توجه بصری، خرید تکانشگری و رفتار مصرف کننده Visual attention, buying impulsiveness, and consumer behavior

1 Introduction Consumer decision-making styles are important in marketing and are used to develop consumer segments, attract customers, and enhance promotion effectiveness (Hausman 2000; Kalla and Arora 2011). Impulsive buying is one decision-making style that is characterized by a spontaneous, irresistible, powerful, and persistent desire to immediately purchase a product (Goldenson 1984; Rook and Fisher 1995; Wolman 1973). According to recent estimates, 68% of purchases are unplanned (Ståhlberg and Maila 2010) and impulsive buying contributes US$4 billion in annual sales to the US retail industry (Mogelonsky 1998). Additionally, past studies show impulsive buying is encouraged by point-of-sale information including attractive products/displays, pricing, novelty, promotions, and demonstrations (Applebaum 1951; Clover 1950; Piron 1991; Punj 2011; Rostocks 2003). However, studies have not addressed the relationship between buying impulsiveness, visual attention to point-of-sale information (i.e., signs, displays), and purchasing behavior. This is surprising considering point-of-sale information greatly influences impulsive buying (Liang and Meng 2008; Piron 1991; Rostocks 2003) but may be overlooked due to in-store visual clutter (Nordfält and Lange 2013; Pieters et al. 2010; Wedel and Pieters 2008). Therefore, a deeper understanding of how buying impulsiveness influences visual attention and purchasing behavior helps companies to effectively present relevant information to attract impulsive consumers and influence their decisions. The objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between individuals’ buying impulsiveness, visual attention to information (presented on signs and displays), and purchasing behavior. Eye-tracking technology (ETT) was used to measure participants’ eye movements when viewing example retail images on a computer screen (as described by Behe et al. 2013a, Rihn et al. 2016, and Khachatryan et al. 2017). Two experiments were conducted using ornamental plants. In both experiments, we investigate how consumers scoring high and low on the buying impulsiveness scale (BIS) vary their visual attention to point-of-sale signs and product displays. In the first experiment, we test how the presence of information signs and product displays impact impulsive consumers’ visual attention and purchasing behavior. In the second experiment, we validate and extend the first experiment by providing different information/ signs and increasing the price points.