Impulse Purchase in Virtual Environment and Price Sensitivity of Young Consumers: Results of Empirical Research

Abstract

Dynamic development of e-commerce and m-commerce makes the demand on knowledge about attitudes, preferences and buying behaviours on the Internet grow. It is especially interesting to recognise the models of behaviours referring to consumers and generation Y – the generation preceding the so-called digital natives, i.e. people born after 2000. Conducted research fit well into the studies on buyers’ behaviours in virtual environment and are important because of the fact that virtual environment creates determinants of making buying decisions that are different from the traditional ones. Therefore there is a need to verify the existing knowledge and define how much the mechanisms of actions of offline and online buyers are convergent. Growing commonness of smart phones and mobile applications raises the question of characteristics patterns of m-commerce buying process. One of the important area of these research is impulse buying. In this paper we try to answer the question about relationships between tendency to purchase on impulse, price sensitivity and perceived apps utility. The results of research conducted in Poland on the sample of 500 university students are analysed. They show that females are more price sensitive and more prone to buy impulsively than men who use apps to get more information and compare offers.