Keyword

Impulse, Impulse buying, Happiness

Abstract

Purpose: Ephemeral positive emotions like fun, excitement and pleasure have been associated with the phenomenon of impulse buying in previous studies. However, most of the studies in the past have looked at emotions which are momentary or short lived. This study extends the literature further by establishing a link between a more enduring positive emotion called ‘happiness’ and impulse buying. Design/ Methodology/ Approach: In the endeavour to understand various facets of ‘happiness’ in shopping and impulse buying, a qualitative study was undertaken. These findings were used to develop scales pertaining to the constructs. A grounded theory approach was used to develop hypothesis from in-depth interviews. The hypothesis was tested by collection and analysis of survey data. Findings: Results support the hypothesis and indicate that happiness and impulse buying are positively and significantly related. Regression analysis further established causal relationship between ‘happiness’ and impulse buying. Originality/ Value: This study makes a two-fold contribution to literature as well as practice through creating and validating instrument for measuring ‘shopping happiness’, and by establishing a causal relationship between happiness and impulse buying. This validation of ‘happiness’ as an internal motivator to impulse buying has several important implications for retail outlets and have been discussed at the end of this paper.


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