The Relative Importance of Impulse Buying in Asia Pacific Countries

Abstract

In this study, buyers were classified into three categories, namely planners, partial planners and impulse buyers, based on the consumer's product category buying intention and specific brand buying intention prior to entering stores. Five hundred and sixty eight and one hundred on-street interviews were conducted in New Zealand and Hong Kong, respectively. The results indicated that the proportion of impulse buyers in New Zealand was rather small (27%) when compared with that of planners and partial planners (50% and 23%, respectively). In contrast, the Hong Kong study found that the incidence of impulse buying behaviour (45%) was more common that the other two types of behaviours. However, despite the difference in the level of impulse buying behaviour between the two coutries, all the types of buyers in both countries agreed that low price was the primary stimulus that induced impulse buying.