Effects of consumers’ construal levels on post-impulse purchase emotions
Marketing Intelligence & Planning
ISSN: 0263-4503
Article publication date: 11 December 2019
Issue publication date: 13 May 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how abstract vs concrete mindsets impact consumers’ post-purchase affective states. Drawing on construal level theory, the study examines when consumers experience “pleasure” or “guilt” after impulse buying.
Design/methodology/approach
The basic premises of this research was tested using multiple studies. Study 1 was conducted in the field, the second study engaged an online survey, while the third study used a laboratory experiment.
Findings
After impulse buying, consumers with abstract mindsets reported strong feelings of pleasure, whereas those with concrete mindsets experienced profound guilt.
Research limitations/implications
Research on affective responses (i.e. pleasure and guilt) following impulse purchase is limited. However, the present study helps understand an important research question: when do consumers feel pleasure (or guilt) after impulse buying?
Practical implications
Marketers can frame messages that align with abstract mindsets to enhance pleasure and reduce guilt after impulse buying.
Social implications
Policymakers can persuade consumers to refrain from making impulsive decisions through communication that reminds them of past impulse purchase behaviour, by triggering a concrete mindset.
Originality/value
This research extends the literature on post-purchase effects by demonstrating that consumers’ mindsets determine the intensity of their affective state after impulse buying.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI (Grant nos. 25285135 and 16H03675) and Laboratory of Marketing Communication Research (Waseda University). The authors thank the MIP editor and reviewer for their constructive feedback through the review process.
Citation
Togawa, T., Ishii, H., Onzo, N. and Roy, R. (2020), "Effects of consumers’ construal levels on post-impulse purchase emotions", Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 38 No. 3, pp. 269-282. https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-01-2019-0022
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited