A study of post-purchase stage in impulse buying

Impulse buying is a consumer behavior which is distinguished by a large amount of overall buying. As a social behavior it continues to increase, along with the advance of online shopping technology and new, easy forms of payment, such as credit cards or online payment protocols. Marketers pay close attention to it, since it leads to increased short-term sales and performance. Moreover, the study of impulse buying represents a significant portion of research into marketing and consumer behavior. However, it has consequences for both the customer and for the company. Customers have repeatedly reported having negative attitudes and emotions, such as guilt, regret, and self-blame, for their impulse-buying behaviors. Nevertheless, previous research has also reported diverse affective consequences of impulse buying. There are no studies that adequately provide empirical evidence to solve these incongruent affective consequences, which remain unexplainable. This dissertation provides a comprehensive study of the post-purchase stage of impulse buying, and aims to explain the conflicting consequences of that behavior. It employs cognitive appraisal theory to help explain which mechanisms are operating within the post-purchase stage of impulse buying. In other words, this study bridges the theory of cognitive appraisal to the behavior of impulse buying. This study provides reasons why cognitive appraisal theory is suited to the elucidation of impulse-buying phenomena. Chapter 1 (introduction) gives an overview and explains the significance of the dissertation. To address the research problem, chapter 2 (literature review) starts with a review of the existing literatures on impulse-buying behavior, with attention to conflicting findings; this is followed by a review of the relevant theories, especially the cognitive appraisal theory and its applicability to studies of consumption, such as impulse-buying phenomena. The chapter offers a model for study of post-purchase stage in impulse buying. Chapter 3 (methodology) describes the measurements, questionnaire development and pre-test for this study. Chapter 4 introduces analysis and findings. Chapter 5 provides discussions, conclusions, contribution and implication. In conclusion, this dissertation provides a comprehensive study of the post-purchase stage of impulse buying.