Are humans rational? Exploring factors influencing impulse buying intention and continuous impulse buying intention

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of consumers' impulsivity traits, option framing, product type, and cash refund promotion on consumers' online impulse buying intention. This study follows two stages to investigate factors influencing impulse buying intention and continuous impulse buying intention. In Stage 1, this study investigates the influence of impulsivity traits (high/low), option framing (+OF/-OF), and product type (hedonic product/utilitarian product) in online shopping on impulse buying intention. In Stage 2, this study explores factors moderating the continuous impulse buying intention. Cash refund promotion (high/low) serves as the moderator. The experiment results demonstrated that subjects with high impulsivity traits, "subtractive option framing (-OF), and hedonic products" are more likely to engage in impulse buying intention. In addition, cash refund promotion at a higher level increases consumers' continuous impulse buying intention. The findings provide guidance for designing appropriate online promotion situation to induce consumers' impulse buying intention that favors online retailers.