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IMPULSE BUYING AND POST-

PURCHASE REGRET: A STUDY OF
SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR FOR THE
PURCHASE OF GROCERY
PRODUCTS
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International Journal of Management (IJM)
Volume 11, Issue 12, December 2020, pp. 614-624. Article ID: IJM_11_12_057
Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijm/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=11&IType=12
Journal Impact Factor (2020): 10.1471 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com
ISSN Print: 0976-6502 and ISSN Online: 0976-6510
DOI: 10.34218/IJM.11.12.2020.057

© IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed

IMPULSE BUYING AND POST-PURCHASE

REGRET: A STUDY OF SHOPPING
BEHAVIOUR FOR THE PURCHASE OF
GROCERY PRODUCTS
Dr. Abhishek Kumar
Associate Professor, School of Management, Campus 7
KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

Dr. Sumana Chaudhuri

Postdoctoral Fellow of Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR),
School of Management, Campus 7,
KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

Dr. Aparna Bhardwaj

Postdoctoral Fellow, Magadh University, Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India

Pallavi Mishra
Ph.D Scholar, School of Management, Campus 7
KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

ABSTRACT
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to study the relationship between impulse
buying and post-purchase regret in the context of grocery products which requires low
involvement.
Design / Methodology/ Approach – Exploratory analysis using quantitative
approach is employed. The sample is drawn from the individuals who visited Reliance
Fresh and Big Baazar (two important retail chains in India). The instrument measures
the constructs of post-purchase regret and the impulse buying. As grocery shopping
differs from the other types of shopping, some particular variations are explored.
Findings – The hypothesis tested shows that there is a positive relationship
between post-purchase regret and impulse purchase. It also shows that post-purchase
regret changes with the change in income. As per theory, it is expected that those
individuals who are more impulsive will experience greater post-purchase regret after
impulse purchase than the individuals who are less impulsive.
Although the correlation coefficient between impulse buying and post-purchase
regret (0.150) is significant, the magnitude is very less. The square of correlation

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 Abhishek Kumar, Sumana Chaudhuri, Aparna Bhardwaj and Pallavi Mishra

coefficient will be less than 0.5 which indicates a weak relationship between the two.
Hence this relationship may be taken as weak superseding significant correlation.
Originality / Value – Grocery shopping will help us in understanding the causes
and how the consumption behaviour of the population changes. This article shows that
we cannot generalize consumer behaviour (without including the factors in that
context) because decision making and the buying behaviour gets limited. This will
show directions to make strategies for low involvement products. Also very few studies
have shown how the post-purchase regret changes with the change in demographics
(gender and income).
Paper Type – Research Paper
Key words Impulse Buying, Post-purchase Regret, Grocery, Cognitive Dissonance.
Cite this Article: Abhishek Kumar, Sumana Chaudhuri, Aparna Bhardwaj and Pallavi
Mishra, Emotional Intelligence and its Impact on Team Building through Mediation of
Leadership Effectiveness, International Journal of Management, 11(12), 2020, pp 614-
624.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=11&IType=12

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Shopping Behaviour
Today the customers shop not only to fulfill their physical needs but for many other reasons.
They shop to pamper themselves, gratify their psychological needs, make themselves feel
good, add enthusiasm to their life, shows off their persona and boosts their self esteem etc
(Pooler, 2003). More shopping decisions are made in the location of the store (Underhill,
2000). The shopping mall is a meeting place for the youth and the seniors (Graham, 1988).
Shopping is an avenue where people assert themselves. Customers view that shopping is a
way to escape from their problems, to relieve the stress and reduce their negative mood.
A lot of academic attention has been given to the shopping related issues. Woodruffe -
Burton, Eccles and Elliott (2002) claim that shopping theory exists in the literature on
consumer behaviour and its strands should be splitted. Customers want the shopping
experience to be smooth. Shopping is how the customers perceive the buying process with
respect to the availableness, capability and the cordiality of the store (Wagner, 2007).
According to Wagner (2007) the customers also rate the shopping experiences based on
enjoyment, worth and superiority. The time spent in going to the store is balanced with the
cost of the storage and the other costs of shopping that is not related to time in order to
minimize their overall costs (Umesh, Pettit & Bozman, 1989). It has been seen that those
retail outlets that are close to the residence of the customers provide the greatest shopping
value for buying groceries and so the increase in the price of the gasoline favours the local
retailers (Amanor – Boadu, 2009). The quality, attractiveness and security of the shopping
atmosphere are important in alluring the shoppers. If the shopping environment is not safe
then the shoppers will spend less time in buying that result in reduced expenses, negative
word of mouth and lack of interest to go back to the store again. Hui, Bradlow and Fader
(2009) verified the accepted perception that customers get more focused when they spend
more time in a buying atmosphere. One procurement leads to another procurement and this is
called „„the shopping momentum‟‟ which customers are not aware of (Dhar, Huber & Khan,
2007).
Shopping is an essential component of leisure and has 4 characteristics linked to leisure
(Jackson, 1991) - independence (shopping as buying), shopping for leisure (the buying of
goods for use in a later leisure time), shopping and leisure (when shops and leisure amenities

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 Impulse Buying and Post-Purchase Regret: A Study of Shopping Behaviour for the Purchase of
Grocery Products

are mixed in a single place) and shopping as leisure (when shopping begins to take on the
feature of leisure as an experience). Grocery shopping is a mixture of shopping as leisure and
independence. A buying experience can provide value to the customers by either fulfilling its
proposed objectives (e.g. buying a gift for someone you love) or by providing pleasure and/or
amusement (Babin, Dardin & Griffin, 1994).

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Impulse Buying
Iyer (1989) claimed that impulse buying is a fact of life, since more or less all customers have
made an unplanned purchase at least once in their life time while shopping. It is the innermost
subject matter of the tale of Adam and Eve (Ainslee, 1975) and the central point of allegory
such as the “Grasshopper and the Ants”. Impulse buying behaviour has been the target of
theoretical debate for many years. Therefore, it is not surprising that researchers in consumer
behaviour and retailing are investigating this topic for more than fifty years (Clover, 1950;
West, 1951). In marketing management, this kind of behaviour is a mystery and a divergence
from the usual which explains why so many diverse products are sold each year (Weinberg &
Gottwald, 1982). Marketers have understood the influence of impulse buying which is a
fundamental point in many activities related to buying.
Consumption patterns that violates the rationality principles of homo oeconomicus is a
persistent area of concern in many developed countries and is so a subject of research. Homo
economicus purchases products after evaluating the costs and the benefits but many
individuals are not rational when they buy. The buying behaviour of the consumer rarely
sticks to the principles of economic theory. The customers are driven by want, mood or
feeling which is natural (Etzioni, 1986). Customers buy products for various purposes (other
than because these are essential) such as to alleviate an unhappy mood, to express an identity
or to just have fun. This kind of non-rational buying style is known as impulse buying (Han et
al., 1991).

2.2. Post-Purchase Regret

In a contemporary market where many brands exist the customers‟ get confused when
deciding what to buy (Simpson, Siguaw & Cadogan, 2008). In order to achieve the maximum
level of satisfaction and satisfy their needs, the customers use their limited resources very
wisely. Greater involvement by the customers is necessary in their decision making process so
that they buy the best alternative (Zeelenberg & Pieters, 2007). Even though the customers
may try to justify their buying decision, they may have the doubt as to what extent their
decisions are correct. The customers evaluate the goods they buy with the goods they did not
buy (Loomers & Sugden, 1982; Boles & Messick, 1995; Shankar, Cherrier & Canniford,
2006). Such comparisons often result in a state of grief and psychological pain known as post-
purchase regret or cognitive dissonance. When the customers perceive that their buying
decisions was wrong, they regret (Landman, 1987; Heitmann, Lehmann & Herrmann, 2007)
but it is not necessary that all purchases will lead to regret (Sweeney, Hausknecht & Souter,
2000). The gap between the expected performance of a product and its actual performance
against the exchange of a certain amount of money creates post-purchase regret. Often the
post-purchase phase of impulse buying are related to return of goods, financial issues,
frustration, dissatisfaction with the goods purchased, guilt and objections of other individuals
to such purchases.
The regret is one of the negative feeling which the individual customers do experience
(Tsiros & Mittal, 2000). The term „regret‟ is viewed as the intervening factor between the
process of the purchase and the occurrence of the repurchase (Simonson, 1992; Taylor, 1997;

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 Abhishek Kumar, Sumana Chaudhuri, Aparna Bhardwaj and Pallavi Mishra

Tsiros & Mittal, 2000). It occurs by the comparison between choosing one option against the
ones left out during the process which is being expressed as the very opposite of joy or delight
(Landman & Manis, 1992). Therefore it is the feeling of uncomfortableness by not choosing
the right one for the individual at the time and the result is being compared to the imaginative
situation where the individual had chosen the right one for the given situation (Tsiros &
Mittal, 2000). Typical examples would be the feelings of „If I had collected more information
about the product I would've probably purchased the better brand‟ or „If I would've purchased
the product a week later when the big sales promotion have started, I would purchased the
product at much better price.‟ Tsiros and Mittal (2000) suggested that the comparison
between the chosen option and unchosen one will have an effect on the customer behaviour.
The customers who experienced regret will be connected with the behaviour of „switching the
brand‟. The post-purchase behaviour of the customer will have an influence on the long term
business activities.
The literature on consumer behaviour shows that post-purchase regret occurs with low
customer satisfaction (Inman, Dyer & Jia, 1997; Taylor & Schneider, 1998). Low satisfaction
then leads to no repurchase intention (Tsiros & Mittal, 2000), a tendency to shift to alternative
brands (Zeelenberg & Pieters, 1999; Bui, Krishen & Bates, 2011; Garcia & Perez, 2011) and
negative word of mouth about the brand (Garcia & Perez, 2011). So, knowing the causes that
lead the customers to regret after making a purchase is important to the marketers.
As the effect of post-purchase regret is negative for both the customer and the marketers,
the marketers should know the factors that are related to the feelings of post-purchase regret
on the customer and try to lessen their psychological sufferings of sorrow and pain. The
marketers should also try to strengthen the position of their brands and increase the customer
loyalty. If the marketers do not try to reduce the post-purchase regret of their brands then their
customers will shift to their competitors. In other words, at the stage of post-purchase regret,
the efforts that are needed to convert the loyal customers of their competitors to their own
brands are much less (George & Vaoyuneyong, 2010).
There is a lot of research on regret in decision making (Starmer & Sugden, 1998) but the
amount of empirical research on the extent of regret in impulse buying is few. One study
found that 80% of the customers reported negative consequences (which probably includes
but is not limited to regret) from their purchases (Rook, 1987), although this depends on the
situation (Rook & Fisher, 1995).

2.3. The Relationship between Impulse Buying and Post-Purchase Regret

After impulse buying there are two kinds of evaluations - satisfaction and regret (Gardner &
Rook, 1998; Yang, 2006). Customers evaluate impulse buying both positively and negatively
(Gardner & Rook, 1998; Yang, 2006). These feelings may differ according to the different
individuals and situations. Rook (1987) indicated that majority people would feel negative
(including the financial risk, guilt etc.) after they had bought impulsively. Impulse buying
would result in dissatisfaction (Piron, 1991; Chen, 2005) and regret (Piron, 1991). The survey
conducted by Liang (2007) showed that 62.2% of the customers were dissatisfied. The higher
the level of impulse buying, the higher the level of regret and the lower the level satisfaction
incurred (Lin, Chuang & Lai, 2005). Most of the unplanned buying leads to regret and anger
(Wood, 1998). Researchers (Zhang, 1998; Wu, 2008) have demonstrated that impulse buying
is related to regret towards time, place and product. According to Sweeney, Hausknecht and
Souter (2000), the threshold for dissonance differs from person to person and it is not
necessary that all purchases would lead to cognitive dissonance. As impulse buying takes
place because of the low involvement of the customer in the buying decision it leads to post-
purchase regret (Hoch & Loewentein, 1991). On the other hand, George and Yaoyuneyong

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 Impulse Buying and Post-Purchase Regret: A Study of Shopping Behaviour for the Purchase of
Grocery Products

(2010) have proved that there is an inverse relationship between impulsive buying and post-
purchase regret where the impulsive buyers were less regretful compared to planned buyers.
The reason is that the customers who are not used to unplanned buying feels more sorry than a
customer who is accustomed to this type of behaviour.
There are two kinds of cognitive dissonance after impulse buying. The first is to compare
the actual performance of the purchased product with the expected performance of the product
before purchasing. Customers often overestimate the performance of the product before
buying it and do not get the expected results after buying or consuming it. This will result in
dissatisfaction or regret. The second is derived from comparing different products. The
customers will compare the actual performance of the purchased product with the expected
performance of the product which had been considered before purchasing and has been
forgone. The customer‟s liking of the product is inconsistent during the pre-purchase and
post-purchase (Hoch & Loewenstein, 1991). They like the product before buying but dislike it
after buying. The customers buy the products in a short time without assessing it in detail.
This decision is against the personal best judgment. Thus the customers regret when they find
that the alternative forgone (because of impulse and careless assessment) is better than the
selected one after the purchase.

3. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
 To find out the nature of relationship between impulse buying and post-purchase
regret.
 The impact of demographics (gender and income) on post-purchase regret.

4. DATA AND METHODOLOGY

The respondents are the grocery shoppers (26 and above) in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack (the
two major cities of Odisha). Two leading Indian supermarket chains (Big Bazaar and Reliance
Fresh) gave us consent to conduct our study in its various outlets in the diverse shopping
locations within Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, so that there is a fair representation of the
different segments of customers. These respondents regularly purchased grocery items for
their personal or family use. Those who did not buy anything were screened out. They were
told to place themselves in the service setting and look back into the store so that they could
answer the questions properly. In this study, 402 customers took part. The sample has a little
domination of male shoppers (52.5%) and 47.5% of the respondents were between 26 and 35
years.
In this research the validity of the questionnaire was checked by carrying out content
validity which is subjective. Here the experts give their opinion on how appropriate the
measurement is or whether the measuring device (questionnaire) includes all the meanings
that should be included in the variable that is being measured.

5. MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
Impulse Buying
In this study, impulse buying was measured using 9 items adopted from Rook and Fisher
(1995). Item numbers IB1 to IB9 of the questionnaire measure impulse buying. It has a
reliability of 0.818.

Post-Purchase Regret
A 4 item scale was adopted from Bui, Krishen and Bates (2011). Item numbers PPR1 to PPR4
of the questionnaire measured post-purchase regret. It has a reliability of 0.326.

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 Abhishek Kumar, Sumana Chaudhuri, Aparna Bhardwaj and Pallavi Mishra

6. DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Research Objective 1 - To find out the nature of relationship between impulse buying and
post-purchase regret
H1. Impulse buying has a significant positive association with post-purchase regret.

Table 1 Pearson Correlation between Impulse Buying and Post-purchase Regret

Impulse Post-purchase
Buying Regret
Pearson Correlation 1 0.150‫٭٭‬
Post-purchase
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.003
Regret
N 402 402
Pearson Correlation
0.150‫٭٭‬ 1
Impulse Buying
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.003
N 402 402

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)

Source: Computed
The results (Table 1) show that impulse buying has a positive and significant correlation
with post-purchase regret (0.150) at 5% level and Df = 401 indicating that an increase in
impulse buying will increase post-purchase regret. Hence, the hypothesis is accepted. As per
theory, it is expected that those individuals who are more impulsive will experience greater
post-purchase regret after impulse purchase than the individuals who are less impulsive.
This result can be supported by the findings of Hoch and Loewentein (1991) and Piron
(1991) who found a positive effect of impulse buying on post-purchase regret. The customers
are in a habit of buying and they are not loyal to any brand of grocery products. They also buy
the private label brands of the store because they think that these brands are the same as the
manufacturer‟s brands. They are motivated to buy the product because of the value for
money. They do not think that the price indicates quality. They consider that the
manufacturer‟s products have a high price because the packaging is expensive and the brand
is popular. The customers are very sensitive to the sales promotions and they compare the
sales promotions in different stores in their locality. These confirm the incidence of post-
purchase regret in consuming the products.
Although the correlation coefficient between impulse buying and post-purchase regret
(0.150) is significant, the magnitude is very less. The square of correlation coefficient will be
less than 0.5 which indicates a weak relationship between the two. Hence this relationship
may be taken as weak superseding significant correlation. An explanation for the above could
be that grocery products are low cost products and the grocery shoppers are not excited and
do not seek any newness, originality or freshness because grocery shopping is a continuous
and recurring activity (Rohm & Swaminathan, 2004; Smith & Carsky, 1996). So the post-
purchase regret is also very less.
Research Objective 2 – The impact of demographics (gender and income) on post-purchase
regret
H2. Impulse buying will be associated more with females‟ post-purchase regret than males.

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 Impulse Buying and Post-Purchase Regret: A Study of Shopping Behaviour for the Purchase of
Grocery Products

Table 2 Independent Sample t-test on the Opinion of the Male and the Female Respondents towards
Impulse Buying
Gender N Mean Std. Std. t-test Sig.
Deviation Error (2-
Mean tailed)
Post- Male 211 2.85 0.60 0.041
purchase Female 191 2.90 0.61 0.044 0.83 0.40 NS
Regret

N.B: NS - Not significant at the 5% level (P > 0.05) for Df = 400

Source: Computed
The results (Table 2) show that there is no difference between the male and female
customers in the case of post-purchase regret. Hence, the hypothesis is rejected.
Past research suggest that have male customers have more post-purchase regret than their
female counterpart after impulse buying (Saleh, 2012). Another study shows that females are
more likely to exhibit post-purchase regret than males after buying impulsively (Coley &
Burgess, 2003). Even though many previous studies suggest that gender is an important
explanatory factor of post-purchase regret, the above results do not support that.
H3. Impulse buying will be positively associated more with low-income consumers‟ post-
purchase regret, than both middle income consumers and high income consumers.

Table 3 ANOVA on the Opinion of the Respondents towards Impulse Buying Due to Income Group
Sum of Df Mean F Sig
Squares Square
Post- Between Income Groups 7.66 4 1.91
purchase Within Income Groups 141.58 397 0.35 5.37 0.00‫٭‬
Regret Total 149.25 401
Notes: *Significant at the 5% level (P < 0.05)
Source: Computed
The result (Table 3) indicates that different opinions from various income groups towards
post-purchase regret may be obtained and therefore income has a role to play in the post-
purchase regret. Thus the hypothesis is accepted.
For the case of income, the Duncan table (post hoc test) shows that the respondents having
income between 60,001 – 70,000 have a similar kind of opinion and those having income
above 70,000 have another kind of opinion and those having income between 30,000 – 60,000
have another kind of opinion.
Past research confirms that cognitive dissonance take place for the low income customers
of grocery products because they are more sensitive to the sales promotions than the high
income customers (Gbadamosi, 2009). The results are supported by other studies like Saleh
(2012) who found that post-purchase regret takes place with customers with lower income
compared to the middle and higher income.

7. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Certain limitations exist for this work. They are:-
 It could be possible that customers were incapable or reluctant to express their buying
intentions accurately (Kollat & Willett, 1967).

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 Abhishek Kumar, Sumana Chaudhuri, Aparna Bhardwaj and Pallavi Mishra

 The study is limited to the consumers of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The results cannot
be generalized to the customers in the other parts of the country with dissimilar
economic, social and cultural circumstances.

8. SCOPE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

 There is a relation between product involvement and impulse purchase. Grocery is a
low involvement product. Future research can investigate high involvement products.
Product categories like home furnishings, apparel, electronics and cosmetics could
also be studied. Exploring the above model on specific product categories may unveil
novel dimensions.
 Researchers can also study the behaviour after the consumption such as the intention
to buy repeatedly, alteration in the approach towards the brand and complaining
behaviour. We think that different faces of the post-purchase regret will have different
impact on these after purchase consumption behaviour variables.

9. CONCLUSION
The manufacturers can reduce the post-purchase regret in two ways. One way is to reduce the
expectations of the customers. When the manufacturers want to attract the customers to buy
impulsively they should make certain that the quality of the products is good and that the
product is advertised sensibly. The second way is to increase the actual performance of the
product. The retailers can reduce post-purchase regret in two ways. One way is to reduce the
effect of impulse buying on post-purchase regret. So the retailers should target only those
segments who have a strong buying power or those who evaluate impulse buying in a positive
manner (such as young people). The retailers can strengthen the confidence of the customers
when they buy by saying them that this moment and this place is the best for their buying so
that the customers will not regret.
The business houses should understand why the customers regret after buying because
they are always trying to find out ways so that the negative experiences that are faced by the
customers can be reduced. If the business houses are aware of the different types of post-
purchase regret then they can help the individuals to attain a better consumption experience.
For example, if the business houses know that their customers are regretting due to the
alternatives that they have not selected then they can improve their product and make it more
tempting to the customers over the other options (like better features, cheaper prices). Again if
the business houses know that their customers are regretting due to the change in significance,
then they can find out ways to add more significance to the product (like market numerous
uses of the product, add more value to the product and more liberal return policies). Again, if
the business houses know that their customers are regretting due to the process (under
consideration and over consideration), then with the help of good customer service
representatives they can help the customers in deciding and thus provide easy access to
information and thus guide them along the way. In short, if the business houses know why
their customers are regretting then they can put more emphasis to reduce that particular aspect
of regret.
Those customers whose income is less will have to manage their expenses rationally. If
they plan their expenses then they will only buy those products that they need. So customers
should try to get more involved when buying. They should prepare a list of the products that
they need and discuss it with their family before going to the store so that their chance of
buying unplanned goods and thus post-purchase regret reduces.

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 Impulse Buying and Post-Purchase Regret: A Study of Shopping Behaviour for the Purchase of
Grocery Products

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) for their financial
support for the research, authorship and publication of this article.

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APPENDIX
Post- Purchase Regret
Variable Question 1 (Strongly 2 3 4 5
disagree) (Disagree) (Neither (Agree) (Strongly
agree nor Agree)
disagree)
PPR1 I often feel anxiety after buying goods I have not planned before
entering the store.
PPR2 I often feel that my unplanned purchases have little benefits.
PPR3 I often try to convince myself that the goods I have bought
impulsively may benefit later on.
PPR4 My planned purchases make me more satisfied than unplanned
purchases.

Impulse Buying
Variable Question 1 (Strongly 2 3 (Neither 4 5
disagree) (Disagree) agree nor (Agree) (Strongly
disagree) Agree)
IB1 When I go to the store I buy a lot of goods I did not plan to buy in
advance.
IB2 When I see goods in the store, I buy immediately without thinking
if I really need or not.
IB3 When I hesitate to buy some goods inside the store, I say to myself
buy now and think later.
IB4 Sometimes I feel that I buy some goods impulsively.
IB5 Sometimes I feel a lack of interest of some goods that I bought.
IB6 I often buy some goods I do not really need.
IB7 I usually buy things I do not buy ordinarily.
IB8 I often buy goods and wonder why I bought them.
IB9 I often buy goods and do not use them at all.

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