Abstract
PurposeThis study aims to take a dual-process perspective and argues that peer influence on increasing impulse buying may also operate automatically. If-then plans, which can automate action control, may, thus, help regulate peer influence. This research extends existing literature explicating the deliberate influence of social norms.Design/methodology/approachStudy 1 (N = 120) obtained causal evidence that forming an implementation intention (i.e. an if-then plan designed to automate action control) reduces peer impact on impulse buying in a laboratory experiment with young adults (students) selecting food items. Study 2 (N = 686) obtained correlational evidence for the role of norms, automaticity and implementation intentions in impulse buying using a large sample of high-school adolescents working on a vignette about clothes-shopping.FindingsIf-then plans reduced impulse purchases in the laboratory (Study 1). Both reported deliberation on peer norms and the reported automaticity of shopping with peers predicted impulse buying but an implementation intention to be thriftily reduced these links (Study 2).Research limitations/implicationsThis research highlights the role of automatic social processes in problematic consumer behaviour. Promising field studies and neuropsychological experiments are discussed.Practical implicationsYoung consumers can gain control over automatic peer influence by using if-then plans, thereby reducing impulse buying.Originality/valueThis research helps understand new precursors of impulse buying in understudied European samples of young consumers.
Highlights
Impulse buying (i.e. ad-hoc purchases at the point of sale; Rook (1987), Stern (1962); reviews by Kalla and Arora (2011), Sharma et al (2010) and Verplanken and Sato (2011) accounts for much of everyday consumption and this holds especially true for young people
If peer influence on impulse buying is based on automatic processes, as the current paper suggests, it should best be controlled by a self-regulation strategy that is based on fast automatic processes and deliberate control by goals should be less effective
To test the main hypotheses that peers increase impulse buying counter to set goals (H1) and that if- plans reduce this influence (H2), the number of items unrelated to spaghetti and tomato sauce were entered in a between-subjects ANOVA with peer influence and implementation intention as predictors
Summary
Impulse buying (i.e. ad-hoc purchases at the point of sale; Rook (1987), Stern (1962); reviews by Kalla and Arora (2011), Sharma et al (2010) and Verplanken and Sato (2011) accounts for much of everyday consumption and this holds especially true for young people. Adolescents are sensitive to social cues (Foulkes and Blakemore, 2016) and are prone to avoid social risks (Blakemore, 2018), making them potentially vulnerable to the problematic influence of peers on impulse buying behaviour. In line with this reasoning, the presence of others of the same age and status (peers) increases impulse buying among young consumers (Luo, 2005; Rook and Fisher, 1995). Past research has assumed that giving in to peer influence is a deliberate decision
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
