Use Of Hawkins Stern's Impulse Buying Theory In Online

Shopping
The wide spread popularity of online shopping has changed the way people shop, but it has also
brought challenges for digital marketers who must come up with new strategies to draw in and keep
clients. Encouragement of impulse purchases is one such strategy, and Hawkins Stern's Impulse
Buying Theory does a good job of explaining it. The idea that consumers always make thoughtful,
deliberate purchases was questioned by Hawkins Stern's theory, which postulated that outside
factors can cause impulsive buying.

In Stern's theory, there are four categories for impulse purchases:

Pure Impulse Purchases: These purchases are made entirely out of the blue, frequently deviating
from the usual shopping list. This form of impulse buying is greatly influenced by visual
attractiveness, which draws customers to novelty goods.

Reminder Impulse buying: is when a customer, who already knows about or has used a product,
decides to buy it because of a promotion or other influencing reasons.

Suggested Impulse Buying: In this scenario, customers are exposed to items they have never seen
before and experience a want to buy them. This frequently occurs when purchasing online, helped
by recommendations based on past purchases made by the customer.

Product Impulse Buying: Customers in this category fall into the category of planned impulse buyers.
They have a need for a product but are unsure of its specifications. They are propelled to make
impulsive purchases by things like price reductions or sales incentives.

Price plays a big role in triggering impulse purchases since it can lead people to spend more money
than they had intended, particularly on smaller-sized items with short shelf lives. Impulse purchases
are influenced by a variety of factors, including self-service alternatives, store displays, and ads.

Stern's dimensions are still applicable to online buying even if they were first established in the
context of physical establishments. However, in the digital age, new elements have appeared, such as
website quality, payment choices, a virtual environment, a diversity of products, and online reviews.
Incorporating a variety of impulsive buying behaviours into their marketing strategies, digital
marketers are increasingly aiming to appeal to consumers' impulses in addition to their rational
decision-making.

Agarwal, Ankita, & Priya Chetty (2019, Sep 10). Use of Hawkins Stern's impulse buying
theory (1962) in online shopping. Knowledge Tank; Project Guru.
https://www.projectguru.in/hawkins-sterns-impulse-buying-theory-online-shopping/