Impulse Buying: A Literature Review

This article reviews extant literature in the field of impulse buying. This review has been undertaken with a specific focus on understanding the phenomenon of 'impulse buying' and the factors that work towards motivating impulsive action in perspective of buying. Starting with a historical overview that provides genesis of this thought, the review moves into analysis of current definitions of 'impulse buying'. After providing a thorough picture of this phenomenon, the article deals with internal and external motivators of impulse buying. At various points in the article and at the end, future research directions that follow the relevant sections are discussed as propositions. Design/methodology/approach: The existing body of academic literature in the area under consideration is reviewed and an attempt has been made to provide an integrated portrayal of current level of knowledge in this field. In addition, this literature review comprises contributions from different and yet relevant fields of knowledge, in order to present a holistic perspective of impulse buying phenomenon. This article covers thoughts on the subject from domain of marketing and for developing a deeper understanding of consumer with respect to the phenomenon of 'impulse buying'; this review looks into disciplines of psychology and social psychology. Academic papers, books and other electronic sources that were used for this purpose were then chronologically placed from 1959-2009. Research papers and books from this time period have been selected basis their relevance to topic of this review. As a first step, the keywords used in electronic journal databases were 'impulse' and 'impulse buying'. As a second step, contributions that concentrate on previously suggested scope of review were selected. References from these studies were examined to identify further contributions from additional sources. Originality/value: This study critically reviews the current state of research and knowledge across related disciplines. From an academic perspective, it may serve as a starting point for a future research agenda that addresses current knowledge gaps in this field of 'impulse buying'. From a practitioner's perspective, it is helpful for understanding relevant influence factors and for developing appropriate selling strategies.