Evoking online consumer impulse buying through virtual layout schemes

Abstract

Drawing upon the ‘stimulus-organism-response’ framework, this paper examines how the ease of navigation (EON) of a website affects consumers' online impulse buying. We also compared the effects of various virtual layouts (i.e. grid, freeform, racetrack, and mix grid–freeform) on consumers' perceptions of EON, emotional responses, and the urge to buy impulsively. Based on questionnaire responses from 216 participants in a stratified survey, we found that EON significantly influences consumers' emotional responses, pleasantness, and arousal, which subsequently affects their urge to buy impulsively. We also found that compared with the other three layouts, manifestations of navigability, freeform is the easiest to navigate, and is able to elicit the highest level of pleasantness and the strongest urge to buy impulsively. The findings of this study provide important implications for impulse buying research and practice.

Keywords:

• impulse buying
• ease of navigation
• virtual layout design
• stimulus-organism-response model

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Professor Brian Bailey and anonymous reviewers for making the publication of this paper possible.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

This research was partially funded by the National Science Council, Taiwan, R.O.C., under contract number [NSC 101-2410-H-031-009-MY2].

Notes

1. King crab and lobster are rare and expensive in Greater China.