Store Environment and Impulse Buying Behavior: A Super-Market Perspective

Abstract

Most consumers buy impulsively at one time or another and impulse purchases contribute a significant proportion of the sales in super-markets (Miller 2002; Mogelonsky 1998). Impulse buying is a hedonically motivated affect-laden behaviour and hence, an attractive and pleasant store environment is likely to encourage consumers to buy impulsively by putting them in a good mood and making their shopping experience more enjoyable (Hawkins et al. 2000). However, existing research in impulse buying seems to have overlooked this aspect by and large and has focused primarily on the socio-psychological aspects of impulse buying. In this paper, we address this gap by exploring the influence of physical and social cues on impulse buying and the mediating role of shopping enjoyment in this process.