The direct and interactive effects of store-level promotions on impulse purchase:
moderating impact of category familiarity and normative influences
Shukla, Paurav; Banerjee, Madhumita
Published in:
Journal of Consumer Behaviour
DOI:
10.1002/cb.1461
Publication date:
2014
Document Version
Author accepted manuscript
Link to publication in ResearchOnline
Citation for published version (Harvard):
Shukla, P & Banerjee, M 2014, 'The direct and interactive effects of store-level promotions on impulse purchase:
moderating impact of category familiarity and normative influences', Journal of Consumer Behaviour, vol. 13, no.
4, pp. 242-250. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1461
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The direct and interactive effects of store-level promotions on impulse purchase:
moderating impact of category familiarity and normative influences
Authors
PAURAV SHUKLA
Glasgow School for Business & Society, Glasgow Caledonian University London, 40 Fashion
Street, Spitalfields, London E1 6PX, UK
MADHUMITA BANERJEE
Department of Marketing, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
Abstract
Marketing literature conceptually and empirically establishes the direct effects of different
variables on impulse purchase. However, the simultaneous interactions between variables
influencing impulse purchase are yet to be studied. This paper measures the direct effects of
store-level promotions, brand equity and price consciousness and also examines the
interactive effects of store-level promotions and the moderating influence of category
familiarity and normative influences. The results demonstrate the importance of simultaneous
examination of interplay between different consumer and store level variables. Collectively
the results provide substantial segmentation opportunities for manufacturers of branded goods
and retailers.
Keywords
Store-level promotions, brand equity, price consciousness, category familiarity, normative
influences, impulse purchase
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The direct and interactive effects of store-level promotions on impulse purchase:
moderating impact of category familiarity and normative influences
1. Introduction
Today’s retail stores are full of in-store sensory stimuli including perfectly aligned
packaging, engaging displays, creative advertising and alluring promotion offers. These in-
store stimuli trigger unrecognized needs and desires and entice consumers to purchase
unintended goods and, in turn, act impulsively (Inman et al., 2009). Rook and Fisher (1995)
define impulse purchases as decisions which occur when a consumer experiences a sudden,
often powerful and persistent urge to buy something immediately. These decisions are in
contrast to the planned purchases (Ajzen, 1991) which are decided before entering a store.
Impulse purchase behavior is found to be a persistent and distinctive aspect of consumers’
lifestyles (Peck and Childers, 2006) with approximately 30% to 62% of all purchases being
identified as impulsive in nature (Inman et al., 2009). Given the importance of impulsive
decisions in the overall decision-making process and with the increasing number of purchase
decisions being made in-store, it is critical to understand the factors driving consumers’ in-
store impulsive purchase behavior.
This paper investigates the direct and interactive effects of store-level promotions.
Store-level promotions are increasingly used for grabbing consumers’ attention and also for
offering a direct inducement (Ailawadi et al., 2006; Ailawadi et al., 2009). While store-level
promotions may help in grabbing customers’ attention, Chandon et al. (2009) emphasize the
importance of consumer consideration. Chandon et al. (2000) and Lichtenstein et al. (1993)
suggest that at the in-store level, consumer price consciousness and brand equity act as
critical determinants of consumer consideration (Dyson, Farr and Hollis, 1996). Ailawadi et
al. (2009) note that store-level promotions reflect low price positioning for many brands. Such
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store-level promotions on branded products can not only act as triggers for impulse buying
but also be attractive propositions to price conscious consumers. Taken together, all of the
above raise some interesting questions, such as: Will a well-known national brand available
with store-level promotions induce consumers to buy impulsively? Will price conscious
consumers become impulsive in the presence of an inducement like store-level promotion?
Extant research by Rook and Fisher (1995) and Inman et al. (2009) investigates individual
factors impacting on impulse purchase. This study however, extends the debate by examining
the simultaneous interaction effects of variables influencing impulse purchase.
A second aim of this study is to examine the moderating influence of category
familiarity and normative influences on consumer impulse purchase. Consumers find it
difficult to make purchase decisions based on brand preferences due to increasing brand
proliferation and often make their final decisions based on product category level. Moreover,
extant research suggests waning brand loyalty among most consumers and an increasing
preference focused at the category level (Graeff, 2007). Thus, category familiarity may play a
moderating role in consumer brand consideration (Rao and Monroe, 1988). Consumers often
acquire products because of what the products mean to them and to the members of their
social reference groups (Shukla, 2010). Extant research suggests that social norms and
expectations play an important role in consumer consideration (Bearden et al., 1989).
This study contributes to the literature on impulse buying decisions by developing a
conceptual framework that incorporates the direct and interactive effects of store-level
promotions on the relationship between brand equity , price consciousness and impulse
purchase. The moderating effects of category familiarity and normative influences on impulse
purchase are empirically tested. This simultaneous examination of the direct, interactive and
moderating effects provides a comprehensive understanding of impulse purchase decisions.
For retail managers and manufacturers, knowing which factors drive consumer impulse
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purchase at store-level is of critical importance. The study findings will help retail managers
and manufacturers in making informed choices about the drivers of impulse purchase at the
store-level and provide an opportunity to develop integrative marketing strategies at the store-
level to drive impulse purchase.
2. Conceptual Framework
Presence of an attention inducing stimuli such as point of purchase displays and store-
level offers can trigger positive affective appraisal among consumers regarding the particular
product being promoted (Parker and Tavassoli, 2000). Such processing can have an influence
on consumers’ brand image perceptions and price consciousness (Chandon et al., 2000;
Lichtenstein et al., 1993). Blattberg and Wisniewski (1989) posit that consumers hold strong
views on the price of the brand and its value in consumption. Thus, this study argues that
consumer attention (i.e. store-level promotion) and consideration variables (i.e. price
consciousness and brand equity ) can significantly increase impulse purchase decisions.
Consistent with the factors that increase attention and consideration that in turn lead to
impulse purchase, we also posit that attention inducing stimuli such as store-level promotions
may moderate the relationship between consumer consideration variables. Figure 1 presents
the conceptual model for the study.
Figure 1 here.
2.1 Direct effect on impulse purchase
2.1.1 Store-level Promotion
Despite their high fixed costs, store-level promotions (i.e. in-store point of purchase
displays, in-store flyers, store-level offers and contests) are a source of additional margins.
