Increasing rates of impulsive online shopping on tourism websites

• Published in: Internet research 2019-09, Vol.29 (4), p.900-920
• Main Authors: Chen, Chun-Der, Ku, Edward C.S, Yeh, Chien Chi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Behavior; Buying; Consumption; Customer services; Customers; Electronic commerce; Empirical equations; Environment; Hypotheses; Hypothesis testing; Impulse buying; Influence; Information Seeking; Initiators; Interpersonal Relationship; Literature Reviews; Messages; Mobile commerce; Navigation systems; Privacy; Purchasing; Research Design; Self Management; Shopping; Structural Equation Models; Television Viewing; Tourism; Travel; User needs; User Needs (Information); Web site design; Websites
• ISSN: 1066-2243; 2054-5657
• DOI: 10.1108/INTR-03-2017-0102

Purpose Customers who engage in impulsive online shopping make immediate, unplanned and ill-thought-out purchases online. The purpose of this paper is to present a model to illustrate how website quality (moderated by hedonic value) influences impulsive shopping behaviors in the context of online tourism. Design/methodology/approach The model and hypotheses presented here were tested by structural equation modeling. Empirical data were collected by conducting a questionnaire survey, in total, 3,000 invitation messages were mailed to the members of the two travel communities (1,500 invitation messages for each one), of which, 402 were returned completed (a return rate of 13.4 percent). Findings Visually appealing websites are more likely to attract customer attention and illicit pleasurable emotional responses. In addition, effective tourism websites also maintain good service quality and ensure accuracy of information. Finally, good functional benefits can help customers reduce the time and effort spent searching for a specific service and can also serve as a stimulus triggering impulse buying. Research limitations/implications This study used a reliable multidimensional measure of factors that influence the relational benefit of initiators and buyers to help elucidate which factors encourage impulsive online shopping. From a theoretical perspective, the authors determined that website quality is positively associated with functional benefits, and thereby influences impulsive shopping behaviors; in addition, the functional benefits conferred by websites have a strong and direct influence on impulsive shopping behavior. However, this effect is moderated by hedonic value. Practical implications Online tourism retailers should continually seek to enhance this function because it is the primary motivation behind customer use of online shopping websites. Effective tourism websites also maintain good service quality and ensure accuracy of information. Finally, navigation systems should be designed to meet the needs of new users, for example by offering help pages that address a variety of topics. Therefore, tourism websites should feature an adequate number of images, a colorful design, and well-described services and products. Originality/value In recent years, the popularity of online shopping websites has continued to rise. In seeking to elucidate impulsive online shopping behaviors, this study focused on online-to-offline applications, the uses-and-gratifica