The Internal and External Factors that Influence Impulse Buying - Dissertation Example

A qualitative method is selected in which in-depth interviews are conducted with three female participants, as most previous studies showed that women are more likely than men to compel to compulsive shopping(Faber, 1992; O’Guinn and Faber, 1989). The findings of the study indicate that a number of internal and external factors influence impulse purchase behaviour among in consumers. Further, external stimuli are shown to concur with the psychological framework of consumer decision making model while internal ones are shown to relate to the psychological framework of emotional/impulsive consumer decision making theory.

Chapter 1 Introduction The existence and popularity of shopping malls in the UK and around the world indicate that impulse buying is still an important aspect of consumer behaviour. Pooler (2003:83) argues that virtually every individual at one time purchases an item on impulse, and states that this is an important aspect of consumer psychology. This study aims to investigate impulse purchase consumer psychology through examining the internal and external factors that influence consumer impulse purchase behaviour.

Background Lee (2008:7-8) conceptualises impulse purchase as an aspect of consumer behaviour that describes unplanned and hedonic buying following a sudden urge. According to Lee, impulse buying entails rapid decision making in response to a set of stimuli, indicating little or no cognitive considerations and disregard of purchase consequences. Impulse purchasing can be viewed from a number of angles; first, the impulsiveness of purchase includes collecting information about a given purchase to determine whether it was planned or impulsive.

Second, a consumer’s impulse buying tendency may be adjudged through determining the consumer’s general approach to buying across many situations. Benson (2008, p. 186) stresses the important role triggers (external and internal stimuli) play in impulse purchase behaviour, noting that understanding such triggers may help individuals manage their impulse behaviour to purchase. The author establishes that such triggers may correspond to unmet underlying needs in the individual. Westfield is a magnificent architectural work that offers the best shopping experience to visitors.

Westfield offers a variety of services spread across over 275 shops housing luxury, topnotch fashion, cinema and eateries. It also promotes itself as a tourist attraction. It runs plenty of offers and has many events taking place at any one time, including film premiers and fashion/cat walk shows. Depending on one’s interest, the different areas visited have different opening hours that also vary according to the days of the week (Westfield.com 2012). The experience offered at Westfield provides an appropriate and attractive setting to study consumer purchase behaviour especially in terms of impulse buying, hence my selection of the mall.

Westfield confirms Lee’s (2008, p. 36) observation that shopping malls pursue aesthetics and fantasy environments providing a range of entertainment aspects including visual, musical and theatrical. Hence, mall environments are designed to offer a pleasurable experience for the modern consumer that may result on eliciting impulsiveness. Research Aims and Objectives This research aims to investigate the relationship between impulse buying behaviour and external and internal stimuli. To pursue this, the study is guided by the following objectives: To investigate the factors affecting impulsiveness among consumers visiting the Westfield shopping mall.

To investigate the