Psychological and environmental antecedents of impulse buying tendency in the multichannel shopping context

Jihye Park
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul, South Korea, and

Sharron J. Lennon
Department of Consumer and Textile Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of psychological traits and shopping environmental factors on impulse buying tendency via television shopping programs and to reect the inherent nature of the impulsive television shopping environment in the USA as well as the traditional retail channel. Design/methodology/approach A total of 154 questionnaires were returned from multichannel customers who purchased apparel from television shopping programs and traditional retail stores. Findings Five causal relationships among impulse buying and interaction tendencies in both television and retail settings and TV shopping program browsing duration proposed in this study were conrmed through structural equation modeling. Research limitations/implications This study adds valuable empirical ndings to the literature on the distribution channel relationship by examining buying behavior of multichannel customers as well as some theoretical implications for impulse buying-related theories. Originality/value This study provides insights for customer impulse buying behavior in the multiple shopping environments. Keywords Teleshopping, Buying behaviour, Consumer psychology, United States of America Paper type Research paper

An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article. T-commerce is a revolution in retailing. Television shopping programs, one of the major t-commerce, have become an alternative shopping method for traditional retail store shoppers. T-commerce, which is open 24 hours a day seven days a week, may be considered as a convenient shopping method since it is more accessible, compared to retail stores that are only open during regular business hours. With other various benets to customers such as saving time and transportation cost for shopping trips, t-commerce has experienced a huge growth over time (Harden, 1996). Quality Value Convenience (QVC) and Home Shopping Network (HSN) lead the t-commerce market in the USA. QVC leads with $4.4 billion in sales in 2002 (Gross, 2003). Moreover, the total sales revenue of QVC in 2002 exceeded that of other selling channels such as Bloomingdales Inc. ($2.0 billion) and Amazon.com ($3.9 billion) (Gross, 2003). HSN also reported $2 billion in retail sales in 2002 by reaching more than 140 million households worldwide. HSN shipped 90,000 to 130,000 packages per day (HSN.com, 2003). HSN also distributes the products via more than one retail channel such as the internet and catalog (HSN
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Company Prole, 2003). Although sales from television shopping programs are increasing, many purchases are returned. Yankelovich Partners, a market research rm, speculates that television shoppers inability for physical product inspection and experience may result in a higher return rate, which is estimated between 20 percent and 40 percent. This could be an obstacle for television shopping. Shoppers who purchase products from television shopping programs as well as traditional retail stores enjoy direct or indirect interactions with the show hosts while watching television shopping programs (Grant et al., 1991), which is known to inuence impulse purchase (e.g. Han et al., 1991). In fact, multichannel buyers who purchased products from both a direct marketing channel and a traditional retail channel reported that emotional connection to and interactions with the brand or store are some important aspects when they purchase products from each retail channel. In addition, more than half of multichannel buyers reported concerns about over-consumption and impulse buying. The purchased products often have not been used (Smith and Wood, 2003). Although there has been a strong need for empirical studies examining individuals who use more than one channel or medium (e.g. television shopping programs) for shopping (Stone et al., 2002) and purchase products on impulse via television shopping programs, research effort on those topics was minimal. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of psychological traits and shopping environmental factors on impulse buying tendency via television shopping programs and intended to reect the inherent nature of the impulsive television shopping environment as well as the traditional retail channel. 56

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Conceptual framework
Impulse buying Impulse buying tendency is the degree to which an individual is likely to make unintended, immediate, and unreective purchases (e.g. impulse purchases) (Weun et al., 1998, p. 1124). According to Weinberg and Gottwald (1982), impulse buying occurs with emotional conict between actually concluded and previously planned purchases. Rook (1987) mentioned that there are various psychological motivations for impulse buying that people might experience in shopping. A visual encounter with a product or a promotional incentive can motivate the sudden urge to buy. However, impulse buying behavior does not always come from direct visual encouragement. Sometimes, without any reason or stimulation, people are suddenly motivated to shop (Rook, 1987). Among various product categories, apparel has been a main target for impulse buying. According to Bellenger and Korgaonkar (1980), when consumers shop in a large department store, 50 percent of impulse purchases were for apparel, where impulse purchases range from 27 percent to 62 percent of the total sales. Impulse buying tendency has been conceptualized as a personal trait (e.g. Dholakia, 2000; Murray, 1938) that inuences consistent responses to environmental stimuli (Kassarjian, 1971). Traits represent predispositional attributes of personality that refers to a persons unique psychological makeup. People tend to exhibit steady personal traits and behave consistently across different situations. Impulsive individuals may have difculty in restricting their own behaviors and make frequent and consistent impulse purchases in several different shopping contexts (Murray, 1938). A theoretical model of impulse buying developed by Beatty and Ferrell (1998) presented impulse buying tendency as a trait. The consumption impulse formation and enactment (CIFE) model developed by Dholakia (2000) also considered the impulse buying tendency as a personal trait that contributes to the formation of the consumption impulse. The impulse buying tendency as a consumer trait then, may be positively related to the actual impulse buying. Rook and Fisher (1995) also mentioned that consumers who rate high on the impulsivity trait buy things on impulse more frequently than do others. Impulse buying tendency as a personal trait can be even more intensive in television shopping context. Television shopping may be a built-in impulse situation because shoppers cannot predict what items will be sold before watching a television shopping program. Television shopping channels offer merchandise that consumers do not initially plan to buy, but may decide to do so during exposure to a variety of products (Stephens et al., 1996). In fact, Harden (1996) found that many television shoppers purchased merchandise on impulse. Sometimes, people may not be able to control themselves when spending money on shopping from television shopping programs. Thus, both the inherent nature of the impulsive environment of television shopping programs and impulse buying tendency as a personal trait in the retail setting may carry over to impulse buying in the television shopping setting (e.g. Beatty and Ferrell, 1998; Murray, 1938). Based on the literature, it is reasonable to expect that impulse buying tendency as a personal trait developed in the traditional retail channel may increase impulse buying in television shopping settings. Therefore, the following hypothesis is developed (see Figure 1). 57

H1.

There is a positive relationship between impulse buying tendency in the retail setting and impulse buying tendency in the television setting.

Customer-salesperson interaction The customer-salesperson interaction has been emphasized as an important element in marketing communications that augment consumer buying in the traditional retail channel (e.g. Bagozzi, 1978; Davis and Silk, 1972; Weitz, 1981). Salespeoples ability to inform and persuade through effective interactions with customers inuence customers purchases (Grewal and Sharma, 1991). Rook and Fisher (1995) found that impulse buying behavior is almost exclusively stimulus driven. Impulsive buyers are likely to be open and exible to sudden or unexpected buying ideas. Thus, impulsive buyers are likely to respond positively and immediately to buying stimuli such as products, salespeople, or store environments. Increased exposure to stimuli also enhances the chance of recognizing product needs and leads consumers to process new product information (Iyer, 1989). According to Stern (1962), impulse buying occurs when the consumer is motivated by the suggestion to buy new products without previous knowledge about the product. Sometimes it occurs when quality, function, and usefulness of the product are evaluated by a customer or a salesperson (Stern, 1962). Emotional reactions to a salesperson also can inuence customer purchase intentions (Babin et al., 1995). A salesperson often encourages or persuades customers to purchase more products in the store. Han et al. (1991) found that impulse buying was inuenced by the amount of interactions with a salesperson in the store. Emotional attraction to a desired product throughout interactions with a salesperson can stimulate buyers to accept sudden and unexpected buying ideas during shopping (Hoch and Loewenstein, 1991). Based on the literature, the following hypothesis is developed (see Figure 1). H2. There is a positive relationship between interaction with salespeople and impulse buying tendency in the retail setting.

Parasocial interaction Grant et al. (1991) dened parasocial interaction as a pseudointimate relationship between audiences and performers from the mass media including television, radio, and movies. Without actual interactions or communications, viewers often develop the illusion of face-to-face interaction and pseudo interactive responses, when they feel a connection to a media personality (e.g. television shopping show hosts). Viewers may perceive a sense of intimacy or friendship with a media personality who uses various conversational techniques to attract and persuade the viewers. For example, the television shopping show hosts often ask personal questions and try to nd the similarities between viewers and hosts in order to create a strong friendly relationship (Stephens et al., 1996). The show hosts also provide their e-mail addresses or extension numbers to encourage viewers to contact them again after the show (HSN, 2000). Parasocial interaction between viewers and television personalities has been investigated by several researchers in relation to the demographic and psychographic characteristics

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Figure 1 A proposed model for the impact of psychological and environmental factors on impulse buying in the multichannel context

of viewers. Levy (1979) found that older viewers are more likely to develop parasocial interactions through television. Education has also been found to inuence parasocial interaction. Grant et al. (1991) found a negative relationship between education and parasocial interaction. Education level was negatively associated with dependency on television shopping and as a result, it reduced parasocial interaction. Similarly, Levy (1979) also found that less-educated viewers tended to develop parasocial interactions. Parasocial interaction with a favorite television personality is related to viewers loneliness (Rubin et al., 1985). Nordlund (1978) suggested that the viewers loneliness may be often caused by less social interaction and limitations of leisure activity. People who feel lonely tend to interact with a television personality more frequently than people who are not lonely (Rubin et al., 1985). Similarly, Gregg (1971) found that socially-isolated elderly viewers tend to be related parasocially to personalities on specic television programs. Parasocial interaction and interaction with salespeople Desire to receive attention or to meet people to alleviate loneliness may be important shopping motives (Tauber, 1972). Tauber (1972) found that people were likely to go shopping when they needed attention or wanted to communicate with others. People liked to chat with salespeople in the store about their interests. This may be even more true for elderly consumers who may have limited social activities due to a lack of physical capability. According to Harden (1996), elderly consumers also may watch more television shopping programs compared to younger consumers to alleviate loneliness. The older ones viewed television shopping as more advantageous than younger people (Harden, 1996). In fact, Stanforth et al. (2000) found that shoppers who purchased apparel from television shopping programs were likely to be older with an average age of nearly 50, than those who did not purchase apparel. As such they may have limited social interactions and few leisure activities. They may have seen television shopping as a form of entertainment and as a way of alleviating loneliness. Television shoppers generally enjoyed listening to the hosts and seeing what other consumers were buying. 58

Thus, as women get older, they may seek interaction with salespeople in the retail setting and develop parasocial interactions with television personalities in the television setting both as compensation for the lack of social interaction (Nordlund, 1978). Based on the literature, it is reasonable to expect that interaction tendency in the retail setting may be related to parasocial interactions with the show hosts in television setting. Thus, the following hypothesis is developed (see Figure 1). H3. There is a positive relationship between interaction tendency with salespeople and parasocial interaction.

Parasocial interaction and impulse buying in television shopping settings Intensive parasocial interaction may inuence impulse buying. Stephens et al. (1996) found that conversational techniques of the host encourage and persuade viewers to form and maintain parasocial interactions and to purchase items on impulse. Viewers who make comments (e.g. I bought several items. Ive been watching QVC for three months and have lled my house with QVC items.I have the Diamonique ring. I now wear rings because of QVC. Now, QVC is the only thing we watch!) to hosts may be more likely to purchase items through television shopping programs on impulse. According to Stasi (1988), items on television shopping programs are displayed in a serial fashion and draw attention from viewers. At this point, the host on the television shopping program may play an important role in displaying items and arousing interest from viewers. Viewers who develop strong relationships with the hosts may be more likely to be persuaded by the host and purchase more products even though it is not initially planned. Therefore, based on the literature, the following hypothesis was developed (see Figure 1). H4. There is a positive relationship between parasocial interaction and impulse buying tendency in the television setting. Browsing Browsing and parasocial interaction Media exposure may accelerate developing parasocial interaction. According to Nordlund (1978), among four

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types of media such as magazines, television, radio, and newspapers, more television exposure signicantly increased television dependency and in turn, parasocial interaction. Similarly, Nordlund (1978) and Levy (1979) found that there is a strong positive association between television exposure and parasocial interaction. This means that the more a person watches television, the more the person tends to interact with television personalities or vice versa. Rubin et al. (1985) found that parasocial interaction and reliance on television when feeling lonely were positively related. People who rely on television are likely to have parasocial relationships. With the ripple effect, if one has parasocial interaction with many television hosts, one probably watches television more. In particular, older people tend to be more exposed to television and have more parasocial interaction (Miller, 1983). Miller (1983) also found a signicant relationship between parasocial interaction and amount of television viewed among older people. This suggests that loneliness of older people may inuence the amount of television exposure and in turn, increase parasocial interaction. In the television setting, Grant et al. (1991) found a positive relationship between the amount of browsing via television shopping program and parasocial interaction. The viewers who watched more television shopping programs and browsed more products tended to develop more intensive parasocial interactions with television show hosts. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that TV shopping program browsing duration may be positively related to parasocial interaction among television apparel shoppers (see Figure 1). H5. There is a positive relationship between TV shopping program browsing duration and parasocial interaction in the television setting.

impulse buying. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that there is a positive relationship between TV shopping program browsing duration and impulse buying among television shoppers. Based on the literature review, the following hypothesis was developed (see Figure 1). H6. There is a positive relationship between TV shopping program browsing duration and impulse buying tendency in the television setting.

Method
Sample A total of 1,500 individuals who experienced purchasing products via television shopping channels as well as in traditional retail channels were randomly selected from a purchased national database in the USA. Questionnaires were sent to these individuals through US rst class mail. Following Dillman (2000), three weeks after the rst mailing replacement questionnaires were sent only to nonrespondents (n 1; 388) with nearly the same appearance as the original mailout. Finally, from the returned questionnaires (n 357) with 23.8 percent of response rate, only about 43 percent of respondents (n 154) used multiple channels (t-commerce/traditional retailer) for apparel shopping, whereas about 57 percent used traditional retail channels for apparel shopping. Thus, only multichannel apparel shoppers (n 154) were selected for analysis. The similar group composition (apparel purchasers vs non-apparel purchasers) in the television shopper population was found in Stanforth et al. (2000) who found that about 56 percent of television shoppers purchased apparel from television shopping programs and indicated that apparel purchasers from television shopping programs may not account for the whole population of television shoppers. Therefore, although the ultimate return rate of multichannel apparel customers was 10.3 percent after excluding non-apparel purchasers, since our interest was specic to apparel purchasers not the total population of television shoppers, we believe that this group can still represent apparel purchasers from television shopping programs and traditional retail channels. Instrument A mail questionnaire included a one-page cover letter with information about researchers and academic institutions, purpose and signicance of this research, anonymity of respondent identity, and return deadline. Incentives were not provided and response was purely voluntary. To identify multichannel customers who purchased apparel products from television shopping channels as well as traditional retail channels, two questions of Have you purchased clothing from television shopping programs and Have you ever purchased clothing in retail stores including non-grocery stores (e.g., K-mart, Wal-mart, etc) were elicited. People who circled yes for both questions were dened as multichannel customers in this study. For the response format of the variables, impulse buying tendency, parasocial interaction, and interaction tendency with salespeople were rated on a 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) Likert scale. In order to measure impulse buying tendency in multiple shopping channel settings, 15 items developed by Han et al.s (1991) were revised to reect each setting. Han et al. (1991) classied ve sub-dimensions for capturing various types of apparel impulse buying: 59

Browsing and impulse buying Browsing may inuence impulse buying. Han et al. (1991) described a simple process of impulse buying from browsing. People may walk down an aisle in the mall or store, browse merchandise, and buy the products on impulse. Rook (1987) found that people feel sudden urges or mysterious forces to purchase products when they browse through merchandise in a store. This was likely to be stimulated by a visual confrontation while browsing. Iyer (1989) argued that the amount of purchases made on impulse is positively related to the amount of time spent browsing. If a shopper browses longer, she or he will have more chance to be stimulated by a product increasing the likelihood of impulse buying. Increased exposure to stimuli also enhances the chance of recognizing product needs and leads consumers to process new brand product information. In addition, during browsing, a shopper may feel more comfortable choosing more products without time pressure. Bellenger et al. (1978) also indicated that browsing may lead to an immediate unplanned purchase. In fact, Jarboe and McDaniel (1987) found a positive relationship between browsing and impulse buying in the retail setting. Shoppers who browsed longer, had more of a chance to be stimulated by a product, increasing the likelihood of impulse buying. This can be applied to the television shopping setting. If shoppers browse longer (e.g. watch longer) on television shopping programs, they will have more of a chance to be stimulated by a product. As a result, longer browsing via television shopping programs may increase the likelihood of

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(1) Planned impulse buying (e.g. I decide what to buy after I watch a television shopping program). (2) Reminder impulse buying (e.g. When I see a product I had looked for before, I buy it even though I watch a television shopping program for other items). (3) Suggestion impulse buying (e.g. If I see a product with a new style, I buy it while I watch a television shopping program). (4) Pure impulse buying (e.g. I buy anything I suddenly feel compelled to buy). (5) Planned buying (e.g. I plan carefully what to buy before I watch a television shopping programs). The last dimension was reversed to direct toward impulse buying condition. The reported reliability was 0.89 (Han et al., 1991). Parasocial interaction with the TV shopping show hosts were measured by seven items for parasocial interaction developed by Levy (1979). The items from the original scale were slightly modied to reect TV shopping settings. In order to measure interaction tendency with salespeople in the traditional retail setting, seven parasocial interaction items (Levy, 1979) were modied and revised to be appropriate to social interaction with salespeople in the retail setting. Instead of using a social interaction tendency scale, the modied items from parasocial interaction were used to be consistent across two different settings. TV shopping program browsing duration was measured by asking the number of days a shopper watched television shopping programs in an average week. In addition to personal checks as a payment method, television shopping channels allow customers to use major credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, or American Express through a toll-free number that may stimulate impulse purchases. Thus, ve items about credit card usage and the amount of money spent were developed by the researcher and used to provide additional information regarding purchasing behavior for multichannel customers. Demographic information such as age, sex, race, and marital status was elicited from the subjects in the last part of a questionnaire. All questionnaire items were carefully pretested for readability and understanding. Five graduate students reviewed the questionnaire and suggested for wording and format of the questionnaire.

Table I Demographics of respondents

Multichannel shoppers f Percentage

Results
Preliminary analysis Demographics The mean age of respondents (n 152) was about 57 years, with a range of 30 to 84 years. More than 70 percent of the respondents were over 45 years old. Around 80 percent of the respondents were women. Most respondents were Caucasian Americans (92.3 percent). Other respondents were Native American (7.5 percent), African American (4.6 percent), Hispanic American (1.4 percent), Asian/Asian American (0.9 percent), and other (3.2 percent). About 69 percent of respondents were married, whereas 30.1 percent were single or equivalent such as widowed or divorced (see Table I). The demographics were compared with television shopper respondents from Lee et al. (2000) who reported 33.4 percent of response rate in order to examine the difference in multichannel shoppers and the typical television shopper prole. Demographics were similar in average age, ethnic background, and marital status. The average age was 56 years old. About 75 percent respondents were 50 or older. 60

Age (n5152) Under 25 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 to 74 75 and over 75 Total Sex (n5152) Female Male Total Ethnic background (n5151) African American Caucasian American Hispanic American Native American Asian/Asian American Other Total Education (n5150) Some high school High school graduate Some college College graduate Some graduate school Graduate degree Total Income level (n5152) Prefer not to answer Less than $25,000 $25,000 to $34,999 $35,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $74,999 $75,000 to $99,999 Over $100,000 Total Marital status (n5151) Married Single or equivalent (Widowed, divorced, etc.) Other Total
Note: Different n s are due to missing information

0 1 19 53 48 27 4 152 142 10 152 8 131 1 8 1 2 151 7 35 69 13 10 16 150 36 19 20 28 30 9 10 152 97 52 2 151

0 0.7 12.5 34.9 31.6 17.8 2.6 100 93 6.7 100 5.3 86.8 0.7 5.3 0.7 1.3 100 4.7 23.3 46 8.7 6.7 10.7 100 23.7 12.5 13.2 18.4 19.7 5.9 6.6 100 64.2 34.4 1.3 100

Non-response bias test Because this study relied on voluntary responses without any incentives, response rate for apparel purchasers in multiple channels may be low (10.3 percent). Thus, generalization of our ndings should be cautious. In order to examine if there were differences in demographics between early respondents (the rst 25 percent of respondents) and late respondents (the last 25 percent of respondents), the non-response bias test was conducted by the procedures suggested by Armstrong

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and Overton (1977). The two groups did not differ on demographic characteristics; for age, t 47 20:86, p 0:57; for ethnic background, x2 4 2:28, p 0:69; and for marital status, x2 1 2:28, p 0:13. These indicated that late respondents are similar in demographic characteristics to early respondents. Therefore, we believe that there are few differences between our respondents and non-respondents. Factor analysis Construct validity for impulse buying tendency and parasocial interaction in the television setting and impulse buying tendency and interaction tendency with salespeople in the retail setting was assessed using factor analysis (Cronbach and Meehl, 1955). Exploratory factor analyses were conducted to determine whether multiple indicators for each variable comprised one factor dimension. Factor loadings above 0.55 (Nunnally, 1967) and not higher than 0.30 on other factors (Kline, 1998) were considered evidence for construct validity. Impulse buying tendency in both settings were generated as more than one factor. Thus, the rst factor including three items that explains most variance (24 percent in the television setting, 28 percent in the retail setting) was chosen for the further analysis. Other constructs were generated as a single factor. Then, the multiple items for each construct were summed to create a research variable (see Table II). Reliabilities Using reliability analysis (i.e. Cronbachs alpha), reliabilities for impulse buying tendency scale was 0.80 in the television setting and 0.87 in the retail setting. Reliability for parasocial interaction in the television setting was 0.85. Reliability for interaction tendency with salespeople in the retail setting was 0.89 (see Table II). Cronbachs alpha scores assessing internal consistency of measures were above 0.80, indicating good reliabilities of measures (see Table II). Path analysis Because our main interest is to examine casual relations among variables with a single observed measure (e.g. browsing duration), path analysis was conducted by a maximum-likelihood estimation procedure using AMOS 4.0 (Analysis of Moment Structures). The conceptual model consists of two exogenous variables (interaction tendency with salespeople and TV shopping program browsing duration) and three endogenous variables (parasocial interaction, impulse buying tendency in the retail setting, and impulse buying tendency in the television setting). To assess model t, a chi-square statistic, goodness-of-t index (GFI), adjusted goodness-of-t index (AGFI), normed t index (NFI), relative t index (RFI) and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) were used. As an indicator of good model t to the data, Klines (1998) criteria were adopted (e.g. GFI $ 0.95, AGFI $ 0.90, NFI $ 0.90, RFI $ 0.90, and RMSEA # 0.08). The results of causal model analysis revealed a chi-square of 3.261 (p 0:515) with 1 degree of freedom. The other t indices were GFI 0:99, AGFI 0:97, NFI 0:98, RFI 0:94, and RMSEA 0:00 which indicated the proposed model t the data well. Figure 2 provides squared multiple correlations (R2) for each endogenous construct as well as path coefcients and t-values for each statistically signicant path. In addition, descriptives (e.g. means, standard deviations) and correlations among construct measures for the model are shown in Table III. 61

All hypotheses except one (H6) were statistically supported. The proposed positive relationship between impulse buying tendency in the retail setting and impulse buying tendency in the television setting (H1) was supported (b2 * 0:51, t 8:37, p , 0:001). H2, predicting a positive effect of interaction with salespeople on impulse buying tendency in the retail setting, was supported (b1 * 0:11, t 2:85, p , 0:01). H3, predicting a positive relationship between interaction with salespeople and parasocial interaction with television shopping program hosts, was supported (b3 * 0:52, t 7:41, p , 0:001). H4, predicting a positive relationship between parasocial interaction and impulse buying tendency in the television setting, was supported ( b4 * 0:10, t 3:33, p , 0:001). Finally, a proposed positive relationship between exposure to television shopping programs and parasocial interaction was also supported (b5 * 0:75, t 4:63, p , 0:001). However, the proposed positive relationship between TV shopping program browsing duration and impulse buying tendency in the television setting (H6) was not supported (b6 * 0:00, t 20:05) (see Figure 2). To further examine the effects of interaction with salespeople and browsing duration in the television setting on impulse buying tendency in the retail setting and parasocial interaction and impulse buying in the television setting, the decomposition of indirect, direct, and total effects of exogenous variables on endogenous variables was conducted (see Table IV). All exogenous variables except browsing duration in the television setting had signicant total effects on each dependent variable. Impulse buying tendency in the retail setting was the strongest variable explaining impulse buying tendency via television shopping programs. Parasocial interaction was then, the second strongest variable explaining impulse buying tendency in the television setting. The R2s of impulse buying tendency in the retail setting, parasocial interaction, and impulse buying tendency in the television setting were 0.05, 0.35, and 0.39, respectively. Low R2 of impulse buying tendency in the retail setting was found, which indicates only small amount of impulse buying tendency in the retail setting can be explained by interactions with salespeople. This implies that impulse buying tendency in retail setting can be predicted by other conditions (e.g. store environment, mood, promotion) that have been studied in the past research. However, our main interest of this study was to examine the psychological traits transmitted from retail settings rather than marketing stimuli in the retail environment.

Discussion and implications

Out of six, ve causal relationships proposed in this study were conrmed through structural equation modeling. The results showed that the proposed model for impulse buying and interaction tendencies in multichannel settings generally t the data. Multichannel shoppers who had more interactions with salespeople purchased more products on impulse in the retail setting and in turn, purchased products on impulse in the television setting. In addition, customers who had interactions with salespeople in the retail setting had greater parasocial interaction with the hosts via television shopping programs and in turn, purchased more products on impulse in the television setting. Focusing on the television setting, parasocial interaction mediated the relationship between TV shopping program browsing duration and

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Table II Factor analysis results for constructs

Variables Impulse buying tendency in the television setting Factor items If I see clothing in a new style, I buy it from television shopping programs When I see a garment with a new feature via television shopping programs, I buy it to try it out I like to buy new clothing from television shopping programs which has just come out The hosts are almost like friends I see everyday I like hearing the voices of the hosts in my house When the host shows how s/he feels about the product, it helps me make up my mind about the product I like to compare my feelings for the product with what the host has to say about it When the hosts joke around with one another, it makes the program even more enjoyable I feel sorry for the hosts when they make mistakes Television shopping programs show you what people in the media are really like If I see clothing in a new style, I buy it When I see a garment with a new feature, I buy it to try it out I like to buy new clothing which has just come out Salespeople are almost like friends I see everyday I like hearing the voices of salespeople in retail stores When the salesperson shows how s/he feels about the product, it helps me make up my mind about the product I like to compare my feeling for the product with what the salesperson has to say about it When the salespeople joke around with one another, it makes shopping even more enjoyable I feel sorry for the salespeople when they make mistakes The salesperson shows you what products are really like Factor loadings 0.738 0.708 0.632 0.764 0.825 0.696 0.708 0.808 0.617 0.642 0.706 0.757 0.663 0.813 0.838 0.866 0.813 0.786 0.548 0.757 Eigenvalue 3.57 Percent of variance 23.79 a 0.80

Parasocial interaction in the television setting

3.70

52.80

0.85

Impulse buying tendency in the retail setting

4.14

27.57

0.87

Interaction tendency with salespeople in retail setting

4.27

60.96

0.89

Figure 2 A nal model for the impact of psychological and environmental factors on impulse buying in the multichannel context

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Table III Correlation matrix of model constructs

Model constructs (n 5 144) Interaction with salespeople TV shopping program browsing duration Parasocial interaction Impulse buying tendency in the retail setting Impulse buying tendency in the television setting Mean 13.15 3.56 15.69 5.59 5.88 SD 5.49 2.39 5.79 2.58 2.41 IS 1.00 0.028 0.507* 0.232* 0.162 TVBD 1.00 0.325* 0.078 0.118 Correlations PI IBT/RS IBT/TS

1.00 0.159 0.318*

1.00 0.585*

1.00

Notes: * p , 0:01; IS Interaction with salespeople; TSBD TV shopping program browsing duration; PI Parasocial interaction; IBT/RS Impulse buying tendency in the retail setting; IBT/TS Impulse buying tendency in the television setting

Table IV Decomposition of direct, indirect, and total effects for the proposed model
Dependent variable Independent variable Total effects 0.11* 0.51** 0.10* 0.07 0.39 0.52** 0.75** 0.35 0.11* 0.05 Indirect effects 0.11* 0.07 Direct effects 0.51** 0.10*

IBT in the television setting Interaction with salespeople IBT in the retail setting Parasocial interaction TV shopping program browsing duration R2 Parasocial interaction Interaction with salespeople TV shopping program browsing duration R2 IBT in the retail setting Interaction with salespeople R2
Notes: * p , 0:01;
**

0.52** 0.75**

0.11*

p , 0:001; Standardized path estimates are reported

impulse buying from television shopping programs. This implies that people who are more exposed to television shopping programs are likely to have greater parasocial interactions with the show hosts and in turn, purchase more products on impulse via television shopping programs. These ndings supported the past literature (e.g. Babin et al., 1995; Grant et al., 1991; Stephens et al., 1996). We expected a positive relationship between TV shopping program browsing duration and impulse buying tendency in the television setting. However, there was no direct relationship between the amount of time television shopping programs were watched and impulse buying among multichannel shoppers. This is not consistent with the previous ndings (e.g. Jarboe and McDaniel, 1987) that browsing via television shopping programs positively inuences impulse buying. In these data, browsing via television only affected impulse buying from television indirectly. It is possible that personal traits such as parasocial interaction and impulse buying tendency have strong and direct inuence on impulse buying tendency in television setting. Personal traits may be consistent across different shopping contexts. Once a person develops personal traits relevant to shopping in the traditional shopping context, it will Based on the sequential relationship from browsing intention via parasocial interaction to impulse buying tendency via television shopping programs, parasocial 63

interaction seems to possibly mediate between browsing duration and impulse buying tendency. Shopper who develop parasocial interaction from watching more television shopping programs may purchase more products on impulse. This study adds valuable empirical ndings to the literature on the distribution channel relationships by examining buying behavior of multichannel customers who shop both via television shopping programs as well as at the traditional retail channels. The results revealed that customer-salesperson interaction and impulse buying tendency in the retail setting inuenced parasocial interaction and impulse buying tendency in the television setting. This implies that each buying setting is not separate; rather multiple buying environments may interact and inuence each other. Established buying tendency from one channel may inuence purchasing from another channel. Impulse buying tendency may be consistent across different buying channels. This suggests support for an impulsive buying trait. In addition, some theoretical implications can be generated for impulse buying. In the past, impulse buying tendency was examined within a limited buying setting (e.g. traditional retail channels). However, reecting new retailing and buying trends, impulse buying tendency as a personal trait in one shopping setting can be seen to inuence buying behavior in other shopping settings such as televisions, catalogs, and the internet. Thus, impulse buying tendency as both cause and

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effect needs to be considered and tested in multiple shopping environments for external validity for impulse buying-related theories (e.g. Dholakia, 2000). In addition, Impulse buying tendency (M 5:88) in the television setting was slightly higher than that in the retail setting (M 5:59). This implies that the inherent nature of impulsive condition in television shopping settings can intensify impulse buying tendency. Although consistent impulse buying tendency was found in two different settings, certain shopping contexts can possibly strengthen or weaken the degree of impulse buying tendency as a personal trait. Thus, in future research, impulse buying tendency can be examined in other multiple combined buying settings (e.g. traditional channel catalog internet). Even though the internet is considered as more planned environment compared to catalogs and televisions, impulse buying tendency as a personal trait in traditional channels may positively inuence buying behavior in the internet. Customers who are likely to interact with salespeople in the store may have greater potential for building parasocial relationships with the show hosts when they watch television shopping programs. Interaction tendencies in both settings may then positively inuence impulse buying in the television setting. Thus, interaction tendency seems to be consistent across different buying channels. Similar to impulse buying tendency, it is also possible that interaction tendency may be another personal trait affecting buying behavior. Customers who enjoy interactions with the salesperson in the traditional channel may also like to build an interactive relationship and increase communications with the show host in the television setting. This study also contributes to knowledge about customer relationship marketing (CRM) for t-commerce. Multichannel customers who shop via television shopping programs as well as at retail stores may be willing to interact with salespeople either for entertainment or to alleviate loneliness. Thus, developing a close relationship between customers and salespeople in both television and retail settings may be benecial to generate sales for t-commerce. If direct (physical interaction in the retail setting) or indirect (parasocial interaction in the television setting) positive customersalesperson relationships are built, customers may purchase more. T-commerce marketers may encourage show hosts to approach the viewers (potential buyers) through friendly and entertaining comments that can evoke emotional responses for purchasing. This also may create a synergy effect that leads to more parasocial interactions with the host and in turn, increase the amount of purchases. In addition, direct communications over the phone during the show may be helpful to facilitate more interactions. Constant reminders of asking shoppers to stay tuned on the shopping channels may increase the amount of browsing via television shopping programs. However, t-commerce marketers should be aware of negative consequences of impulse purchases such as credit card debt or non-use of product purchased. Merchandisers should select guaranteed quality of merchandise and vendors to reduce negative consequences of impulse purchases for television shoppers. Easy process of returns may minimize returning effort and help customers to return products back to the distribution center. Special instructions for merchandise return can be announced and emphasized by the show hosts. This study has some limitations. Beyond low response rate, some responses may not fully reect actual shopper behavior. Respondents may rely on their memories to recall their past 64

shopping experience, but often recall inaccurate information. This may even more true for older respondents. Thus, browsing duration may be possibly inaccurate in the process where respondents might need to mentally generalize or average their viewing time. In addition, because multichannel shoppers were selected without temporal limitation, store patronage difference in two shopping contexts was not captured. Some respondents shop more often from television shopping programs, whereas others shop more frequently at traditional retail stores. For example, about 20 percent of respondents did not spend money for apparel last month in the retail stores. Although they reported that they have shopped at the traditional retail stores, they may not shop often. The similar observation can apply to television shopping context.

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Han, Y.K., Morgan, G.A., Kotsiopulos, A. and Kang-Park, J. (1991), Impulse buying behavior of apparel purchasers, Clothing and Textile Research Journal, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 15-21. Harden, A.J. (1996), TV shopping: a summary of womens attitudes gained through focus group discussions, Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, Vol. 88 No. 4, pp. 58-62. Hoch, S.J. and Loewenstein, G.F. (1991), Time-inconsistent preferences and consumer self-control, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 17 No. 4, pp. 492-507. HSN (2000), contact info, available at: www.hsn.com:80/ customer/customer_contact_us.asp HSN.com (2003), company information, available at: www. hsn.com/corp/info/ HSN Company Prole (2003), available at: http://biz.yahoo. com/ic/12/12024.html Iyer, E.S. (1989), Unplanned purchasing: knowledge of shopping environment and time pressure, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 65 No. 1, pp. 40-57. Jarboe, G.R. and McDaniel, C.D. (1987), A prole of browsers in regional shopping malls, Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 15, pp. 46-53. Kassarjian, H. (1971), Personality and consumer behavior: a review, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 13 No. 11, pp. 409-18. Kline, R.B. (1998), Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling, The Guilford Press, New York, NY. Lee, S.H., Lennon, S.J. and Rudd, N.A. (2000), Compulsive consumption tendencies among television shoppers, Family and Consumer Science Research Journal, Vol. 28 No. 4, pp. 463-88. Levy, M.R. (1979), Watching TV news as a para-social interaction, Journal of Broadcasting, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 69-80. Miller, R.V. (1983), A descriptive study of television usage among older Americans: rening the parasocial concept, unpublished doctoral dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. Murray, H. (1938), Explorations in Personality, Oxford University, New York, NY. Nordlund, J. (1978), Media interaction, Communication Research, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 150-75. Nunnally, J.C. (1967), Psychometric Theory, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Rook, D.W. (1987), The buying impulse, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 189-99. Rook, D.W. and Fisher, R.J. (1995), Normative inuence on impulsive buying behavior, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 305-13. Rubin, A.M., Perse, E.M. and Powell, R.A. (1985), Loneliness, parasocial interaction, and local television news viewing, Human Communication Research, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 55-180. Smith, J.W. and Wood, C. (2003), Why isnt shopping more enjoyable?, available at: www.directmag.com/ar/ marketing_why_ isnt_shopping/ Stanforth, N.F., Lennon, S.J. and Moore, S. (2000), Perceived risk and purchase intent associated with television shopping, Frontiers in Direct and Interactive Marketing Research Proceedings, Vol. 3, pp. 53-64. Stasi, D. (1988), Interactive electronic home shopping: an update on the telaction approach, NCTA Technical Papers, National Cable & Telecommunications Association, Washington, DC, pp. 22-8. 65

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About the authors

Jihye Park is an assistant professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Her research focuses on multichannel retailing including the internet and mobile and technology use in retail management. Jihye Park is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: jihyepark@hufs.ac.kr Sharron J. Lennon is a professor at the Ohio State University. Her research focuses on the internet and television shopping for apparel and customer service (in-store or online).

Executive summary and implications for managers and executives

This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives a rapid appreciation of the content of this article. Those with a particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the research undertaken and its results to get the full benets of the material present. Research has shown that a signicant number of purchases are made on impulse. Visual contact with a product can prompt impulse buying, as can promotions or sales. On other occasions, there are no apparent stimuli when impulse buying occurs. Evidence suggests that clothing is particularly prone to be purchased on impulse and studies have revealed that up

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to 50 percent of impulse buying in a large department store is likely to involve clothing. Based on suggestions that impulse buying might occur as the result of a personality trait, Park and Lennon carried out a study to determine the motivation for and extent of impulse buying across various shopping environments. The authors focused specically on the growing phenomenon of t commerce, whereby consumers purchase from television shopping channels that are open round the clock, seven days a week. The study was carried out in the USA and the 154 respondents selected to submit completed questionnaires had all purchased clothing in different shopping contexts. The respondents had a mean age of 57, with more than 70 percent being over 45. Around 80 percent were female and the vast majority Caucasian American. Some issues to consider The study analyzed different factors that potentially encouraged impulse buying in one or both settings. Impulse buying in a retail setting The hypothesis here was that such a tendency would also inspire the consumer to purchase on impulse from a television shopping channel. Interaction with salespeople Research has suggested that some shoppers are motivated to visit retail outlets because it presents an opportunity to meet people. As a result of interaction with salespeople, the emotional bond that is formed paves the way for the salesperson to exert inuence on the consumer. This inuence often results in the consumer making purchases that were not originally intended. Parasocial interaction The theory here is that consumers will form a similar attachment to the TV shopping channel host, despite the fact that no genuine interaction takes place. Instead, this perceived intimacy might develop because of the host asking questions on air and inviting viewers to contact by telephone or email. It is believed that older viewers who are lonely and lack mobility watch more shopping TV programs and are thus especially prone to developing parasocial relations. The extent of these relations increases in line with the duration of TV shopping. The authors hypothesized that this in turn enhances the prospect that impulse buying will occur. Researchers also suggest that less educated people have a greater tendency towards developing parasocial relations. Browsing Previous research had suggested that browsing encourages impulse buying in a retail environment. The shopper is able to inspect merchandise and the temptation to purchase increases along with the duration that browsing takes place. Park and Lennon speculated that the concept could also be applied to the TV setting.

The study revealed that many TV shoppers purchased on impulse. It was also discovered that the above factors in the main inuenced impulse buying. The exception to this was browsing in a TV setting, a nding that proved contrary to previous results. Impulse buying in a retail context most strongly inuenced similar behavior in its TV counterpart. The second most inuential factor was parasocial interaction. This may be particularly signicant given that evidence suggests the average age of consumers purchasing clothing from a TV shopping channel is around 50. Consumers desire to interact with salespeople/TV presenters also invites the conclusion that this will prevail within other shopping contexts. Implications Evidence that impulsive buying tendencies span different settings adds weight to the theory that an impulsive character trait exists. It also indicates that shopping contexts interact and inuence consumer behavior within each other. Therefore, different settings should not be regarded in isolation. However, that impulse buying tendency was found to be slightly higher in the TV context perhaps implies that different environments may reinforce or weaken the tendency to purchase on impulse. The authors suggest that research should be carried out into impulse buying as a cause and effect in other shopping contexts such as catalogues and the internet before any wider conclusions can be drawn. The study conrms that retail salespeople and TV shopping presenters who build close relations with the consumer are able to inuence purchase decisions by prompting impulse buying. Park and Lennon suggest that the TV presenter should aim to entice the consumer by making friendly remarks, encouraging the viewer to stay tuned and providing contact details. But the authors also point out the negative consequences of impulse buying such as credit card debt or products not being used after purchase. It is therefore imperative that marketers behave responsibly, part of which involves ensuring that procedures for the smooth return of unwanted goods are in place. Since statistics demonstrate that the inability to inspect products purchased from a television shopping channel has resulted in a return rate of between 20 and 40 percent, this is clearly important Survey participants were asked to recall past shopping experiences. The authors point out that some inaccuracies may have resulted because older respondents had to rely on memory to calculate their average shopping or viewing time. They also suggest that the amount of time spent and purchases made in the respective shopping contexts could be signicant, although this factor was not analyzed in the study. cis of the article Psychological and environmental (A pre antecedents of impulse buying tendency in the multichannel shopping context. Supplied by Marketing Consultants for Emerald.)

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