REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Impulsive Buying

Unsalan (2016) enumerated products that are most likely that can be impulsively

bought, and these are clothes, accessories, and mobile phones. There are times when

consumers experience the impulse buying phenomenon. It is defined as the sudden

purchasing without having doubts or any second thought in buying the product (Zulqifar,

Ambreen, and Bushra, 2018).

In this phenomenon, it impacts the sales turnover of the business. When their

products urge their customers to buy impulsively, then, it is a benefit for them for impulse

buying is difficult to compel within the perspective of the customers and happens

spontaneously after seeing the product (Punj, 2011; Vohs and Faber, 2011).

As posited by Muruganantham and Bhakat (2013), impulse buying has become an

infamous subject for research due to the dynamic changes in the market. As Tinne (2011)

have observed, the purchasing power of the consumers has increased for a reason that

people are earning more and are moving towards a western lifestyle.

Store Environment

The importance of improving the store environment to attract consumers have

already been appreciated for a very long time for it predicts how long will the consumer

can stay inside the store (Husnain, Rehman, Syed, and Akhtar, 2019).

As posited by Mohan, Sivakuraman, and Sharma (2013), the consumers can be

impelled to visit and come by instead of just passing by a certain store because of the

store’s lights and music. This embeds a positive effect of urging them to visit the store
and purchase something. The façade of the store and its environment portrays a

significant value to the decision-making process of the consumer, perhaps, an internal

driving force (Paakkari, 2016).

In the study of Akram, Hui, Khan, and Rasheed (2016) revealed that the ambiance

that the store is taking away enunciates an urge for the customers to buy impulsively and

that really has an impact to impulsive buying.

As posited in the study of Mohan, Sivakumaran, and Sharma (2013), they have

proved in their study in Chennai, South India that the store environment positively urges

the consumer to buy. They also indicated that managers should invest in enhancing their

positioning such as enhancing a friendly environment and a welcoming place. However,

in the study conducted by Hendra and Kaihatu (2019), in their study of determining the

impacts of store environment in the impulse buying behavior of the customers showed no

significance to the latter at all.

As argued by Mattila and Wirtz (2008) and Mehta and Chugan (2013), the store’s

interior design plays a significant role in setting the mood inside the store to attract the

customers. Encouraging the customers to more likely buy in the store if their own interest

of physical attribute of a store is there. Spontaneously, this creates an effective and

conducive place for them for shopping (Khare, 2011; Hendra & Kaihatu 2019).

According to Alireza and Hasti (2011), that when a business coordinates its

window display to the interest of its target customers, it spontaneously attracts them more.

Window displays that is pleasing to the eyes of the customers influences the sales of the

business (Hulte’n and Vanyushyn, 2011).

 As posited in the inquiry of Hussain and Siddiqui (2019), the store environment

does not significantly impact the impulsive buying behavior of customers which they have

referred to as instinctive buyers. Moreover, it was highlighted in the results of their study

that despite the store environment being an insignificant factor, there was an emphasis

highlighted by their respondents towards cleanliness and the order and manner of

displaying the products affect their perceptions making the researchers suggest that it

should be addressed accordingly in order to encourage impulsive buying. Meanwhile,

they have indicated that the customers’ own impulsivities give impacts to their impulsive

buying behavior. They have used Structural Equation Modeling technique in looking for

the answers in their research.

Money Availability

Beatty and Ferrell (1998) have defined money availability as the extra amount of

money the person has in his or her pocket that has the highest risk of being spent on that

very day. Foroughi, Buang, Senik, and Hajmisadeghi (2013) highly supports this factor as

an identifier of the purchasing power the consumer has in buying impulsively.

Previous studies in Pakistan shows that income is a vital determiner of impulse

buying of apparel as concluded by the studies of Awan and Abbas (2015). It is possible

to say that the higher level of money availability imposes a higher risk of impulsive buying.

Beatty & Ferrell (1998), also shares the same thought that the money availability is

proportional to the higher risk of impulsive buying. Meanwhile, Guzhavina (2016), claims

that having a higher money availability is also giving off a positive emotional state that

urges impulsive buying.

 In the study of Hendra and Kaihatu (2019), in gathering their data through three

hundred and eighty-nine (389) respondents, they found out that the store environment

has no impact towards impulsive buying but has high impacts in terms of the money

availability.

Individual Factors

In the meta-analysis of Santini, Ladeira, Vieira, Araujo, and Sampaio (2019), they

have indicated that the phenomenon of impulsive buying is not only driven by the

impulsivity of the consumer but also his/her own desire and based on his/her own

materialistic consumption.

In the inquiry of Verplanken and Herabadi (2001), it was posited that individual

factors or personal preferences is one of the determining aspects of impulsive buying.

These are the internal factors the consumer is dealing with due to his or her own

perceptions towards the apparel he/she is facing with.

Underhill (2009), argues that shopping with family influences the consumers

buying behavior. In this way, if one or most of the family or group is interested into coming

into one store, all of them have the tendency of visiting the store as well.

Age, Gender, Income

In the research of Fenton-O’Creevy and Furnham (2019), they found out that

females that are younger and has more likely high income than others in the household

are more akin with impulsive buying. Another similar study conducted by Barakat (2019),

which revealed that females are engaged more in impulsive buying than of men, younger
consumers as well and the opposite to the older ones, and those with higher income as

well are more likely to engage in impulsive buying.