How to motivate consumers' impulse buying and repeat buying? The role of marketing stimuli, situational factors and personality

As e-commerce continues to develop rapidly, customer purchase behavior is increasingly motivated by multiple stimuli. However, consumers often find that the perceived value is lower than expectation after impulse buying and thus are reluctant to repeat these purchases. This study explored how to stimulate repeat buying after impulse buying. On the basis of the stimulus-organism-response framework and consumption impulse formation and enactment framework, a research model for investigating the factors affecting the willingness to impulse buy and the willingness to repeat buy was developed. Within the developed framework, the marketing stimuli, situational factors, and personality were the stimulus, consumer value was the organism, and the willingness to impulse buy and the willingness to repeat buy were the responses. We also examined the relationship between the willingness to impulse buy and the willingness to repeat buy. A sample of 315 Chinese consumers was recruited, and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the hypotheses. The results revealed that anticipated price, anticipated merchandise diversity, value consciousness, and coupon proneness were significantly positively related to consumer value, which in turn had a significant positive influence on the willingness to impulse buy and repeat buy. Moreover, the willingness to impulse buy can drive the willingness to repeat buy. These results may be used by companies to attract new consumers and increase customer loyalty.