Impulse buying behavior

Impulse purchase is characterized by spontaneity, which means that people are compelled into buying products they did not originally plan or intend to buy (“What Causes Customers to Buy on Impulse? ”). The common theory with respect to the cause of this observed phenomenon points to price as the motivating factor (“What Causes Customers to Buy on Impulse? ”). Thus, it is widely believed that low prices, such as in promotional sales, drive people into purchasing spontaneously (“What Causes Customers to Buy on Impulse?”).

However, it is observed that most shoppers are lured by other factors, such as site design, into impulse buying (“What Causes Customers to Buy on Impulse? ”). Thus, it is observed that a website that organizes its products by category and not through a search engine is likely to attract more impulse buyers (“What Causes Customers to Buy on Impulse? ”). This is an example of a cultural influence on impulse buying, as culture dictates the interests of people when browsing available items for sale on the Internet.

Culture also dictates the mindset of people with regard to buying, such as whether it is advisable to purchase items that are not classified as basic necessities. This mindset depends on whether the country involved is a developed country or not. Group influences on impulse buying may consist of peer pressure or the bandwagon phenomenon. Peer pressure consists in friends’ conscious or unconscious attempt to influence the decisions of another, in order to sway them towards a particular position.

The same is true in the bandwagon phenomenon, although it occurs in a larger scale. These two examples influence a person into purchasing an item, for the sake of fitting in the crowd or pleasing their friends. In the same vein, it is possible that family members, especially parents, exert moral ascendancy or influence over their children, which makes the latter want to buy things they think their parents would approve of.

Moreover, the family tends to set the sensibilities of their members. For example, conservative parents are more likely to produce conservative children, and such orientation influences a person’s approach towards things such as impulse buying.

Works Cited “What Causes Customers to Buy on Impulse? ” 9 July 2007. <http://www. uie. com/publications/whitepapers/ImpulseBuying. pdf (impulse buying)>.