An investigation of precursors of online impulse buying and its effects on purchase regret: role of consumer innovation

Abstract

Purpose Impulsive buyers are a dream segment for retailers and marketers. Stimulants in the retail environment and cognitive aspects evoke a sudden urge the acquisition of products spontaneously. This paper aims to examine key cognitive aspects of impulsive buying behaviour and purchase regret in an online context. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was conducted to collect the data of 317 online consumers with the help of a convenience sampling technique. The structural equation modelling technique was carried out to establish the validity and reliability of measures and examine the proposed relational paths. Findings The study results suggest that cognitive aspects recede impulsive buying, resulting in purchase regret. The empirical findings on the impulsive buying behaviour and purchase regret to yield several important implications, including developing marketing strategies and policies to evoke the intentions for impulsive buying behaviour, consumer innovation and balancing the feelings of regret. Practical implications The study also provides some significant contributions to the literature on online impulse buying and its related paradigms. Originality/value This study mainly attempted to determine the precursors of online impulse buying and purchase regret from the perspective of hedonic and experiential consumption motivation and consumer innovation. Getting reflections from cognitive dissonance theory and the post purchase evaluation, a theoretical model was developed and empirically tested for impulsive online buyers.