RESEARCHER’S NAME(S):

Aguilar, Cathleen L. Baltao Jr. Jun

Alfonso, Annabella F. Baluyut, Kate B.

Balboa, Honeycel

PROGRAM: BSBA 3A

Proposed Title No. 1

TITLE: THE IMPACT OF THE MERCHANDISE CRAZE ON FILIPINO K-POP FANS’

IMPULSIVE BUYING DECISIONS

Introduction

Korean pop, also known as “K-POP”, is the internationally popular music genre of the 21st
century that originated in South Korea and draws influences from genres like pop, hip-hop,
experimental, R&B, electronic, and dance (The Los Angeles Film School, 2021). Although the
term is mainly known for music of various stylistic origins, it is often associated with so-called
K-pop Idols or K-pop groups. These are young individuals who are recognized for their good
looks, and fashion sense and are highly trained in singing and dancing where they make their
debut in boy or girl groups and then promote their songs with music videos that feature their
vocals and choreographies. In a conducted survey in 2022, among 16 countries, 46 percent
of respondents stated that the genre K-pop was “trendy” in their country where it is known by
the public and related K-pop products were being sold. In line with that, according to Rappler
(2022), the Philippines came in a third list of countries with the highest number of K-pop fans
- ranking even higher than South Korea, where Filipino stans are also considered the most
active tweeters about K-pop-related tweets and postings. Twitter and K-Pop Radar revealed
that the famous top artists in the Philippines are the following groups: Twice, TXT (Tomorrow
by Together), EXO, Blackpink, and BTS where they gained massive popularity among
Filipino K-pop fans.

The increasing growth of K-pop fever in the country has produced multiple fan bases and
groups who patronized the music of these K-pop groups and also the tangible products
offered to the market. K-pop companies and labels release official merchandise to K-pop fans
such as physical albums, posters, photo books, photo cards, light sticks, and other limited
items that fans may enjoy. The fans’ adoration of their idols drives them to invest in K-pop
merchandise which is usually prevalent in the younger generations. Filipino K-pop fans’
loyalty is undeniably high, from their continuous streaming of K-pop music to purchasing
goods related to their idols which was proved by a 2019 study titled “Understanding Filipino
Korean Pop Music Fans” where Filipino K-pop fans are considered as “very active and
passionate consumers”. Through hopping in this merchandise craze, fans were able to boost
the growth of K-pop groups and they were able to show their support and appreciation for
their idols’ efforts in making good music. They get immersed with a sense of satisfaction
whenever they pull their bias’ (refers to a fan’s favorite member in the group) photocards, get
the first limited edition items, unbox physical albums, and generally, collect K-pop goodies.
However, collecting may be addictive, especially for those young people who tend to splurge
on these items or products based on their emotional attachment and pressure to the trend of
the K-pop world.

K-pop albums usually cost around P600 to P1,500 - depending if it's a single release, a mini,
or a full album. It also depends on different versions per release of one album that comes
with photo books, photo cards, posters, and CD, while some were being released on vinyl or
cassette tapes, which usually cost more than the usual CD version (CNN Philippines,2021).
According to iPrice (2020), superfans can spend up to P26,340 if they are part of the BTS
army, a Blink would spend about P16,867 on merch and a Once would spend P8,361
depending on the items they purchase (i.e. light sticks, shirts and so on). K-pop merchandise
is relatively expensive from the perspective of a K-pop fan who’s still in school and only
depends on allowances, though the determination of having a merch collection pushes a K-
pop stan to buy albums and such. They would go overboard and still buy the albums and
photocards no matter how pricey it was just to be updated on their idols’ releases and to
satisfy their fanatic feelings. Due to this merchandise craze, K-pop fans tend to make
impulsive purchases just to be in and be part of the fandoms’ hype that influence other stans
to spend their money willingly without considering many factors. This impulsive buying
behavior may show imbalances in terms of fans’ decision-making and spending habits toward
K-pop merchandise.

The research aims to find out the impact of the merchandise craze on social media platforms
on the impulsive buying decisions of Filipino K-pop fans, specifically the college students who
love collecting albums, photocards, light sticks, etc.. This study examines the factors that
influence K-pop stans to spend money on physical items that profess their love for K-pop and
how it affects their decision to purchase. The researchers intend to provide insights from K-
pop fans on how this merchandise motivates them to willingly purchase products that may be
normal to others. This will also give a better understanding to other groups of people about
the role of fanaticism in an individual’s life.
Research Questions

The study attempts to seek answers to the following questions:

1. How do the respondents be described in terms of the following:

1.1 Age
1.3 Monthly Allowance
1.3 K-pop Fandom

2. How well do the respondents understand the following terms:

2.1 K-pop Idols and Fandom
2.2 K-pop Merch
2.3 Fandom Craze in Idol Merch
2.4 Impulsive Buying

3. How is the K-pop merch being purchased by the fans?

3.1 Social Media Platforms
3.2 Website
3.3 Payment Methods

4. What are the following factors that influence K-pop fans to make impulsive buys on
idol merch?
3.1 Product Attributes
3.2 Fanaticism
3.3 Fandom Pressure
3.4 Willingness to Pay
3.5 Motivating Factors

Data gathering procedure

The study will be utilizing a survey which is defined by Allen (2017) as a set of
questions or statements to which participants give responses. The data of this study will be
specifically collected through an online survey, which is one of the most popular data-
collection sources, where a set of survey questions will be sent out to a target sample and
they can respond over the Internet. Respondents will receive surveys via mediums such as
online forms, social media, etc. (Adi Bhat, n.d.)

Instrumentation

The researchers will use survey self-administered questionnaires which are designed
to be completed by the respondents and will be distributed to a group of people and
accomplished through online Google forms.
Research Locale

The study will be conducted at Apalit, Pampanga where respondents are residing in
this area as they will be the source of data to realize the study’s purpose of assessing the
impact of K-pop merchandise on the impulsive buying behavior of K-pop fans.

Subjects

It has been reported that young adult fans who are over the age of 20 are actively
consuming idol goods (Hong, 2014). With that, the subjects of the study will be people in their
20s who are currently involved in K-pop idol fan activities and purchasing K-pop merchandise
and who are residing in Apalit, Pampanga.

Sampling Technique

The study will be using convenience sampling which is a non-probability sampling

method where units are selected for inclusion in the sample because they are easiest for the
researcher to ask which can be based to their availability at a given time, or willingness to
participate in the research (Kassiani Nikolopoulou, 2022). The participants will be recruited by
posting an announcement on K-pop idol group communities on social media apps like
Facebook and Twitter, which explains the purpose of the research. K-pop fan who meet the
criteria and wishes to participate will be instructed to be part of the survey process where
they will be directed on online forms.

References:

Collecting data with online surveys — Methodspace. (2023, April 26). Methodspace.
https://www.methodspace.com/blog/collecting-data-with-online-surveys-1

Remo, J. (2023, February 19). Why KPop stans invest so much in merchandise. republicasia
| Philippine & World News. https://republicasiamedia.com/why-kpop-stans-invest-so-much-in-
merchandise/

Online surveys: What are they, advantages & examples. (2022, August 25). QuestionPro.
https://www.questionpro.com/blog/what-are-online-surveys/

K-pop popularity worldwide 2021. (2022, February 14). Statista.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/937232/south-korea-kpop-popularity-worldwide/

Philippines has 3rd highest number of K-pop fans in the world – Twitter. (2022, January 27).
RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/philippines-third-highest-k-pop-fans-world-
twitter/
Ferreras, V. (2021, July 08). Things to consider before buying K-pop merch. CNN
Philippines. https://www.cnnphilippines.com/lifestyle/2021/7/8/Things-to-consider-buying-K-
pop-merch-.html

Arnaud, J. (2021, April 6). A brief history of K-pop. The Los Angeles Film School.
https://www.lafilm.edu/blog/a-brief-history-of-kpop/

Cana, PJ. (2020, November 25). Study Says K-Pop Stans Can Spend As Much As P69,000
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%20spend%20P8%2C361.

Korean Wave (Hallyu): The motives of purchasing K-pop albums and the effect on consumer
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Kim, YJ., Lee, J., Lee, MY. (2018, December). Purchasing Behavior of K-pop Idol Goods
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