With the increasing popularity and attention towards virtual stores, the present study examines how consumers' perception of spatial and human crowdedness affects consumers' behavioral and attitudinal intention to shop at the virtual store through positive emotional arousals. Using two between-subject experiments (crowdedness: low spatial x high; low human x high), 171 participants were randomly assigned to each condition. The results demonstrated highly crowded virtual space with more merchandise creates a consumer’s positive emotional arousal, which leads to a positive attitude and satisfaction. Further, consumers perceive positive social crowdedness (i.e., when other shoppers are present) develops excitement among consumers who may entice positive attitude and satisfaction. Findings suggest that retailers should develop stimulating virtual stores.
The online store attributes acts as an important trigger for e-impulse buying. Purchasing apparel products are often affected by irrational and emotional attraction making them one of the most frequent impulsively purchased items online. Triggered by ease access to products, easy purchasing, lack of social pressures and absence of delivery efforts, impulse buying occurs in approximately forty percent of all online expenditures. Impulse buying occurs when consumers experience an urge to buy a product, without thoughtful consideration why and for what reason one needs the product. However, few efforts have been made to identify the relationship among-store services attributes, emotions, browsing, urges to buy, and e-impulse buying of apparel products. The objectives of this study was to estimate a path model analysis for causative relationship among e-store service attributes, emotions, browsing, urges to buy, and e-impulse of apparel products.
The instrument was developed based on the previous literatures (Park, et al., 2012; Verhagen & Dolen, 2011; Yang & Peterson, 2004)and each item was measured by five-point Liker type scales. A total of 250 data were collected during a regularly scheduled class in universities. More than half of the respondents (65.5%) were 18 to 21 years old. Nearly 65.5 percent of the subjects were women, and more than half of the respondents (63.8%) were below the sophomore. The path model analysis was conducted by AMOS 18.0 using a correlation matrix with maximum likelihood approach. An exploratory factor analysis revealed three types of e-store service attributes: Accuracy, Reliability, and Ease of use. The path model, which was estimated to examine causal relationships among variables (i.e. three types of e-store service attributes, emotions, browsing, urges to buy, and e-impulse buying), was relatively acceptable (chi-square value = 34.40, df = 13, p = .001; GFI = .98, AGFI = .93, RMR = .03). Cronbach's alphas were ranged between .83 and .87.
This result suggests that emotions (e.g., positive and negative), browsing and urges to buy perceived by shoppers play important roles as mediators of the e-impulse buying of apparel products. Especially, the urge to buy apparel products was the most important mediator to trigger e-impulse buying. The consumers perceived the accuracy and reliability of e-store attributes were the more perceiving the urges to buy apparel products through the more positive emotions and then the more browsing at e-store. Also, the more ease to use of e-store perceived the more urges to buy apparel products. The more perceiving urges to buy at e-store were the more e-impulse buying of apparel products. This study provides retail managerial implications for stimulating e-shoppers' impulse buying of apparel products.
The aims of this study were to identify the dimensions of both store and PB apparel product attributes at large discount stores, and to empirically examine the effects of each dimension of store and PB apparel product attributes on satisfaction with PB apparel products and on repurchase intension. Questionnaires were given to 264 large discount store customers, who have experienced buying PB apparel products at large discount stores. The results were as follows. First, purchased PB items and image, improvement of PB apparel products showed differences by gender. Second, the dimensions for store attributes were categorized as convenient of shopping environment, product quality, customer service, advertising reach, convenient location, and reasonable prices. The PB apparel product attributes were categorized as material handling management, quality, fashion ability, and brand power. Third, generally, both store and PB apparel product attributes at large discount stores are significantly related to PB apparel satisfaction and repurchase intention. PB satisfaction and repurchase intention of males were partly affected by store attributes and PB apparel product attributes. PB satisfaction and repurchasing intention of females, however, were partly affected by only PB apparel product attributes, not store attributes.