What Drives Consumer Impulse Buying? Evidence from a Retail Setting in Taiwan

Extant research work in impulse buying focuses on the Western context. Based on the theory from environmental psychology, this paper analyzes the causal relations among stimuli, affect, and impulse buying in the Taiwanese retail context. The results reveal that shoppers perceive store-related attributes of merchandise and service quality as must-be, whereas they consider environment and price as attractive in generating emotional responses. Likewise, shopper’s availability in time and money may engender negative emotions if absent, but not necessarily arouse positive emotional response when present. In addition, shopping enjoyment is critical in affecting both types of emotions. Finally, both positive and negative emotions affect shopper’s impulse buying behavior and serve as important mediators.