Consumer traits and situational factors: Exploring the consumer's online impulse buying in the pandemic time

Abstract

The pandemic outbreak at the beginning of 2020 had changed the ways and perception of consumers using products abruptly. The study examined consumer traits (i.e., impulse buying tendency, shopping enjoyment tendency, consumer mood) and situational factors (i.e., individual situation, website quality, motivational activities by retailers, and product attributes) to their online impulse buying. The sample was 290 criteria-met respondents and collected using the survey method, distributing the questionnaire, and applying the Structural Equation Model (SEM) to analyze the findings. The research founds that firstly, there were three accepted hypotheses in which the influencing factors of online impulse buying, such as impulse buying tendency, consumer mood, and motivational activities by retailers. Secondly, other factors such as shopping enjoyment tendency, individual situation, website quality, and product attributes were not the determinants. It implied that the on-going phenomena of changing consumers' online impulse buying driven by their traits should be the critical factors for any sellers to reap and optimize the available opportunities during the pandemic's sudden change.