Undesired Impulse e-Buying Behavior: An Exploratory Study: An Abstract

Abstract

E-tailers’ marketing strategies and new technology developments on the internet frequently increase the likelihood of impulsive e-buying in consumers. Although, in some cases, these strategies may prove profitable and satisfactory for both the consumer and e-tailer, in other cases, the e-impulsivity of the consumer creates undesired business consequences, such as consumer regret and product returns for refund. Therefore, there are some circumstances under which impulse e-buying should be prevented for the mutual benefit of the consumer and e-tailer.

Impulse buying has been explained as a failure in the management of consumer self-control, together with the influence of contextual variables that lead to unplanned or impulsive buying. Therefore, a person with a tendency to impulsivity and faced with certain external and internal stimuli in the internet environment, is more likely to buy impulsively than one without this personality trait.

This research aims to investigate whether, in the face of undesired impulse e-buying, it is possible to manage the consumer impulsivity through gamified strategies reducing the probability of future returns and thus, to avoid the feeling of shame, guilt, and post-purchase remorse at the customer level and the economic cost at the company level.

An experiment was set, in an online shopping context, designed ad-hoc. A purchase scenario was simulated. One hundred-sixteen (116) Americans ages 18-35 years old participated in the study for a financial incentive and were contacted through MTurk.

Our results show that gamification approaches may help consumers reevaluate their decisions and retract them, thus reducing the volume of product returns resulting from impulse e-behavior.

As managerial implications, in industries where impulse e-buying provokes high volumes of product returns, it will be appropriate for e-tailers to help consumers make timely and better decisions, in turn reducing the cost of reverse logistics and promoting consumer satisfaction with their brands.