The potential use of the Internet for apparel retail marketing is extremely viable (Murphy, 1998); however, most of the journal papers on apparel Internet shoppers are limited to the comparison of demographic, psychographic, and behavioral characteristics between shoppers and non-shoppers (McKinney, 2004). Little empirical research has addressed the role of impulsiveness in online apparel shopping behavior. In the past, impulse buying was considered as something bad and consumers felt guilty after impulse buying (Ainslie 1975; Levy 1976). However, most researchers now no longer view impulse buying as a negative phenomenon because studies showed that impulse buying satisfies a number of hedonic desires (Piron 1991; Rook & Fisher 1995; Thompson, Locander, & Pollio 1990). Impulse buyers exhibited greater feelings of amusement, delight, enthusiasm, and joy (Weinberg & Gottwald, 1982) and often felt uplifted or energized after a shopping experience that involves impulse buying (Rook, 1987; Gardner & Rook, 1988; 1993) because impulse buying can provide the enjoyment of novelty and surprise, and the ability of mood alteration (i.e., breaking out of negative mood state) (Gardner & Rook, 1988; Rook, 1987). Recognizing the positive feelings generated from impulse buying and considering the increasing frequency of college students'' Internet shopping (Seock, 2003), one strategy to create competitive advantages in the apparel market of college students is to understand the variables related to impulse buying and based on the understanding provide a website that generates pleasurable shopping. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between online apparel impulse buying behavior and apparel involvement, apparel website attributes, and product category/price. The data were collected using an online survey with a structured questionnaire. To recruit participants, 37,590 e-mails were sent to six universities located in different regions of the United States. A total of 687 college students responded to the survey including 284 online apparel buyers, 194 non-online apparel buyers, and 209 non-apparel website visitors. When the impulsiveness of online apparel purchases in general was used to divide the participants into impulse buyer and non-impulse buyer groups, the Chi-square test results showed that there were significantly more female respondents in the impulse buyer group than in the non-impulse buyer group. However, when impulsiveness of last purchase was used to divide the participants into impulse purchase and non-impulse purchase groups, the results showed no significant difference between the genders. For other results, the findings were all consistent. Respondents in the impulse buyer and purchase groups than the non-impulse buyer and purchase groups had a greater amount of total monthly income and spent more money on apparel products. The impulse buyer and purchase groups visited websites that sold clothing/accessories more frequently and purchased more apparel products online over the past six months than the non-impulse buyer and purchase groups. These results suggest that impulse buyers are an important segment of the apparel online market. Four hypotheses were put forward to test the relationships among the variables. Before the proposed hypotheses could be examined, the factor analysis was first conducted to determine the constructs of apparel involvement and website attributes. The results showed that apparel involvement consisted of three factors (i.e., sign value/perceived importance, pleasure value, risk importance/probability) and website attributes consisted of four factors (i.e., website design, product presentation, promotion, product search/policy information). The results of MANOVA showed that the impulse buyer group perceived the sign value/perceived importance and the pleasure value of apparel involvement significantly higher, and perceived the risk importance/probability of apparel involvement significantly lower than the non-impulse buyer group. Based on the results, H1 was supported. Impulsive and non-impulsive online apparel buyers differed significantly in their apparel involvement. For H2, the results indicated that the impulse purchase group evaluated the website where they bought the last apparel item significantly better in website design, product presentation, promotion, and product search/policy information than the non-impulse purchase group. Based on the results, H2 was supported. The evaluations of the attributes of websites where impulse purchases and non-impulse purchases of apparel products were made were significantly different. Test of H3 showed that some product categories purchased by the respondents in the impulse purchase group were significantly different from those bought by the non-impulse purchase group. Categories such as shirt/blouse and belt were bought more frequently by the respondents in the impulse purchase group whereas shoes were bought more frequently by those in the non-impulse purchase group. The respondents in the impulse purchase group bought more items that cost less than $25 than those in the non-impulse purchase group. Based on the results H3 was supported. The product categories purchased by the impulse purchase group and non-impulse purchase group were significantly different. The multiple regression results showed that the sign value/perceived importance of apparel involvement contributed the most in explaining impulsiveness of online apparel buying behavior, followed by product price, risk importance/probability of apparel involvement, and product presentation of website attributes. Other factors, such as the pleasure value of apparel involvement and website attributes in website design, promotion, and product search/policy information, had no significant linear relationships with the impulsiveness of online apparel buying behavior. Based on the results, H4 was partially supported. From the results of the present study, it is concluded that apparel involvement, website attributes, and product price are closely related to the impulsiveness of consumers'' online apparel buying behavior. This study is beneficial to researchers and marketers by identifying possible psychological reasons for impulse buying as well as suggesting strategies to develop an apparel website that facilitate impulse buying behavior. / Ph. D.

Background: Internet and smartphones enable people to purchase online independent of time and place, and this have resulted in that impulsive purchases on the internet have increased. Different generations have been described to be more or less susceptible to impulse buying. Generation Y, the first generation that grew up with technology, have generally been described as impulsive, while Generation X, who were introduced to technology later in life, have been described as more rational. Further, consumers’ impulsive buying behavior has shown to be crucial and common, especially within the fashion industry. Purpose: The purpose was to investigate how Gen Y purchase apparel impulsively online compared to the older Gen X. Also, which one of them that make most apparel purchases online, and which one of them who do most web browsing of apparel. Further, the authors wanted to investigate how four different factors affect the generations’ impulsive buying behavior in the case of apparel online. These were based on an adjustment of the Revised CIFE-model. Method:  This research was conducted through a quantitative method, and seven hypotheses were formulated based on the theory. An online survey was constructed and shared through social media, and the final sample consisted of 709 respondents from both Gen X and Gen Y. These responses were analyzed through SPSS, and the hypotheses were tested by combining questions. Conclusion: The results showed that Gen Y are browsing more apparel online than Gen X, and also that they more often purchase apparel impulsively online. However, Gen X buy more apparel online in general. The findings further showed that Gen Y are more affected than Gen X by external trigger cues, normative evaluation, and internal factors when it comes to impulsive e-purchases of apparel. There was no difference between the generations’ impulse buying tendency. Findings from the open-ended questions showed that Gen X often are affected by advertising, while Gen Y are more affected by influencers. Sales and special offers influenced both generations.

An important element in retailing is the use of impulse purchases; generally small items that are bought by consumers on the spur of the moment. By some estimates, impulse purchases make up approximately 50 percent of all spending by consumers. While impulse purchases have been studied in the brick-and-mortar retail environment, they have not been researched in the online retail environment. With e-commerce growing rapidly and approaching $20 billion per year in the Canadian and US markets, this is an important unexplored area. Using real purchasing behaviour from visitors to the Reunion website of Huntsville High School in Ontario Canada, I explored factors that influence the likelihood of an impulse purchase in an online retail environment. Consistent with diminishing sensitivity (mental accounting and the psychophysics of pricing), the results indicate that the likelihood of a consumer purchasing the impulse item increases with the total amount spent on other items. The results also show that presenting the offer in a popup is a more effective location and presentation mode than embedding the offer into the checkout page and increases the likelihood of the consumer making an impulse purchase. In addition, the results confirm that providing a reason to purchase by linking a $1 donation for a charity to the impulse item increases the frequency of the impulse purchase.

An important element in retailing is the use of impulse purchases; generally small items that are bought by consumers on the spur of the moment. By some estimates, impulse purchases make up approximately 50 percent of all spending by consumers. While impulse purchases have been studied in the brick-and-mortar retail environment, they have not been researched in the online retail environment. With e-commerce growing rapidly and approaching $20 billion per year in the Canadian and US markets, this is an important unexplored area. Using real purchasing behaviour from visitors to the Reunion website of Huntsville High School in Ontario Canada, I explored factors that influence the likelihood of an impulse purchase in an online retail environment. Consistent with diminishing sensitivity (mental accounting and the psychophysics of pricing), the results indicate that the likelihood of a consumer purchasing the impulse item increases with the total amount spent on other items. The results also show that presenting the offer in a popup is a more effective location and presentation mode than embedding the offer into the checkout page and increases the likelihood of the consumer making an impulse purchase. In addition, the results confirm that providing a reason to purchase by linking a $1 donation for a charity to the impulse item increases the frequency of the impulse purchase.

Recently, online group-buying has been a popular business model. It was observed that many characteristics of online group-buying are potential stimuli of impulse buying. Therefore, we target traditional online group-buying and e-coupon group-buying and try to explore the characteristics of online group-buying stimulating impulse buying. Based on the literature review and empirical data collection, we identified five characteristics of online group-buying which may stimulate impulse buying. They are group-buying discount, time pressure, social interaction, perceived shopping convenience and consumption deadline. The data were collected through online questionnaire. The analysis result shows that the five characteristics of online group-buying indeed cause impulse buying. Further, we also explored whether the impulse buying behavior will be moderated in different situations. These moderators include group-buying model (traditional online group-buying vs. e-coupon group-buying), transaction price level, relationship with the group-buying initiator, product type and group-buying experience. The result indicates that the impulse buying behaviors are easier to be stimulated in the following situations: traditional online group-buying, lower transaction price, familiar with the traditional online group-buying initiator, non-food product and more experienced consumers of online group-buying.

Appar är idag en stor marknad eftersom de flesta äger en smartphone och därför är potentiella appkonsumenter. Trots att endast en tredjedel av alla svenskar betalar för mobilspel spenderas hundratals miljoner kronor på köp av appar varje år. Spel är den mest populära appkategorin i svenska App Store och Google Play vilket gör att utvecklare som inte skapar spel har svårt att synas. En etablerad modell i marknadsföringsområdet är köpprocessen, som beskriver hela processen genom ett köp från behovsupptäckande till utvärdering av inköpt produkt. Förståelse för vad som påverkar konsumenter i de olika stegen är viktig för att kunna utforma sin marknadsföring effektivt.Eftersom mobilspel ofta är gratis kan köpprocessen vid nedladdning av spelappar skilja sig från den traditionella, då exempelvis impulsköp kan uppstå i betydande omfattning. Då appmarknaden fortfarande är ung är forskningen inom den begränsad. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur köpprocessen ser ut vid nedladdning av spelappar. För ökad förståelse studeras även områden som påverkar de olika faserna i köpprocessen.Då det inte finns tidigare forskning i det undersökta området genomfördes en kvalitativ studie för att kunna identifiera beteendemönster. Tolv personer i åldrarna 16-25 som spelar spel på smartphones deltog på semi-strukturerade intervjuer och berättade hur de går tillväga när de skall ladda ner ett nytt mobilspel. En litteraturstudie av områden relaterade till köpprocessen ligger till grund för utformningen av intervjuguiden.Resultaten visar att behov av att ladda ner ett nytt mobilspel uppstår genom tristess eller rekommendationer. Information om spelet hämtas från spelets butikssida, där bland annat bilder och videor är betydande. När man är intresserad av ett kostnadsfritt spel laddar man i regel ner utan att tänka på några konsekvenser eftersom man kan avinstallera spelet ifall man inte gillade det. Uppfattningen av utvecklaren påverkas inte beroende på om man är nöjd med det nedladdade spelet eller inte, då man sällan tittar på utvecklaren när man letar efter ett nytt spel. En positiv uppfattning om spelet kan leda till att man rekommenderar spelet till vänner. Är man missnöjd kan man avråda folk man känner, men man brukar inte tala illa om ett spel utan att ha blivit tillfrågad.Studien visar att köpprocessen för nedladdning av gratisspel har fyra steg istället för fem medan processen för betalspel är oförändrad. När det gäller gratisspel har jämförelsefasen tagits bort då det inte sker någon jämförelse innan nedladdning. Informationssökningsfasen har översatts till uppfattning då det är mer beskrivande av fasens innebörd. Faktorer som påverkar de olika stegen i köpprocessen så som attityd, minne och känsloläge sammanfattas i en tabell. / Apps are today a big market since most people own a smartphone and thus are potential app consumers. Even though just a third of all Swedes pay for mobile games, hundreds of millions Swedish Crowns are spent buying apps each year. Games is the most popular app category in the Swedish App Store and Google Play, causing developers who are not making games struggle to be seen. An established model in marketing is the buying decision process, describing the entire process from need identification to evaluation of bought product. The understanding of areas affecting the different stages is important in order to successfully design effective marketing strategies.Since mobile games tend to be free, the buying decision process while downloading gaming apps may differ from the traditional process, since e.g. impulse buying behavior may happen in greater extent. Because the app market is still young, the research is limited. The purpose of this study is to look into the structure of the buying decision process for downloading gaming apps. To extend the understandings, areas affecting the different stages of the buying decision process are examined.Because there is no prior research addressing the studied area, a qualitative approach was performed in order to identify behavior patterns. 12 persons in the ages of 16-25 who play games on their smartphones participated on semi structured interviews, explaining their process for downloading a new mobile game. A literature study of areas related to the buying decision process is the basis for the design of the interview guide.The results show that the need for a new mobile game arises in due to boredom or recommendations. Information about the game is collected from the game’s page at the app store, images and videos being of great importance. When interested in a free game one usually download without regards of any consequences, because you can easily uninstall the game if you did not like it. The opinion of the developer is not affected whether you like the game or not due to the fact one rarely observe the developer while searching for a new game. A positive judgment of the game may lead to the player recommending the game to friends. When dissatisfied one may advise against the game to people you know, but it is rare to speak ill of a game without being asked about it.The study shows that the buying decision process for downloading free mobile games consists of four stages instead of five, while the process for priced games remains the same. Regarding free games, the evaluation of alternatives is removed due to the process being nonexistent prior to a download. The information search stage is replaced with perception, since it better fits to describe the meaning of the stage. Areas affecting the different stages of the buying decision process such as attitude, memory and affect are summarized in a table. The study is in Swedish.

[pt] Este estudo busca analisar o efeito do ambiente do varejo aeroportuário no comportamento do consumidor nas compras não planejadas. Foi utilizado o modelo conceitual de Mohan (2013), com a finalidade de testar tanto os elementos inerentes à loja (música, iluminação, lay out e atendentes) quanto as características individuais dos consumidores no que tange o lado afetivo, tanto o positivo quanto o negativo, assim como a necessidade de compra de determinado produto. Foi enviado por e-mail um survey para os clientes que compraram no Free Shop na loja do desembarque de São Paulo dentro do mês de janeiro 2014. Os resultados do estudo indicam a importância do ambiente da loja e principalmente da relevância dos atendentes dentro do modelo estudado. / [en] This study analyzes the effect of airport retail environment on consumer behavior in unplanned purchases. The conceptual model of Mohan (2013) was used for the purpose we test both the both the positive elements inherent to the store (music, lighting, lay out and attendants) and the individual characteristics of consumers regarding the affective side as negative, as well as the need to purchase a particular product. Was sent by e-mail a survey to customers who bought in Duty Free in arrival from Sao Paulo to store at least 1 month. The study results show how this set of elements within the dynamic purchasing influence consumption.

The purpose of this study is to examine and clarify what impulse purchases look like online. The method chosen was of a quantitative nature in the form of a digital survey and was used to try to answer the research question "What are the influencing factors when impulse buying online, and what are the influencing factors when impulse buying clothes online?". The digital surveys were shared on Facebook and Instagram and the data collected consisted of 177 responses.  Hawkins Stern's Impulse Buying Theory, Impulse Buying Tendencies (IBT) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) were the theories used in this study and they were chosen based on its relevance and contribution to understanding impulse buying and possible influencing factors when impulse buying. Additional support for the study’s results, analysis and conclusions consisted of scientifically reviewed articles about the research area being studied. The results of this study show no possible influencing factors when impulse buying online or when impulse buying clothes online. / Undersökningens syfte är att studera hur impulsköp ser ut online. Metoden som valdes var av kvantitativ karaktär i form av en digital enkätundersökning och användes för att försöka besvara forskningsfrågan “Vilka är påverkansfaktorerna vid impulsköp online, och vilka är påverkansfaktorerna vid impulsköp av kläder online?”. Enkäterna skickades ut via Facebook och Instagram och insamlad data bestod av 177 respondentsvar.   Hawkins Sterns Impulse Buying Theory, Impulse Buying Tendencies (IBT) och Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) var de teorier som användes i undersökningen och valet av dessa baserades på dess relevans och bidrag till förståelse vad gäller impulsköp och möjliga  påverkansfaktorer vid impulsköp. Ytterligare stöd till undersökningens resultat, analys och slutsatser bestod av vetenskapligt granskade artiklar som behandlar forskningsområdet som studerats. Undersökningens resultat visar inga specifika möjliga påverkansfaktorer vid impulsköp online eller vid impulsköp av kläder online.

The Covid-19-pandemic has had a profound impact on people's everyday lives, disrupting routines and forcing individuals to adapt to new challenges and restrictions. One of the somewhat significant changes brought with the pandemic has been in consumption behavior, whereas many people were altering their purchasing habits in response to the crisis. Such as impulse buying behavior. Accordingly, the purpose of the study was to examine how individuals’ impulse buying behavior changed during as well as after the pandemic in Sweden. Additional purpose was to investigate which factors that influenced the changed behavior with a focus on contentment, loneliness, fear and boredom. Empirical data was collected through a qualitative study with focus groups divided into three different age intervals, where the participants answered and discussed a series of questions. The results of the study indicate that the majority of individuals did not experience a significant increase or decrease in their impulse consumption habits during the pandemic, but with a notable shift in the types of products being purchased. Fear as a factor appeared as to the risk of infection, as well as towards the stores running out of stock. Online consumption was also the chosen alternative way to consume, yet consumption of food continued to be purchased through physical stores. Findings also showed that various emotions appeared with impulse consumption and variated throughout the groups. While positive feelings arise with an impulse purchase, the feeling then turns into anxiety. Boredom and loneliness was identified as a motivating factor, however not for all participants. As the pandemic was established to have reached its end, individuals reverted back to their pre-pandemic purchasing ways once physical stores reopened and social interactions resumed as normal. Overall, the study wants to contribute to further knowledge and understanding of what can influence individuals' consumption behavior. This research study will be written in swedish. / Covid-19-pandemin har haft en djupgående inverkan på människors vardag, hindrat rutiner och tvingat individer att anpassa sig till nya utmaningar och restriktioner. Till följd av pandemin visade konsumtionsbeteenden på en markant förändring, dock snarare en omdirigering av vad som konsumeras. Syftet med studien var således att undersöka hur konsumtionsbeteenden, med fokus på impulsköp, har förändrats under såväl som efter pandemin i Sverige. Syftet var även att undersöka vilka faktorer som påverkade det förändrade konsumtionsbeteendet med en inriktning på tillfredsställelse, ensamhet, rädsla och tristess. En kvalitativ studie genomfördes via fokusgrupper genom en uppdelning i tre olika åldersintervall där informanterna svarade och diskuterade ett antal frågor. Resultatet av studien visar att majoriteten av individerna inte upplevde någon signifikant ökning eller minskning i sina impulskonsumtionsvanor under pandemin, men med en anmärkningsvärd förändring i de typer av produkter som köptes. Rädsla som faktor förekom vid smittorisk samt vad gäller att produkter ska ta slut. Onlinekonsumtionen var också det alternativ som valdes, men livsmedel fortsatte att köpas i fysiska butiker. Resultaten visade även att olika känslor förekom i samband med impulskonsumtion och varierade mellan grupperna. Medan positiva känslor uppstår vid ett impulsköp övergår känslan sedan i ångest. Tristess och ensamhet identifierades som en motiverande faktor, dock inte för alla deltagare. När pandemin konstaterades ha nått sitt slut återgick individerna till sitt köpbeteende före pandemin när de fysiska butikerna öppnade igen och det sociala samhället återupptogs som vanligt. Slutligen vill studien bidra till ytterligare kunskap och förståelse om vad som kan påverka individers konsumtionsbeteenden.

This thesis analyzes how young female students aged 20–25 perceive influencer marketing communication on social media and its correlation with their impulsive purchases within the fast fashion industry. The study involves eight interviews to gain an understanding of these consumers' behavior during impulse purchases. Furthermore, it explores the marketing communication of influencers and the environmental awareness of the respondents. Previous research reveals a paradox between heightened environmental consciousness and increased consumption of fast fashion. Influencers, as influential actors in marketing communication, impact consumer behavior through authentic interactions and reviews, fostering an environment conducive to impulse buying, especially with time-limited offers and discounts. Despite the digital era's promotion of impulse buying, previous studies reveal a lack of detailed research on impulse purchases driven by influencers' marketing communication within the fast fashion realm.  The results suggest that influencers play a central role in creating emotional connections that drive impulsive purchases. Despite respondents' general awareness of the industry's adverse environmental impact, sustainability aspects are seldom prioritized in impulse purchases based on influencers' communication. The conclusion is that influencers' marketing communication significantly impacts impulsive purchases among young female students, but sustainability is not emphasized enough to raise environmental awareness. There's potential for influencers to promote sustainability within fast fashion by integrating these aspects into their communication, fostering positive changes in consumers' impulse buying behavior.