Paper Title

AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION INTO IMPULSE BUYING BEHAVIOUR AMONG FEMALE SHOPPERS: A STUDY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO FASHION GARMENTS

Abstract

“Impulse Buying” is the sudden and immediate purchase of a product without any pre-shopping intention. It is often spontaneous without any hesitation and occurs after shoppers experience an urge to buy. It is generally considered as the power of ‘temptation’ and a feeling of doing shopping a person should not but when she/he just cannot help oneself. Store managers deeply study and understand the several factors that drive the shoppers to indulge in ‘impulse buys’ that are deliberately encouraged through strategically designed promotional strategies especially in the Indian retail market segments. There is enough research evidence to suggest that there are a number of antecedents, which are linked to both internal and external factors. ‘Research Gap’ is identified after surveying and gleaning through a number of relevant empirical studies related to impulse buying. The main focus of this study is to explore the correlations that may exist among the several behavioural constellations of impulse retail shopping behaviour of working women. The chief objectives of the study are: (i) to examine the psychological elements that trigger and encourage such shopping behaviour and (ii) to assess the level of satisfaction that such behaviour produces to the working women. The study is both analytical and descriptive. It makes use of primary data generated through a 71-item questionnaire administered on female shoppers to support the inferences drawn in the study. To analyze the data and to test the two hypotheses, SPSS 18 and Microsoft Excel, and other statistical tools such as standard deviation, correlation, etc., are used. The findings of the study are of practical significance and are critical to retailers who try to take advantage of impulse sales by ensuring that shoppers enjoy more positive feelings through their in-store experience. Towards the end, the Paper also makes several pragmatic suggestions for the retailers.
KEYWORDS : Impulse Buying Behaviour; Female Shoppers; Retail Outlets; Impulse Sales; In-store Experience.