The Influence of Impulsive Personality Traits and Store Environment on Impulse Buying of Consumer in Karachi

Abstract

This study was aimed to understand and assess the role of store environment, impulsive buying personality traits, impulsive buying tendency, and urge to buy on impulsive buying. Data was collected from 250 respondents and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling technique, findings suggested that impulse buying was positively associated with impulse buying tendency, impulsively personality trait and urge to buy. The most important finding of the study is the insignificant effect of store environment on consumers that are instinctive buyers. The study also suggests that impulsive traits of the consumer directly lead to impulse buying. It actually don’t need some drive such as store environment that would stimulate their impulse buying tendency. However, this study didn’t find any effect of demographic variables (gender and income) on impulse buying tendency. The overall store environment has insignificant effect on consumer impulse purchase but different attributes such as cleanliness and arrangement of product has relative impact on impulse buying that’s why the retailers should focus on store environment elements such as crowd, sales employee, entertainment, lighting, aroma and display etc. to stimulate impulse buying. This study confirmed the role of personality in encouraging impulse buying at retail outlets. Marketers should identify ways to reach out open ended and extrovert people to target their promotional offers.