Impulse buying behaviour at the retail checkout : an investigation of select antecedents

The remarkable growth of the Indian retail landscape over the last decade is reflected in the proliferation of supermarkets, departmental stores and hypermarkets in India. Evolving consumption patterns, raising living standards has sparked a huge demand in the food and grocery retailing. Impulse buying is a time-tested tactic by which retailers grab customer’s attention and boost average purchase value. Prior research has deliberated extensively on impulse buying in the store and its determinants. However, little effort has been made to examine the impulse buying behaviour, particularly at the retail checkout. To bridge this gap, we conducted an empirical study in the leading food and grocery modern retail stores in selected Tier I and Tier II cities in the state of Karnataka, India. The data was collected from 385 respondents using a structured questionnaire. The responses were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and multiple regression. Our study shows that impulse buying at the store checkout area is minimal and sporadic for most of the product categories at the checkout. Impulse buying at the checkout is instigated by factors such as store environment, credit card availability, momentary mood, in-store promotion, offers and discounts and large merchandise. The study has important implications for retail stores by emphasising on the choice of merchandise offered for sale at the checkout area. Further, the investigation reveals that Indian shoppers are health-conscious and cautious about their purchase at the checkout rather than being impulsive.