Impact of Store Environment on Impulse Buying (A case of
International Modern Trade Retailers in Karachi)
Hassaan Ahmed
Assistant Professor, Hamdard Institute of Management
Sciences, Karachi
Hadiqa Riaz
Department of Commerce, Benazir Bhutto Shaheed
University, Karachi
Abstract
Retail landscape in Pakistan has evolved rapidly giving
rise to contemporary shopping practices in the country.
The evolution in industry has attracted investment from
both international and national retail chains giving
rise to stiff competition. Hence, wining on customers
and market share heavily relied on providing unique
customer experience by enhancing store environment.
Therefore, heavy investments are laid in nurturing
pleasant store environment uplifting customer
satisfaction and loyalty in return that helps increase
store profitability. Moreover, significance to customer
value proposition, convenience and discounted pricing
strategy remained core to retailing dynamics in the
country. Hence, research purpose instilled in
determining the impact store environment have in
inducing impulse buying behavior of the shoppers in the
international modern trade stores in Karachi. This study
used survey questionnaire to tap the response of the
shoppers to administer relationship between independent
variables that include music, light, layout and
employees which are also referred as the determinants of
in-store environment with impulse buying behavior being
dependent variable of the study. The statistical tools
adopted involved multiple regression analysis that
helped test the hypothesis and the outcomes retrieved
depicts that independent variables include music and
layout has significant positive impact on the impulsive
buying patterns. The managerial implications of our
research recommended that the decision makers of the
stores need to spend and manage the in-store
determinants in a very careful manner in order to retain
and welcome maximum number of shoppers which eventually
helps them to increase their sales volume and
profitability.
Keywords: store environment, impulse buying behavior, music, light, layout and employee.
