Impulsive Behaviour of Customers in Large-Format Grocery Shops in Poland – a Case Study

Abstract

The growing wealth of the Polish population noted in the recent years has led to a significant change in the behaviour of Poles as consumers. Increasingly often, the type and volume of purchases are dictated not only by real and objective reasons but also by impulse buying. In consequence, any retail outlet frequented by consumers to make purchases is no longer a place where thoroughly planned purchases are made, but a site where consumer needs are created by marketing activities. They are therefore a significant instrument of creating some influence on the consumer at the point of sale and multiplying the entrepreneur’s revenue, which is particularly important in large retail grocery shops, where an average Pole buys most groceries. The study showed that the most significant determinants of impulse buying are the age and sex of consumers. Young people display quite a high level of impulse consumption. Because of their age, they do not attach much importance to planning expenses, which frequently leads to irrational spending. Impulse purchases are more often made by women, who most often do grocery shopping. Women also spend more time in shops than men do. As a result, they are more exposed to merchandising activities carried out in retail outlets. It has been noticed that the atmosphere in a shop and the consumer’s mood while shopping have a significant impact on how much the consumer will buy. The amounts of products bought tend to increase when the consumer’s mood is extreme (very good / very bad). It was alsoobserved that a higher level of unplanned and impulse purchases is achieved by households with higher income, which in general allows them to buy more. The volume of unplanned and impulse purchases is distinctly higher in supermarkets and hypermarkets, which implicates much greater opportunities to use marketing strategies stimulating this type of purchases in such large shops than in small local shops.