behavior of consumers.

• Instituto Superior de Gestão, Lisbon, Portugal

In recent years, the study of consumer behavior has been marked by significant changes, mainly in decision-making process and consequently in the influences of purchase intention ( Stankevich, 2017 ).

The markets are different and characterized by an increased competition, as well a constant innovation in products and services available and a greater number of companies in the same market. In this scenario it is essential to know the consumer well ( Varadarajan, 2020 ). It is through the analysis of the factors that have a direct impact on consumer behavior that it is possible to innovate and meet their expectations. This research is essential for marketers to be able to improve their campaigns and reach the target audience more effectively ( Ding et al., 2020 ).

Consumer behavior refers to the activities directly involved in obtaining products /services, so it includes the decision-making processes that precede and succeed these actions. Thus, it appears that the advertising message can cause a certain psychological influence that motivates individuals to desire and, consequently, buy a certain product/service ( Wertenbroch et al., 2020 ).

Studies developed by Meena (2018) show that from a young age one begins to have a preference for one product/service over another, as we are confronted with various commercial stimuli that shape our choices. The sales promotion has become one of the most powerful tools to change the perception of buyers and has a significant impact on their purchase decision ( Khan et al., 2019 ). Advertising has a great capacity to influence and persuade, and even the most innocuous, can cause changes in behavior that affect the consumer's purchase intention. Falebita et al. (2020) consider this influence predominantly positive, as shown by about 84.0% of the total number of articles reviewed in the study developed by these authors.

Kumar et al. (2020) add that psychological factors have a strong implication in the purchase decision, as we easily find people who, after having purchased a product/ service, wonder about the reason why they did it. It is essential to understand the mental triggers behind the purchase decision process, which is why consumer psychology is related to marketing strategies ( Ding et al., 2020 ). It is not uncommon for the two areas to use the same models to explain consumer behavior and the reasons that trigger impulse purchases. Consumers are attracted by advertising and the messages it conveys, which is reflected in their behavior and purchase intentions ( Varadarajan, 2020 ).

Impulse buying has been studied from several perspectives, namely: (i) rational processes; (ii) emotional resources; (iii) the cognitive currents arising from the theory of social judgment; (iv) persuasive communication; (v) and the effects of advertising on consumer behavior ( Malter et al., 2020 ).

The causes of impulsive behavior are triggered by an irresistible force to buy and an inability to evaluate its consequences. Despite being aware of the negative effects of buying, there is an enormous desire to immediately satisfy your most pressing needs ( Meena, 2018 ).

The importance of impulse buying in consumer behavior has been studied since the 1940's, since it represents between 40.0 and 80.0% of all purchases. This type of purchase obeys non-rational reasons that are characterized by the sudden appearance and the (in) satisfaction between the act of buying and the results obtained ( Reisch and Zhao, 2017 ). Aragoncillo and Orús (2018) also refer that a considerable percentage of sales comes from purchases that are not planned and do not correspond to the intended products before entering the store.

According to Burton et al. (2018) , impulse purchases occur when there is a sudden and strong emotional desire, which arises from a reactive behavior that is characterized by low cognitive control. This tendency to buy spontaneously and without reflection can be explained by the immediate gratification it provides to the buyer ( Pradhan et al., 2018 ).

Impulsive shopping in addition to having an emotional content can be triggered by several factors, including: the store environment, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and the emotional state of the consumer at that time ( Gogoi and Shillong, 2020 ). We believe that impulse purchases can be stimulated by an unexpected need, by a visual stimulus, a promotional campaign and/or by the decrease of the cognitive capacity to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of that purchase.

The buying experience increasingly depends on the interaction between the person and the point of sale environment, but it is not just the atmosphere that stimulates the impulsive behavior of the consumer. The sensory and psychological factors associated with the type of products, the knowledge about them and brand loyalty, often end up overlapping the importance attributed to the physical environment ( Platania et al., 2016 ).

The impulse buying causes an emotional lack of control generated by the conflict between the immediate reward and the negative consequences that the purchase can originate, which can trigger compulsive behaviors that can become chronic and pathological ( Pandya and Pandya, 2020 ).

Sohn and Ko (2021) , argue that although all impulse purchases can be considered as unplanned, not all unplanned purchases can be considered impulsive. Unplanned purchases can occur, simply because the consumer needs to purchase a product, but for whatever reason has not been placed on the shopping list in advance. This suggests that unplanned purchases are not necessarily accompanied by the urgent desire that generally characterizes impulse purchases.

The impulse purchases arise from sensory experiences (e.g., store atmosphere, product layout), so purchases made in physical stores tend to be more impulsive than purchases made online. This type of shopping results from the stimulation of the five senses and the internet does not have this capacity, so that online shopping can be less encouraging of impulse purchases than shopping in physical stores ( Moreira et al., 2017 ).

Researches developed by Aragoncillo and Orús (2018) reveal that 40.0% of consumers spend more money than planned, in physical stores compared to 25.0% in online purchases. This situation can be explained by the fact that consumers must wait for the product to be delivered when they buy online and this time interval may make impulse purchases unfeasible.

Following the logic of Platania et al. (2017) we consider that impulse buying takes socially accepted behavior to the extreme, which makes it difficult to distinguish between normal consumption and pathological consumption. As such, we believe that compulsive buying behavior does not depend only on a single variable, but rather on a combination of sociodemographic, emotional, sensory, genetic, psychological, social, and cultural factors. Personality traits also have an important role in impulse buying. Impulsive buyers have low levels of self-esteem, high levels of anxiety, depression and negative mood and a strong tendency to develop obsessive-compulsive disorders. However, it appears that the degree of uncertainty derived from the pandemic that hit the world and the consequent economic crisis, seems to have changed people's behavior toward a more planned and informed consumption ( Sheth, 2020 ).

Author Contributions

All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Keywords: consumer behavior, purchase intention, impulse purchase, emotional influences, marketing strategies

Citation: Rodrigues RI, Lopes P and Varela M (2021) Factors Affecting Impulse Buying Behavior of Consumers. Front. Psychol. 12:697080. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.697080

Received: 19 April 2021; Accepted: 10 May 2021; Published: 02 June 2021.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2021 Rodrigues, Lopes and Varela. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Rosa Isabel Rodrigues, rosa.rodrigues@isg.pt

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Customer perception, purchase intention and buying decision for branded products: measuring the role of price discounts

• Research Article
• Published: 13 March 2021
• Volume 20 , pages 194–203, ( 2021 )

Cite this article

• Amit Dangi 1 ,
• Chand P. Saini 1 ,
• Vijay Singh 2 &
• Jayant Hooda 3  

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The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents of customer perception and its effect on the purchase intention and finally on buying decision-making about branded products especially luxury products, finally the role of price discounts in converting intentions into buying decision. This research has been carried in NCR with a collection of primary data by including statements related to the customer perception, buying intentions regarding branded luxury products and one section of the questionnaire included statements of Price discounts and buying decisions. The study used Exploratory Factor Analysis, Structure Equation Modeling, and Mediation through AMOS 19 to analyze the data. Results explored four major determinants named Quality, Trust, Psychological, and Social which were considered to contribute to building the perception of any customer for branded products and creates the purchase intention which will finally be converted into buying decisions making. The price discount plays a role of partial mediation, where due to price discount available for luxury branded products the buying decision-making has been reduced significantly.

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Dangi, A., Saini, C.P., Singh, V. et al. Customer perception, purchase intention and buying decision for branded products: measuring the role of price discounts. J Revenue Pricing Manag 20 , 194–203 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41272-021-00300-7

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/s41272-021-00300-7

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A Review of the Effect of Pricing Strategies on the Purchase of Consumer Goods

International Journal of Research in Management, Science & Technology (E-ISSN: 2321-3264) Vol. 2, No. 2, August 2014

15 Pages Posted: 6 Mar 2018

Dudu Oritsematosan Faith

Covenant university, professor edwin agwu.

London - United Kingdom

Date Written: February 12, 2018

This study examined the effect of pricing strategies on the purchase of consumer goods. Also examined in this research is the effect of internet (online presence) on informed purchase decision. The research intended to answer questions on the extent to which competitor's price affects purchase of products, how customers perceive the value-based pricing concept of firms and the extent to which online pricing inform customer purchase decision. This paper being descriptive and historical relied heavily on secondary sources of information. The research utilized a descriptive and historical method and relied heavily and solely on secondary instruments as sources of data. Findings from the data obtained indicate that consumers have a perception of value reflected in prices of firms’ products. It also shows that competitors price affect the purchase of firm products and that online pricing informs and affects purchase decision. This study contributes to knowledge in series of issues associated with pricing strategies and purchase decision process. This research recommends that as much as firms should focus on communicating value to customers through prices, firms should also be on the watch for competitor’s prices and examine how much it affects purchase of their products.

Keywords: Pricing behavior, products, online presence, competition, perceived value

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Factors Affecting Impulse Buying Behavior of Consumers

In recent years, the study of consumer behavior has been marked by significant changes, mainly in decision-making process and consequently in the influences of purchase intention (Stankevich, 2017 ).

The markets are different and characterized by an increased competition, as well a constant innovation in products and services available and a greater number of companies in the same market. In this scenario it is essential to know the consumer well (Varadarajan, 2020 ). It is through the analysis of the factors that have a direct impact on consumer behavior that it is possible to innovate and meet their expectations. This research is essential for marketers to be able to improve their campaigns and reach the target audience more effectively (Ding et al., 2020 ).

Consumer behavior refers to the activities directly involved in obtaining products /services, so it includes the decision-making processes that precede and succeed these actions. Thus, it appears that the advertising message can cause a certain psychological influence that motivates individuals to desire and, consequently, buy a certain product/service (Wertenbroch et al., 2020 ).

Studies developed by Meena ( 2018 ) show that from a young age one begins to have a preference for one product/service over another, as we are confronted with various commercial stimuli that shape our choices. The sales promotion has become one of the most powerful tools to change the perception of buyers and has a significant impact on their purchase decision (Khan et al., 2019 ). Advertising has a great capacity to influence and persuade, and even the most innocuous, can cause changes in behavior that affect the consumer's purchase intention. Falebita et al. ( 2020 ) consider this influence predominantly positive, as shown by about 84.0% of the total number of articles reviewed in the study developed by these authors.

Kumar et al. ( 2020 ) add that psychological factors have a strong implication in the purchase decision, as we easily find people who, after having purchased a product/ service, wonder about the reason why they did it. It is essential to understand the mental triggers behind the purchase decision process, which is why consumer psychology is related to marketing strategies (Ding et al., 2020 ). It is not uncommon for the two areas to use the same models to explain consumer behavior and the reasons that trigger impulse purchases. Consumers are attracted by advertising and the messages it conveys, which is reflected in their behavior and purchase intentions (Varadarajan, 2020 ).

Impulse buying has been studied from several perspectives, namely: (i) rational processes; (ii) emotional resources; (iii) the cognitive currents arising from the theory of social judgment; (iv) persuasive communication; (v) and the effects of advertising on consumer behavior (Malter et al., 2020 ).

The causes of impulsive behavior are triggered by an irresistible force to buy and an inability to evaluate its consequences. Despite being aware of the negative effects of buying, there is an enormous desire to immediately satisfy your most pressing needs (Meena, 2018 ).

The importance of impulse buying in consumer behavior has been studied since the 1940's, since it represents between 40.0 and 80.0% of all purchases. This type of purchase obeys non-rational reasons that are characterized by the sudden appearance and the (in) satisfaction between the act of buying and the results obtained (Reisch and Zhao, 2017 ). Aragoncillo and Orús ( 2018 ) also refer that a considerable percentage of sales comes from purchases that are not planned and do not correspond to the intended products before entering the store.

According to Burton et al. ( 2018 ), impulse purchases occur when there is a sudden and strong emotional desire, which arises from a reactive behavior that is characterized by low cognitive control. This tendency to buy spontaneously and without reflection can be explained by the immediate gratification it provides to the buyer (Pradhan et al., 2018 ).

Impulsive shopping in addition to having an emotional content can be triggered by several factors, including: the store environment, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and the emotional state of the consumer at that time (Gogoi and Shillong, 2020 ). We believe that impulse purchases can be stimulated by an unexpected need, by a visual stimulus, a promotional campaign and/or by the decrease of the cognitive capacity to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of that purchase.

The buying experience increasingly depends on the interaction between the person and the point of sale environment, but it is not just the atmosphere that stimulates the impulsive behavior of the consumer. The sensory and psychological factors associated with the type of products, the knowledge about them and brand loyalty, often end up overlapping the importance attributed to the physical environment (Platania et al., 2016 ).

The impulse buying causes an emotional lack of control generated by the conflict between the immediate reward and the negative consequences that the purchase can originate, which can trigger compulsive behaviors that can become chronic and pathological (Pandya and Pandya, 2020 ).

Sohn and Ko ( 2021 ), argue that although all impulse purchases can be considered as unplanned, not all unplanned purchases can be considered impulsive. Unplanned purchases can occur, simply because the consumer needs to purchase a product, but for whatever reason has not been placed on the shopping list in advance. This suggests that unplanned purchases are not necessarily accompanied by the urgent desire that generally characterizes impulse purchases.

The impulse purchases arise from sensory experiences (e.g., store atmosphere, product layout), so purchases made in physical stores tend to be more impulsive than purchases made online. This type of shopping results from the stimulation of the five senses and the internet does not have this capacity, so that online shopping can be less encouraging of impulse purchases than shopping in physical stores (Moreira et al., 2017 ).

Researches developed by Aragoncillo and Orús ( 2018 ) reveal that 40.0% of consumers spend more money than planned, in physical stores compared to 25.0% in online purchases. This situation can be explained by the fact that consumers must wait for the product to be delivered when they buy online and this time interval may make impulse purchases unfeasible.

Following the logic of Platania et al. ( 2017 ) we consider that impulse buying takes socially accepted behavior to the extreme, which makes it difficult to distinguish between normal consumption and pathological consumption. As such, we believe that compulsive buying behavior does not depend only on a single variable, but rather on a combination of sociodemographic, emotional, sensory, genetic, psychological, social, and cultural factors. Personality traits also have an important role in impulse buying. Impulsive buyers have low levels of self-esteem, high levels of anxiety, depression and negative mood and a strong tendency to develop obsessive-compulsive disorders. However, it appears that the degree of uncertainty derived from the pandemic that hit the world and the consequent economic crisis, seems to have changed people's behavior toward a more planned and informed consumption (Sheth, 2020 ).

Author Contributions

All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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The Increasing Cost of Buying American

The latest resurgence in the U.S. of policies aimed at reducing imports and bolstering domestic production has included the expansion of Buy American provisions. While some of these are new and untested, in this paper we evaluate long-standing procurement limitations on the purchase of foreign products by the U.S. Federal Government. We use procurement micro-data to first map and measure the positive employment effects of government purchases. We then calibrate a quantitative trade model adapted to include features relevant to the Buy American Act: a government sector, policy barriers in final and intermediate goods, labor force participation, and external economies of scale. We show that current Buy American provisions on final goods purchase have created up to 100,000 jobs at a cost of between $111,500 and $137,700 per job. However, the recently announced tightening of the policy on the use of foreign inputs will create fewer jobs at a higher cost of $154,000 to $237,800 per job. We also find scant evidence of the use of Buy American rules as an effective industrial policy.

We thank Vidya Venkatachalam and Bohan Wang for excellent research assistance. We appreciate comments by seminar and conference participants at LMU Munich, Boston University, Duke University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the University of Hong Kong, Singapore Management University, Peking University HSBC Business School, Yale University and the CESIfo Venice Summer Institute. We also thank Andrés Rodriguéz-Clare and Steve Tadelis for very helpful suggestions. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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