A Study on the Purchase Behavior and the Psychological Characteristics of the Impulse-Buying Consumers

충동구매 소비자의 구매행위와 심리적 특성에 관한 연구

The purpose of this study is to clarify the tendency of impulse buying behavior and the consumer psychological characteristic factors which arouse impulse purchase and the difference in exploratory behavior according to the degree of impulse buying behaviors. For this purpose existing studies on impulse buying behaviors, consumer stimulation levels and exploratory behaviors were theoretically reviewed. And field survey was carried out for this study; 353 women impulse consumers were selected by convenience sampling method. The summarized main results of this study are as follows; 1) In relative perspectives, the consumers who has high degree of impulse buying behavior was favor of sensory buying behavior but, was lack of planned and rational buying behaviro. 2) The optimal stimulation level of high-impulse consumers is higher than that of low-impulse consumers. Especially, optimal stimulation level of impulse consumers is significantly higher than their life-style stimulation level. This means that impulse consumers are consider to a stimulation seeker. 3) The high-impulse consumers have high exploration through shopping, high information seeking behavior, high interpersonal communication level, high risk taking behavior and particulary high sensory exploratory patterns in purchase exploratory behaviors than that of low-impulse consumers.