Influence of Online Shopping Apps on Impulsive Buying Proposal

Introduction

There are many factors that affect consumer behaviour today. For instance, the Internet has influenced buyer behaviour significantly compared to the traditional shopper. The proposed research seeks to determine the effect of online shopping applications on impulsive buying. The issue to be addressed will focus on whether this influence is positive or negative. Bhardwaj and Manchiraju (2017) note that the Internet, and technology in general, has increased impulse buying among target audiences. Whereas impulse buying supports profitability for the owner of the business, it can have dire negative effects on the shopper.

Although there is significant research on the topic, one gap that is easily identifiable is that there is little research on how consumer behaviour affected by online shopping apps impacts the quality of life. The research proposes that online shopping apps, whereas beneficial, are addictive and can lead to financial dependency. The study will prove this by determining whether individuals using online shopping apps believe their behaviour has changed, and how the said behaviour has been altered.

Literature Review

Vonkeman, Verhagen and Dolen (2017) argue that the Internet has revolutionised shopping. The rise of e-commerce has allowed people to buy their favourite products from different parts of the globe with just one click. Additionally, technology has made logistics that much easier and relevant due to the amount of products that are shipped worldwide (Wen, Li & Liu 2019). Chen, Su and Widjaja (2016) confirm that e-commerce is currently valued at $3.46 trillion in 2019. The projections for the future are positive with critics anticipating that the sector will grow even further. Today, consumers do not need to go to a web shop to buy the products they need (Moser 2018).

Online purchasing has been made easier through the development of applications (Farah & Ramadan 2017). Apart from individual store apps, there are shipping companies that allow the consumer to buy items from different shops and ship them at once (Moser, Schoenebeck & Resnick 2019). Additionally, apps such as Amazon also bring together different merchants and work as a one stop shop for consumers.

According to Chan, Cheung and Lee (2017), the rise and evolution of online shopping apps has also increased impulse buying among consumers. This can be considered a negative side effect of the industry. One element that has to be considered when discussing online shopping apps and impulse buying is purchase intention. In the traditional set-up the purchase intention was often crafted through the display of the products and the physical environment that the client was in, when he or she visited a shop.

An example can be given to clarify further. If a consumer was interested in buying a chandelier, many of the physical shops would display their chandeliers in high ceilings with bright lights and they would always be lit, even if it was during the day. This presentation was attractive and would ideally push the client to buy a piece as they could imagine how the beauty of the chandelier would be translated to their own houses despite not having the same environment. Since this cannot be done with online shopping, Xiang et al. (2016) believe that consumers go through a trial and error phase until they get what they actually like.

Olsen et al. (2015) go further and confirms that online shopping apps have increased impulse buying due to the wealth of information they provide the consumer. Ideally, each of the products that are listed on a shopping app like Amazon has a link to the manufacturer, a list of reviews from other shoppers and even other similar products. All this information makes shopping easy. The consumer can also go online and get more information on the product before they decide to buy.

Thompson and Prendergast (2015) confirm that this is one of the reasons why online shopping has grown over the last couple of decades. This can be compared to traditional shopping which only gives the consumer limited information. For example, if a person goes to a supermarket to buy hair shampoo, he or she will only get information on the back of the box or bottle of each shampoo. Darrat, Darrat and Amyx (2016) argue that the 21 century shopper wants to make smart decisions about the products they buy, including understanding the materials that were used in the manufacturing process.

This brings in the concept of ease of price comparison. Notably, a significant percentage of shoppers love good bargains (Chen & Yao 2018). Thus, the knowledge that is shared, plus the ease of price comparison, makes online shopping highly addictive and convenient. In turn, clients tend to buy products they do not need but that they believe are offered at a cheaper rate at that particular time (Shapiro 2015).

It is important to note that impulse buying only describes the purchase of products that are not needed and that were not planned for at the beginning. This is enhanced by the online advertising which tempts users to buying things they would ideally love but had not, at that particular moment, prepared to buy. The nature of the Internet and synching allows different browsers and other online platforms to collect user interests when they are online. This data is then used to develop proper marketing and advertising material for individual users. Online shopping apps also collect this data and use it to suggest other items that the user can purchase alongside the planned products already bought.

It is arguable that there is a section of consumers who would not indulge in impulse buying even through online shopping apps. Gautam and Jenis (2018) explain that marketers group consumers in two main categories – emotional buyers and non-emotional buyers. Emotional buyers are people who would more likely fall victim of impulse buying whereas non-emotional shoppers would need more convincing to buy things they had not planned for earlier.

To attract the non-emotional shoppers, the concept of customer is king is often used in online shopping apps (Joo 2017). The apps offer 24-hour chat support, have attractive return policies and can be reviewed for other consumers (Yigit & Tıglı 2018). All these make online shopping in general more attractive but more so to the non-emotional shopper who find it convenient and fast.

Park, Jun and Lee (2015) argue that the issue of online shopping apps and impulse buying is demographical. The premise suggests that there are several characteristics that an online shopper has to have to make them vulnerable to impulse buying.

For example, the previously mentioned emotional angle has to be considered in order for someone to become an impulse buyer. According to Liu and Lu (2017), other characteristics to consider include age, where younger people are more likely to become impulse buyers than older ones; gender, where females are at a higher risk of developing impulse buying behaviours than males; and financial status, where people with less responsibilities are more likely to shop without planning than people with responsibilities. These demographics can be used to also explain why some people fall victim of impulse buying while others do not (Tak & Panwar 2017).

It is crucial to point out that the idea of owning things that have been branded as classy or luxurious is tempting to shoppers (Akram et al. 2018). This is why some of the most common brands use celebrities and role models to advertise their products. The same applied to online shopping apps where they use different models, or even celebrities to urge consumers to purchase the products (Ku & Chen 2019). Some of the words that are used on the apps also attract the shoppers as consumers feel the product is a must-have at that particular moment. Arguably, a majority of the research papers already published agree that online shopping apps have greatly affected consumer behaviour (Liu & Hsu 2017). Interestingly, this change is often described as negative due to the fact that it ties to individual financial crises.

Research Questions

There are five main research questions that will be asked in this study. The five questions are:

1. Do online shopping apps have any influence on impulsive buying?
2. Are online shopping apps increasing impulse buying among the target populations?
3. How do online shopping apps affect consumer behaviour?
4. Are online shopping apps reducing impulse buying among the target populations?
5. What can be done to either increase or reduce the influence of online shopping apps on impulse buying?

Research Methodology

The research project will employ a qualitative research methodology. Bengtsson (2016) defines qualitative research simply as a non-numerical approach to data collection. The research design works best for the study proposed as the research questions seek opinions, characteristics and personal description of activities (Connelly 2016). Additionally, the researcher will use a combined secondary and primary data collection techniques.

It is critical to note that the researcher will use the phenomenological approach to qualitative research methodology. This approach is best suited due to the fact that the researcher will use both secondary and primary data collection techniques as mentioned. Notably, the secondary data collection technique will include reading and drawing information from books, journals, conference materials, dissertations and other academic materials. Secondary data is important as it allows the researcher to find out what other research studies on the same topic, or similar topic, have realised. Ideally, the information that has been presented in the literature review was gathered through the secondary approach.

The primary data collection, on the other hand, will include interviews that will be done by the researcher on a sample population. The selected sample will be made up of 50 people who will be randomly selected. The random selection ensures that no bias is recorded in the study, thus, making the research more viable and reliable. It is important to note that the researcher will distribute the questionnaires and conduct the survey physically.

One of the ethical concerns that might arise from the research is the proper disposal of data after collection. The researcher anticipates that the sample population will inquire about how the data will be handled. To curb any anxieties over this, the researcher will not require any personal identification of the participants. Additionally, the participants will be assured that the researcher will adhere to data disposal methods as stipulated by the university. It is also important for the researcher to notify all participants that the research is purely for academic purposes.

Questionnaire

The following questionnaire will be used to collect primary data.

Bio Data

• How old are you?
  • 18-29 years
  • 30-39 years
  • 40-49 years
  • Over 50 years
• Are you male or female?
  • Female
  • Male
• What is your level of education?
  • None
  • High school
  • University
  • Post-graduate

Online Shopping

• Have you ever tried online shopping?
  • Yes
  • No
• Which of the following apps have you used before?
  • Amazon
  • Alibaba
  • AliExpress
  • Flipkart
  • Social Media Online Shops
  • Other (specify)
• Would you recommend online shopping to anyone?
  • Yes
  • No
• How often do you shop online?
  • All the time
  • Often
  • Not Often
  • Never
• What type of products do you buy most online?
  • Personal care products
  • Electronics
  • Food items and groceries
  • Cosmetics
  • Clothes
  • Shoes
  • Anything
  • Everything

Consumer Behaviour

• Where do you shop most among the following?
  • Online Shopping App
  • Physical shop
  • Equal for both

Influence of Online Shopping Apps on Consumer Behaviour

• Ranging from 1 to 10, with 1 being lowest and 10 being highest, what would be your response to the following statements
  • Online shopping apps have changed how much I spend on shopping
  • I often buy unnecessary things due to the ease of online shopping apps
  • My shopping behaviour has not changed due to online shopping apps
• From a range of strongly disagree to strongly agree, how would you rank the following statements:
  • Online shopping has cheaper options so I use it often
    • Strongly Disagree
    • Disagree
    • Agree
    • Strongly Agree
  • Online shopping helps save time so I use it often
    • Strongly Disagree
    • Disagree
    • Agree
    • Strongly Agree
  • Online shopping delivers products at your doorstep making it convenient and this is why I use it often
    • Strongly Disagree
    • Disagree
    • Agree
    • Strongly Agree
• Would you agree that online shopping apps have done the following?
  • Made me shop more
    • Yes
    • No
  • Made me shop less
    • Yes
    • No
  • Made me use more money in shopping than I would have
    • Yes
    • No
  • Made me borrow money to buy something I liked
    • Yes
    • No

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are various advantages of online shopping. For instance, it is easier and more convenient as it can be done from anywhere. Additionally, consumers get impressive bargains due to discounts and also the ability to compare prices of different brands of the same product. However, one of the negative factors that have been tied to online shopping is impulse buying. Arguably, the notion is made that much worse due to online shopping apps.

The essay looks into the influence of online shopping apps on impulse buying. The researcher will employ the use of both secondary and primary data collection techniques to get the required information. Additionally, the study uses a qualitative research methodology. It is important to note that the selected study sample will be randomly selected to ensure a significant representation of the target population. Additionally, it will also reduce the level of bias recorded in the study.

Reference List

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Bhardwaj, V & Manchiraju, S 2017, ‘The role of impulse buying, hedonism, and consumer knowledge towards sustainable consumption of fast fashion’, in 2017 ITAA annual conference proceedings: oral presentations, Iowa University Press, Iowa City, pp. 1-6.

Bengtsson, M 2016, ‘How to plan and perform a qualitative study using content analysis’, NursingPlus Open, vol. 2, pp. 8-14.

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