The impact of store environment and personality variables on impulse buying among retail customers in the Harare Metropolitan city

Abstract

Impulse buying is a phenomenon that has sparked interest for years in marketers and researchers alike because of its positive impact on profit. In this study, the researcher aimed at assessing the impact of store environment factors and personality variables on impulse buying among retail customers in the Harare Metropolitan city. The store environment factors that were under investigation were lighting, music and layout while the personality variables that were under study were extroversion, psychoticism and neuroticism and were developed using Eysenck personality scale. In order to achieve the research objectives, the research went through a thorough review of literature on impulse buying and the factors that impact it. The study hypotheses were then developed and a research model proposed. In this study an explanatory research design was employed so as to assess the association between store environment factors and personality traits with impulse buying. The study data was collected from 287 respondents using the exit intercept method where shoppers who had bought something were intercepted upon exiting a retail shop. A self-administered questionnaire was employed for this study. The results were then analyzed using SPSS version 20. Regression analysis was used to analyse the impact of lighting, music, layout, extroversion, psychoticism and neuroticism on impulse buying. The results revealed that lighting, music and layout had a positive yet statistically insignificant impact on impulse buying. Psychoticism and neuroticism had a positive statistically significant impact on impulse buying whereas extroversion had a negative statistically insignificant impact on impulse buying. This study intended to give retailers in Zimbabwe, which are currently going through a turbulent environment, an understanding of the factors that affect impulse buying and how to capitalize on them.