Impulse Buying and Post-Purchase Regret: A Study of Shopping Behavior for the Purchase of Grocery Products

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to study the relationship between impulse buying and post-purchase regret in the context of grocery products which requires low involvement. Design / Methodology/ Approach – Exploratory analysis using quantitative approach is employed. The sample is drawn from the individuals who visited Reliance Fresh and Big Baazar (two important retail chains in India). The instrument measures the constructs of post-purchase regret and the impulse buying. As grocery shopping differs from the other types of shopping, some particular variations are explored. Findings – The hypothesis tested shows that there is a positive relationship between post-purchase regret and impulse purchase. It also shows that post-purchase regret changes with the change in income. As per theory, it is expected that those individuals who are more impulsive will experience greater post-purchase regret after impulse purchase than the individuals who are less impulsive. Although the correlation coefficient between impulse buying and post-purchase regret (0.150) is significant, the magnitude is very less. The square of correlation coefficient will be less than 0.5 which indicates a weak relationship between the two. Hence this relationship may be taken as weak superseding significant correlation. Originality / Value – Grocery shopping will help us in understanding the causes and how the consumption behaviour of the population changes. This article shows that we cannot generalize consumer behaviour (without including the factors in that context) because decision making and the buying behaviour gets limited. This will show directions to make strategies for low involvement products. Also very few studies have shown how the post-purchase regret changes with the change in demographics (gender and income). Paper Type – Research Paper

Keywords: Impulse Buying, Post-purchase Regret, Grocery, Cognitive Dissonance.