Pandemic Impulse Buying Behavior: Exploring the Antecedents of Impulsive Buying Across Product Categories During COVID-19 in the US

ABSTRACT

In 2020, online purchases have increasingly become a coping mechanism for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores the antecedents of impulsive behavior and investigates the kind of products that are bought in response to the pandemic. First, the study aims at understanding the role retail websites, as online marketing stimuli, play on impulsive buying. Likewise, the relationships that product involvement, perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, and hedonic values have on consumers’ impulsive behavior are investigated. Finally, the types of product bought are identified. An online survey was conducted using a convenience sample of college students. Overall, the study presents a nested model identifying the direct effect of hedonic values on the urge to purchase a product. Participants indicated personal care, followed by sports equipment, were significantly more likely to be purchased because of the pandemic than any category. Yet, those who believe they engaged in the online purchase because of the pandemic cues were more likely to purchase all kinds of product categories, including products for group and products for individual consumption. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.