Rationality and impulse buying: Is your emotion a part of the equation?

Abstract

While researchers' interest in online impulsive buying is increasing, there is currently a paucity of research that examines at consumers impulse purchase urges while communicating with sellers utilizing instantaneous messaging services. Categorizing cognition into normative evaluation, this study examines normative evaluation influences on consumers’ affective (positive affect) and behavior (urge to buy impulsively while purchasing interaction with sellers utilizing instantaneous messaging services), thereby affirming the applicability of Cognition Emotion Theory in impulse purchase context. This study analyses the 245 collected data in SmartPLS 4 using structural equation modelling. This study found that normative evaluation positively influences positive affect. Normative evaluation and positive affect contribute in explaining the variance explained in the urge to buy impulsively. The current study found that consumers' internal emotional states (positive affect) had a significant mediation effect on the relationship between normative evaluation and urge to buy impulsively. The findings may help businesses in discovering the causes of impulsive purchases by consumers, with an emphasis on psychological factors such as positive purchasing interactions with sellers via instant messaging.

Keywords

• Positive emotions
• Positive normative evaluations
• Impulse buying
• Purchase interactions
• Cognition