Mapping impulse buying: a behaviour analysis framework for services marketing and consumer research

Abstract

A deep understanding of how consumers engage in impulse buying (IB) would be extremely valuable to service providers when attempting to develop marketing strategies and messages that will effectively influence consumer purchasing. By systematically reviewing current research on impulsivity among a range of disciplines, the consumer behaviour analysis (CBA) framework is proposed as an integrative platform to synthesise existing empirical work in this field. The paper makes several contributions: it organises a currently disjointed field of IB research, connects consumer and marketing research to high-level theorisation of impulsive buying behaviour across three broad disciplines; it is the first to propose that CBA is a potential platform to integrate existing studies in the area, and it seeks to outline specific avenues for future research in this area.