International Journal of Management Sciences Vol. 2, No. 7, 2014, 296-314

Impulsive Buying Behaviour of Women in Apparel industry in Pakistan Faiza Amir1, Syed Fijaj Zahur2, Ather Nadeem Qureshi3, Syed Junaid Akbar4, Muhammad Fuzael Amin5 Abstract Impulsive behaviour means acting on instinct, this study is to conclude the behavioural impulsivity of women in particular; this study was specifically conducted to find out the relation, and the effect of factors that may influence the impulsive buying behaviour of females in the apparel industry. This study aims to provide an insight on the impulsive buying behaviour of women, in general, in the apparel industry, specifically, and what factors trigger this impulsive buying behaviour. Through previous researches, variables were identified and operationalized in this study. The identified variables were the effect of TV/Media, self-esteem, impulsivity, anxiety and social desirability. This study is quantitative in nature, measuring the cause and effect of the selected variables on the impulsive buying behaviour of women. Primary research was conducted through the use of a verified questionnaire, which was adapted and developed. This research is cross sectional. The results of this research showed that the impulsive buying behaviour of Pakistani women is greatly influenced by social desirability, and a positive relationship was found with all the other variables (impulsivity, TV/Media, self-esteem, anxiety), but the effect of these variables was moderate. This research aims to help the marketing departments of the apparel industry in their marketing campaigns and targeting the Pakistani women efficiently. Key words: Anxiety, social desirability, impulsivity, self-esteem, TV/Media 1. Introduction Since the dawn of mankind a will to get more has been observed. In prehistoric times, humans fulfilled this need through Barter trade, which later with the evolution of human rationality transformed into commodity money and now fiat money. Females purchasing behaviour has always been different to men’s purchasing behaviour; they would usually purchase things that will be effecting them directly, while men purchasing has been observed to be effecting him and others living within his surroundings. The debate, that who controls the society, man or woman, is something that is very hard to determine. A variable that can help in determining who controls is the purchase decision. In context to Pakistan, it is very difficult to determine due to cultural imbalances and differences existing among different areas of the country. 1

Faculty of Management Sciences, Islamabad Campus Pakistan, 2 Faculty of Management Sciences, Islamabad Campus Pakistan, 3 Faculty of Management Sciences, Islamabad Campus Pakistan, 4 Faculty of Management Sciences, Islamabad Campus Pakistan, 5 Faculty of Management Sciences, Islamabad Campus Pakistan,

Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST)

© 2014 Research Academy of Social Sciences http://www.rassweb.com

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International Journal of Management Sciences Impulsive behaviour means acting on instinct, and the resolution of this study is to conclude the behavioural impulsivity of women in particular, specifically in the apparel section, what the factors that may affect the impulsive behaviour are and how they affect the behaviour, this is what is hoped to be the conclusion at the end of this research. Masculinity is usually related with audacity, autonomy, and reasonableness, while femininity is allied with jointly sustaining aspects such as politeness, empathy, responsibility and helpfulness. According to (Joan & Durairaj, 1991)females often involve themselves in a more thorough analysis of message content and display a greater sensitivity to the details of information when making judgments. In this paper, it is examined, how the women purchase behaviour is affected by impulse stimuli especially in purchasing of clothes. Buying Behaviour Consumer behaviour is defined as the behaviour that consumers display in looking for purchasing, consuming, assessing and disposing of products and services that they assume will fulfil their need. It mainly emphasizes on how individuals make choices to expend their available resources (time, money, effort) on consumption related items. (Leon G. Schiffman, 2003). As the resources are scarce the buyer attempts to utilize the available resources rationally in order to satisfy the particular needs. It is human nature to want more then already possessed, and hence needs other than necessities are created. Simplifying, a consumer purchase has 5 stages; Activation, it is the awareness of the need to be met. Nomination, when the evaluation of the various choices is selected. Investigation and Decision, when before actually buying the product the in-depth learning and evaluating is conducted. Retention, using the product/service and deciding upon repeat purchases. Recommendation, the last stage in which referring about or warning against the product/service is made - The awareness there's a need to be met. Impulsive Buying Behaviour Impulse buying is elaborated as an immediate, spontaneous, purchase without any intention of shopping according to Kim(2003). The buying impulse behaviour transpires after undergoing an urge to purchase and tend to be unprompted without any consideration. Internal and/or external factors play an imperative role in the impulse buying since the buyer is not looking for certain product and have a pre plan to any purchases. In a study found out by Coley (2002) that planned buying involves a time consuming search for information that is followed by coherent decision making. Unplanned buying conversely requires the purchases to be made without such pre planning and contain impulse buying. According toKarbasivar & Yarahmadi (2011) Impulse buying means when a purchase is made without any assessment of the product, that is the buyer is indifferent to the fact that he really needs the product or not it is just purchased on urge to buy rather than satisfying the need. Julie Z Sneath (2009)explained, impulse purchasing is considered to be emotional in nature its definition is derived as a sudden, unplanned or unstructured purchase decision making when compared to more thoughtful decision making processes it is more of expressive of emotions. It is also true that although it is emotion related but there are indications of a thinking process behind all the spontaneity, individuals are actually considering the short term benefits rather than long term consequences and for some the satisfaction of hedonic goals are met acting on impulse and thus it is evident that not all incentive seekers nor all the rewards are impulsive in nature. Impulsive buying is observed in all fields of purchase. For example, while purchasing music from a store, some artist or albums are usually in mind, but listening to the latest hits or the old classics triggers an impulse that helps make the purchase decision, and hence impulsive buying takes place. Another example is when going to a fast food, the consumer might or might not have a set target of what to eat, but the ambiance, 297

F.A. Amir et al. the smell and the pictures of food attack the conscious and the subconscious of the consumer, rendering the impulsive behaviour. General observation regarding apparel is quite similar. (Menon, 2006) Demographic Significance Pakistan has a very diverse culture. In some places, where education is lacking and so is development, women are rarely seen outside their house and are rarely seen shopping, but in the educated and developed areas, the market places are usually crowded with women compared to men. In Pakistan, it is observed that when it comes to buying apparel and clothing, women do the shopping, whether it is for the male members of the family or female members of the family. Casual observation shows that women end up purchasing more apparel items than actually intended. As mentioned previously, the male and the female purchasing behaviour and patterns differ greatly. Men tend to be in charge of buying or buying decision of expensive goods and women shop for small items. About more than half of the family’s purchase, the females however make decisions. Shopping is also becoming a habit for women therefore; it can easily be said that women tend to have more chances of buying on impulse as they are more exposed to impulse stimuli than men are. According to Maria Holmlund, age is considered an important factor in fashion clothing, research shows that women think of themselves as innovators in fashion and the level of novelty is actually associated with their age. It is also suggested by Garold Lantz (2003) that younger individuals have more impulsivity as compared to older individuals do, it is believed that young consumers will experience a strong urge to buy thing instinctively when exposed to relevant objects on the other hand older consumers will be less impulsive in their purchases. Pakistan comprises of four main income segments; the upper class (elite), the upper middle class, the lower middle class, and the lower class. Upper class and upper middle class purchasing behaviour are altogether different from the lower classes. The purchasing behaviour of the educated and the uneducated differs greatly. The educated people tend to show more rational purchasing behaviour while the uneducated people do not. Their tastes vary largely. Objectives The objective of the study is to identify and investigate the different factors which affect the impulsive buying behaviour of women in general and of the apparel industry in particular. The specific objective of the study is, then to further examine the strength, direction and magnitude of these effects on the buying behaviour of women in the Pakistani society. 2. Literature Review In the present market place unplanned impulses to purchase and consume usually contest with the practical requirement to postpone the instant fulfilment that buying delivers. Researchers of market have had anestablished interest in this pervasive fact but many questions have not been answered about the spontaneous purchase behaviour. (W.Rook, 1987) Research by Kim (2003) has found that impulse buyers frequently do not set out with a particular reason of visiting a particular store, purchasing a particular item the behaviour occurs after experiencing an urge to buy, and these behaviours are influenced by internal and external factors. Research also suggests that considerable sales of a broad range of product are due to the spontaneous buying. External Factors refer to the marketing cues that the marketer places and controls to entice the customers into purchasing the products, such cues are promotional incentive discounts and sales and the marketing mix product, price, place and promotion. Internal Factors refer to the individual examining the internal signs and feature of the individual that make them participate in the behaviour of impulse buying. Components like these involve a consumer’s traits, which decide the degree of their impulse buying affinity. Internal cues such as emotion states the 298

International Journal of Management Sciences consumer’s normative assessment of impulse buying engagement and demographic factors. Anindividual’s emotional state, mood and self-feeling may also affect the buying behaviour. Credit Cards: the behaviour of impulse buying can be accelerated by credit card as these are seen as a convenient way to spend and it has seen that credit card holders tend to spend more as they are fewer prices conscious. Unexpected Cheaper Prices: One of the effects of unanticipated price discounts is that of causing a generalized effect on consumers. Price hikes might suppress the spending by the consumers in the same way fewer prices and discounts might increase the spending (Pine, 2009) There are five elements (in the impulse purchasing behaviour a spontaneous and sudden yearning to act, a state of emotional instability, the beginning of emotional struggle and conflict, a reduction in cognitive assessment and a lack of concern for the outcome of buying impulsively. Although many consider impulse buying in a negative way, but sometimes it is rationalized and the purchase is made which makes it clear that cognitive consideration plays an important role in the impulse buying but its influence is however very weak. Kollat & Willett (1967) stated thatImpulse Buying Behaviour in the apparel products can be categorized into four different types; Planned impulse buying, happens when a buyer has some specific idea in his mind but the actual purchase depends on the price, discounts or special offers. reminded impulse buying, results from an indomitable need that is promoted upon coming across the item while shopping. While fashion oriented impulse buying takes place when the buyer is tempted to buy the product, which is in the fashion, Whereas pure impulse buying is when a buyer sees an item for the very first time and desires to buy it without any prior product knowledge. Consumer decision-making styles arein a pattern, cognitive, mentalcoordination towards shopping and purchases, which continuously overcomes the buyer's preferences resulting in a rather lasting consumer personality. The decision making elements regarding buying behaviour of working women can be distributed into several categories; habitual buying, awareness of fashion, perfectionist, quality consciousness, brand consciousness, confused by over choice, impulse buying, store loyalty, recreational, variety seeking and shopping enjoyment (Halvadia, Sharma, & Patel, 2005). There exists aninverse relation between fashion involvement and behavioural and attitudinal aspects of buying impulsively. Fashion involvement cannot be regarded as impulse buying because consumers who possess fashion interests generally purchase branded products of style and quality and preferpurchasing fashion apparels from their designated stores and outlets. There exists a weak association between consumer’s daily life, participation in fashion and after-decision making stage of consumer buying behaviour with the impulse buying behaviour encompassing attitudinal, as well as behavioural features of the consumers buying behaviour. Consumers living in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi usually purchase according to plan, but can easily develop an interest in new products while carrying out their planned purchase, based on their pleasure(Tirmizi, Rehman, & Saif, 2009). The consumer purchasing process is impacted by marketing,socialand situational factors and by customer reference groups. Consumers are influenced by features of situation and conditions surrounding their shopping spree. There is an essential affiliation between the youth’s impulse buying behaviours and two types of ‘visual merchandising’ techniques, promotional designs andin-store form. Visual merchandising practices incite a desire that is ultimately motivating a shopper to make unplanned purchase decisions. Stores can employ visual merchandising to intensify attractiveness of products and also to aid customers being aware of products as well as to create advantageous attitudes (Kim, 2003). Mall disorders like compulsive buying and excessive eating seem to be growing particularly in women. Reward sensitivity and cognitive anxiety had a positive relation to compulsive buying and excessive eating, as was impulsivity to compulsive purchasing behaviour. Social desirability and somatic anxiety were inversely related to compulsive buying. These discoveries show that excessive behaviours are not essentially related. The excessive behaviours observed seem to perform as outlets for anxiety via the behaviour reinforcing characteristics for example attention, pleasure, praise, etcetera. This may enhance self-esteem as 299

F.A. Amir et al. a consequence. There are discoveries that show numerous risk factors that could be utilized as warning signals that a particular behaviour may become an addiction (Davenport, Houston, & Griffiths, 2012). According to Sheth, ‘A review of Buyer Behaviour’, the discipline of buyer behaviour has not yet developed enough where it must emerge as a mature science. Many formulations to understand the modern buying behaviour mostly are interdisciplinary; mathematical data, sociology, cultural anthropology, social psychology, and mindful and unaware psychology of the buyer all seem relevant. Subliminal or unconscious perception does occur, which can lead to impulsive buying, but the active selectivity of individuals does strongly interfere sometimes between the subliminal perception and subsequent overt purchase behaviour. The author’s results indicate that over a period, an implied relationship exists between behaviour and attitude; both are mutually dependent. In case of new products, buyers acquire knowledge from experience to realize the artificial differences that have been created by brand names and they differentiate between the familiar and the unfamiliar brands. Theoretical Frame Work Discussion One of the most significantfeatures that influence the buying of a consumer is the ‘impulse buying’ a abruptcontrolling and persistent urge to buying, abrupt and immediate with no pre shopping intention either to buy a specific product or specific product category to fulfil a buying task. Impulse buying tendency as defined by Beatty and Farrell “a tendency to respond quickly to a given stimulus, without deliberation and evaluation of consequences”. Positive affect or feeling reflects an emotion of keenness a person may have. A person is in a state of elevated vigour, full attentiveness, and pleasing engagement. On the other hand, the adverse effectinvolves unenthusiastic states of mood including abhorrence, anger, dread, guilt, etc. A person can feel distressed and encounter displeasure. In other words, low positive affect involves grief and exhaustion while low negative affect advocates calmness and serenity. Beatty and Ferrell also clarified the meaning of the felt urge to buy impulsively as “a state of desire that is experienced upon encountering an object in the environment” and shopping enjoyment as “the pleasure one obtains in the shopping process” Impulsivity Researchers have concluded that impulsivity is a trait of personality; impulsivity is an overactive tendency to come close to rewards. Though, there isemergent literature that emphasizes on motivational facets of qualities stated Read and Miller (2002), and hypothesizes traits along two dimensions: the general level of activation of this "approach-avoidance" system and the specific chronicity of individual goals associated with the trait. Along the same lines, impulsivity is conceptualized both as a generalized higher sensitivity to rewards. Experiments conducted by Menon (2006)show impulsive people have higher reward sensitivity and drive that are part of their chronically accessible selves. The results that were obtained in this experiment indicate that there is a noteworthy link between impulsiveness and looking for pleasure, both at a general level and in particular domains. People who have impulsive tendencies are more likely to show sensitivity to extrinsic rewards. They are quicker to react to measures of reward seeking, most probably because of persistent accessibility of such behaviour in the past. Self-Esteem Self-esteem has been defined as a good opinion of one’s own character and abilities. In previous literatures a link between purchasing behaviour and self-esteem has been worked upon. Housman (2000) found that the efforts to satisfy esteem-needs drive consumers to make impulse purchases that provide satisfaction for such needs .The product being bought has no direct effect on the individual. It is the course of purchase that creates reward, resulting in the encouragement of self-esteem and relief from concern that may have increased if the impulse to buy had not been met. 300

International Journal of Management Sciences Research also shows that low self-esteem is generally linked with increased vulnerability to be affected by others. The need to maintain self-esteem has been connected with materialism, with purchase of esteemenhancing product categories such as those that augment physical appearance and with the extent of fulfilment of a group of people have with their material belongings. It is believed that one reason that impulse buying occurs is because it might be helping in relieving the negative psychological states which result from low self-esteem. Anxiety Anxiety, as defined by the dictionary, Is, uneasiness or distress of mind which is caused by fear or danger of misfortune. When experiencing anxiety, a person tends to deviate from his normal self and the behavioural patterns tend to be different (Davenport, Houston, & Griffiths, 2012). Living in the societies of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, anxiety is a very common phenomenon experienced by the population here. The reasons for anxiety in the twin cities are many; inflation, load shedding of electricity and gas, petrol and CNG not available everywhere and every day, extreme climate etc. So this research tries to find out if and how anxiety affects the female demographics and how it affects their purchase decisions especially in the apparel industry. TV/Media The mind is divided into two parts; the conscious and the subconscious. Media targets one’s subconscious mind, which is not in one’s control, and is responsible for putting an individual in a direction, without him/her being aware of it, for making any decision. (Park & Lenon, 2006) Marketing and Branding, done today specifically target the subconscious mind. TV adds, bill boards, social media etc, all make an impact on your subconscious mind without you being aware of it. This research tries to find a connection between the impulsive buying behaviour of women, specifically in the apparel industry, and TV/Media. Social Desirability Social desirability refers to how desirable one is in the society. A socially successful person will be very socially active and socially desirable. So, if a person is socially desirable, he will have to keep up with his surrounding social expectations. In this study, social desirability has been operationalized to find out if a relation exists between impulsive buying behaviour of the female demographics in the industry of apparel, and social desirability, and to check whether the existing relationship is positive or negative. (Kacen & Lee, 2002) Gap Analysis As the research specifically tends to find out what derives the impulsive decision-making and how it derives, it will be based on the Pure Impulsive Buying Behaviour, which can be defined as occurring when a customer sees an item for the first time and desires to buy it without prior product knowledge.(Rook & Fisher, 1995) In the articles studied, it was rarely found literature as to the impulsivity varying from the rural to the urban areas of a country, and absolutely none in the context of Pakistan. Impulse buying has been the subject of researchers for more than four decades and the research conducted in many parts of the world has followed the evidence results derived from U.S culture discussed Garold Lantz el al (2003) however, impulsive buying behaviour is a universal phenomenon, which is though influenced by local market conditions, as well as social and cultural forces. Many other countries have conducted research on this topic however, no substantial research has been found in Pakistan about this topic especially concerning the impulsive buying behaviour of women. Studying this phenomenon of women impulse buying will contribute in the understanding of consumer behaviour. 301

F.A. Amir et al. No research regarding women’s impulse buying has been conducted with respect to Pakistan. Especially in regards to apparel industry.In the literature that was reviewed, it was found that some particular elements were missing, for self-esteem a link has been found with the purchase behaviour but not specifically on women and in the apparel industry. (Rook, 1971), describes ‘impulsive purchasing happens or takes place when a consumer experiences an abrupt, mostly strong and persistent urge to buy immediately. The impulse to purchase is hedonically complex and may stimulate emotional conflict. Also, impulsive purchasing is likely to happen with lack of regard for its consequences’. While Housman (2000) found that the efforts to satisfy esteem needs drive consumers to make impulse purchases that provide satisfaction for such needs. According to Tuyet Mai, Jung, Lantz, & Loeb(2003) the product being purchased has no direct effect on the individual. It is the buying process that creates reward, resulting in an immediate increase of self-esteem and relief from anxiety that may have increased if the impulse to buy had not been met. No substantial research has been conducted regarding the effect that the television has on the purchasing behaviour of women. This research hopes to find out how television effect on purchasing behaviour. (Park & Lenon, 2006) Impulsivity, as defined by the dictionary, means actuated or swayed by emotional or involuntary impulses. It basically refers to the sudden urge or wanting experienced. Previous researchers have indicated that impulsivity plays a major role in purchase decision making, but the research conducted previously were not targeted at one particular demographic, or one particular industry, so this research tries to find out if a relation exists between impulsivity, and the impulsive buying behaviour of women in the apparel industry. Social desirability can affect the behaviour; more socially desirable person tends to purchase in a manner to keep up with the social image while a person whose social desirability is very low tends to purchase differently. (Kacen & Lee, 2002) Research Questions Q1= what are the factors that affect impulsive buying behaviour of women in Pakistan regarding apparel? Q2=what is the magnitude and direction of this effect on impulsive buying behaviour of women in Pakistan regarding apparel? Q3=what is the effect of all the variables on the impulsive buying behaviour of women in Pakistan regarding apparel? Conceptual Framework Self-Esteem H2

Anxiety

Impulsivity

H3

H4

H1

Impulsive Buying Behaviour of Women in Apparel Industry

H5 TV/Media H6 Social Desirability

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International Journal of Management Sciences Variables Dependent Variable; Impulsive Buying Behaviour of Women in the Apparel Industry Independent Variable 1; Self-Esteem Independent Variable 2; Anxiety Independent Variable 3; TV/Media Independent Variable 4; Impulsivity Independent Variable 5; Social Desirability Sources: (Sharma, Patel, & Halvadia, 2005) (Davenport, Houston, & Griffiths, 2012) (Gray & McNaughton, 2000) (Tirmizi, Rehman, & Saif, 2009) Hypothesis H0 =There is no relationship between impulsivity, social desirability, anxiety, TV/ media, self esteem and Impulsive buying behaviour of women in Pakistan regarding apparel. H1 =There is relationship between impulsivity, social desirability, anxiety, TV/ media, self esteem and Impulsive buying behaviour of women in Pakistan regarding apparel. H2 =There is an impact of self-esteem on impulsive buying behaviour of women in Pakistan regarding apparel H3=There is and impact of anxiety on impulsive buying behaviour of women in Pakistan regarding apparel H4=There is an impact of TV/Media on impulsive buying behaviour of women in Pakistan regarding apparel H5 =There is an impact of Impulsivity on Impulsive Buying Behaviour of women in Pakistan regarding apparel H6 =There is an impact of Social desirability on impulsive buying behaviour of women in Pakistan regarding apparel 3. Research Methodology Nature of Study This study is descriptive quantitative and predictive in nature. The primary data that was collected was with the help of survey questionnaires, administered to females aged between 18 and 50 through verified questionnaires.. It is a cross-sectional and causal study which predicts the relationship and empirically tests/measures the impact of the variables. Population/ Sample Pakistan females for the best results total 200 questionnaire were distributed among the targeted audience of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. 167 completed questionnaires have been received back, making the response rate to be 83%. Sample Size Non-random (convenience) sampling has been used to collect data. The reason for selecting of this method is that this method was used in many research papers which were explored from the literature review. Second reason for selecting this method was the short time span that is three months and we had to collect data in the specified time. Sample size was 100 for this study. Tabachnick & Ffidell (2001)proposed formula for computing the sample size required for a multi regression analysis was used, where: N ≥ 50 + 8m where (m) is the number of predictor variables. As in our study the amount of independent variable were five that’s why the sample size was determined according to; 50 ≥ 8(5)=98. As per this formula minimum of 98 was 303

F.A. Amir et al. acceptable but For the generalization and to avoid errors 200 questionnaires where circulated of which 167 were properly filled and returned making 83% of responses. Instrument The instrument used for conducting this research was survey questionnaires that were floated both online and physically filled by respondents in different locations of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Instrument Development This study is quantitative in nature. The primary data that was collected was with the help of survey questionnaires, and the data was collected from females aged between 18 and 50 through verified questionnaires. The questionnaire formation was in three stages, questions were first adapted and modified for the particular topic under study after the formation of the modified questionnaire its face-validity and content-validity were checked in order to ascertain the usability of the instrument used in the study and the collected statistics. The variables were taken from different sources i.e. Self-esteem was taken from (Davenport, Houston, & Griffiths, 2012), anxiety was taken from (Davenport, Houston, & Griffiths, 2012), TV/Media was taken from (Kacen & Lee, 2002) Face-Validity The face-validity was done by administering the questionnaires to female consumers and changes were done to make the questionnaires easier to understand and also fix other errors in the questionnaires. Content Validity Content validity of the instrument before the research can be conducted for this reason to validate the instrument, academicians, professionals and potential respondents were shown the questionnaire to thoroughly review and analyze the content anything which was unfit or erroneous was then discarded. Pilot Study First to test the survey instrument a pilot study of the questionnaire was conducted among the targeted audience and the stake holders, in this case, academician, professionals and the consumers. Ten questionnaires were circulated and the respondents were asked to complete the questionnaire and identify any error or questions that were confusing or did not support the study. Their inputs were then used to revise the questionnaire. In the process unfit or flawed questions were modified and/or removed. Reliability Statistics for Pilot In order to find the reliability of the content SPSS was used so as to find out how much the developed instrument was reliable. Table 1 Reliability of variables Number of items Impulsive Buying Behaviour 6 Self-Esteem 6 Constructs

Cronbach’s alpha 0.844 0.826

Anxiety Tv/Media

6

0.686

7

0.712

Impulsivity

8

0.742

Social Desirability

6

0.734

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International Journal of Management Sciences To investigation the reliability the developed instrument, SPSS software was used so as to calculate Cronbach’s Alpha regarding the variables of the study; Impulsive Buying Behaviour, Self-Esteem, Anxiety, TV/Media, Impulsivity and Social Desirability. Nunnally (1978) stated that Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient has to be must be larger than 0.7 so as to be reliable. The compute Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients in this study for dependent and independent variables were, Impulsive Buying Behaviour: 0.844, Self-Esteem: 0.826, Anxiety: 0.686, TV/Media: 0.712, Impulsivity: 0.742 and Social Desirability 0.732. Tools and Techniques The statistical package IBM SPSS 17.0 was used to calculate the correlation and run regression analysis on the data collected to find the magnitude and direction of the study. 4. Data Analysis Reliability Statistics Table 2 Constructs

Reliability of variables Number of items

Cronbach’s alpha

Impulsive Buying Behaviour

6

0.744

Self-Esteem

6

0.767

Anxiety

6

0.737

Tv/Media

7

0.811

8

0.789

6

0.754

Impulsivity Social Desirability

To investigation the reliability the developed instrument, IBM SPSS software was used so as to calculate Cronbach’s Alpha regarding the variables of the study; Impulsive Buying Behaviour, Self-Esteem, Anxiety, TV/Media, Impulsivity and Social Desirability. Nunnally (1978) stated that Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient has to be must be larger than 0.7 so as to be reliable. The compute Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients in this study for dependent and independent variables were, Impulsive Buying Behaviour: 0.744, SelfEsteem: 0.767, Anxiety: 0.737, TV/Media: 0.811, Impulsivity: 0.789 and Social Desirability 0.754. Demographic Data

Table 3 Demographic Analysis Demographics

Age

% of respondents 18-25

66.5

26-30

15.6

31-40

12.0

41-50

06.0

305

F.A. Amir et al. Matriculation

5.4

Under Graduate

53.3

Graduate

26.9

Post Graduate Business

14.4 7.2

Services

5.4

Student

58.1

Housewife

29.3

Education

Profession

In this research the total number of participants was 167, since the study was exclusively on female impulsive buying only female respondents were approached for the study. The age group varies from 18 to 50. From the age group of 18-25, the respondents were 100, there were 31 respondents from the age group of 26-30. Likewise, the age group of 31-40 consisted of 28 respondent. From 41 50 there were 14 participants. The study revealed that the education level of 11 respondents was matriculation, while 85 were undergraduates, 53 respondents were graduates, and 24 were post-graduates. Descriptive Statistics Table 4 Descriptive Statistics of variables N

Minimum

Maximum

Mean

Std. Deviation

Impulsive Buying

167

1.00

5.00

5.00

0.75

Self-esteem

167

1.33

5.00

5.00

0.73

Anxiety

167

1.00

4.50

4.50

0.78

TV/Media

167

1.00

4.71

4.71

0.79

Impulsivity Social Desirability

167 167

1.50 1.33

4.88 5.00

4.88 5.00

0.72 0.69

The results were computed for each variable. According to the descriptive analysis, minimum responses for each variable was 1 while maximum responses was 5. The mean for Impulsive Buying Behaviour is 5 and standard deviation for it is 0.75. The mean for Self-esteem is 5 and standard deviation fot it is 0.73. The mean for anxiety is 4.50 and standard deviation fot it is 0.78. The mean for TV/Media is 4.71 and standard deviation fot it is 0.79. The mean for impulsivity is 4.88 and standard deviation fot it is 0.72. The mean for social desirability is 5 and standard deviation fot it is 0.69.

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International Journal of Management Sciences Correlation Analysis Table 5: Correlation analysis of Impulsive Buying Behaviour, Self-Esteem, Anxiety, TV/Media, Impulsivity and Social Desirability Impulsive Buying SelfSocial Behavior Esteem Anxiety TV/Media Impulsivity Desirability Impulsive Pearson 1 Buying Behavior Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N 167 Self-Esteem

Anxiety

TV/Media

Impulsivity

Social Desirability

Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N

.380**

1

.000 167 .189*

167 -.025

1

.014 167 .356**

.750 167 .222**

167 .518**

1

.000 167 .399**

.004 167 .400**

.000 167 .230**

167 .442**

1

.000 167 .551**

.000 167 .495**

.003 167 .263**

.000 167 .544**

167 .490**

1

.000 167

.000 167

.001 167

.000 167

.000 167

167

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Correlation analysis fundamentally states about the strength and direction of variables with each other. In statistics, “r” represents the Pearson correlation coefficient. It can either be used to measure the association between one independent and another independent variable or between independent with the dependent variable. It is only concerned with the strength of the relationship The relationship can either be positive or negative. If the Pearson correlation coefficient, “r” is closer to -1, it means there is a strong negative linear relationship and if it is closer 1 it means there is a strong positive linear relationship. To study the relationships between the independent variables; Impulsive Buying Behaviour, Self-Esteem, Anxiety, Impulsivity, TV/Media and Social Desirability. Table 5 Shows the correlation between the dependent variable and independent variables, the table indicates that there is a positive correlation between the dependent variable that is Impulsive Buying Behavior and Self-Esteem with a value having 0.380. 307

F.A. Amir et al. The correlation between Anxiety and Impulsive Buying Behavior is also positive in nature having 0.189 which is shows that although there is a positive correlation but it is low. TV/Media shows a moderate positive correlation with 0.356 with high significance. Impulsivity with a coefficient of 3.99 with a significance up 99%. Social Desirability has the highest correlation with the Impulsive Buying Behavior with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.551 and significance level up to 99%. Table 6: Correlation Variables Self-Esteem Anxiety

R .380 .189

Sig .000 .014

TV/Media

.356

.000

Impulsivity

.399

.000

Social Desirability

.551

.000

Table 6 highest coefficient of correlation is of Social Desirability and lowest coefficient of correlation is for Anxiety. This signifies that Social desirability has maximum effect on the impulsive buying behaviour of women of Pakistan regarding apparel. Other variables like Self-Esteem, TV/Media and Impulsivity also has moderate effect on the purchase decision and Anxiety has moderately low effect on the buying behaviour of the Pakistani women. Table 7: Model Summary Model

R

R Square

Adjusted R Square

Sig F change

1

.581a

.337

.317

.000

Table 7 shows that R square is .337 and Adjusted R square is .317 that is approximately 32% and it elaborates that the independent variable has 32% of the effect on the dependant variable and chances of changes in one variable i.e. independent variable results in changes in dependant variables other 68% of changes are due to the unknown or undefined factors.

Regression Residual Total

Table 8: ANOVAb Sum of Mean Squares df Square 31.403 5 6.281 61.664 161 .383 93.067 166

F 16.398

Sig. .000a

a. Predictors: (Constant), Self-Esteem, Anxiety, TV/Media, Impulsivity, Social Desirability b. Dependent Variable: Impulsive Buying Behavior

In the Table 8 it has been found out that the model that is being used in this research is fit since the significance value is .000 so that determines that the research has been done on valid grounds.

Table 9:Coefficientsa 308

International Journal of Management Sciences Model 1 (Constant) Self-Esteem Anxiety Impulsivity TV/Media Social Desirability

B .844 .130 .039 .033 .137 .423

Std. Error .327 .080 .073 .084 .082 .094

Beta .126 .041 .035 .131 .395

T 2.582 1.626 .533 .395 1.673 4.491

Sig .011 .106 .595 .694 .096 .000

a. Dependent Variable: DV

The coefficients of Table 9 show that the significance of t value is that if the t value is above 2 and significance is less than 0.05 then the hypothesis will be accepted but if the t value is lesser than 2 and significance is greater than 0.05 then the hypothesis will be rejected. In this table H0 is rejected as all the variables have a relationship with impulsive buying behaviour, H1 is accepted because the coefficient shows that there is a relationship between the variables. H2 has t value of 1.626 which is below 2 and significance is 0.106 which is above 0.05. H3has a t value of 0.533 which is below 2 and significance is 0.595 which is above 0.05. H4 has a t value of 0.395 which is below 2 and significance is 0.694 which is above 0.05. H5 has a t value of 1.673 which is below 2 and significance is 0.096 which is above 0.05. So H2, H3, H4 and H5 are rejected respectively and H6 is accepted as t value is 4.491 which is above 2 and significance is 0.000 which is less than 0.05. 5. Discussions and Analysis The purpose of this research was to discover the impact, magnitude and direction of independent variable (Impulse buying behaviour of women in Pakistan regarding apparel) on dependant variables (selfesteem, anxiety, impulsivity, TV/media and social desirability) that were identified after extensive review of literature. It is explored in this study that the most important factor that affects the buying behaviour particularly the impulsive buying behaviour of women is social desirability although other variables too show a positive relationship with the impulsive behaviour but they are very weak therefore it can be said that women of Pakistan are more affected by how they want others to see them and they are very conscious about how they dress up and they tend to create an image of themselves through the eyes of other people. The findings of this study show that the majority of the survey respondents were from 18-25 and undergraduate students. So this study emphasizes more on the people who are studying in colleges and universities, therefore it is safe to say that this study highlights the effect of social desirability factor on the impulsive buying behaviour of women aged 18-25. Social desirability does affect the purchase behaviour as a person who is active more socially will tend to buy as to keep up with the image that the person has created for himself. It is interesting to find out that the most anticipated factor, that is media, has less impact on the impulsive behaviour and does not have significant influence on purchasing of the clothing for women. Contribution This research focuses on the impulsive buying behaviour of the Pakistani women regarding apperal. This will help future researchers as a stepping stone to carry out reassearches on a greater scale or focusing on different indepent variables. There were no previous researches conducted in Pakistan of this nature. Although there were several researches conducted abroad. In the context of Pakistan this research might prove to be very beneficial to future researchers, marketers and students alike. 309

F.A. Amir et al. Implications This research can help the marketing managers working in the apparel industry to design their campaign and help their company grow. This research is a stepping stone for further research in related areas such as the impulsive buying behaviour of men, and the purchassing patterns of females , with respect to Pakistan. Companies can develop campaigns according to the results of this research; they would know how much resources should be put in different dimensions to obtain an increased customer response and capitalize the different aspects highlighted in this research. Limitations This research was limited to Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Other limitations faced while conducting this research was time, and resources. Non-serious attitude of some respondants was also faced. Future Research Scope This study can act as a stepping stone for a lot of related topics that can be further be researched. The impulsive buying behaviour of men can be studied, and because of limitations, this research was limited to the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, but the impulsive buying behaviour of females can be further researched for other cities and the whole country as well. Other influencing factors affecting the impulsive buying behaviour of women can also be sought and studied and their effect can be found. A study can be conducted on the affect of the impulsive buying behavior of other items such as toiletries and/or self-grooming products. The effect of impulsive buying on the necessity goods/products can also be explored in a similar way. 6. Conclusion The purpose of the study was to identify the factor that affects the impulsive buying behaviour of Pakistani women in apparel industry. Five variables were identified i.e., self-esteem, anxiety, TV/Media, impulsivity and social desirability. The research showed that social desirability was the only factor that affected women impulsive buying behaviour. In Pakistan the social desirability is high due to which the impulsive buying behaviour exists. It is important for Pakistani women to maintain a respectable and acceptable social image. Women in Pakistan have to take a lot of care about how they carry themselves and what they wear because of how they are seen in the society which is a direct reflection of social desirability. No research like this has been done previously in Rawalpindi and Islamabad and with this research the managers of the apparel industry can design policies according to social desirability to increase their revenues. 7. Recommendations On the basis of this research marketers can have a better understanding as to increase their profits by targeting the social desirability aspect of women in Pakistan. Conducting this study on a larger scale will help both researchers and entrepreneurs in knowing the trends that how impulsive buying behaviour in women occurs through time by which resources can be optimally used and allocated. Also this researcher if conducted on larger scale can be applied to the male population of Pakistan. Furthermore this research conducted on a larger scale can help industries determine market trends and hence understand more about the customer base they serve.

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International Journal of Management Sciences References Barrat ES, Stanford MS, & Patton JM. (1995). Barrat Impulsiveness Scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology. Coley, A. L. (2002). Affective and Cognitive Processes Involved in Impulse Buying. D'Astrous, & Fortier. (n.d.). Davenport, K., Houston, J. E., & Griffiths, M. D. (2012). Excessive Eating and Compulsive Buying Behaviours in Women: An Empirical Pilot Study Examinig Reward Sensitivity, Anxiety, Impulsivity, Self-Esteem and Social Desirability. Int J Ment Health Addiction, 474-489. Gray, & McNaughton. (2000). Halvadia, N., Sharma, D., & Patel, D. V. (2005). Decision Making Styles of Working Women in Buying Apparel: An Empirical Study. Indian Retail: On the Fast Track, Time for Bridging Capacity Gap, 1827. Joan, M.-L., & Durairaj, M. (1991). Exploring Differences in Males' and Females' Processing Strategies. Journal of Consumer Research, 63-70. Julie Z Sneath, R. L. (2009). Coping with a Natural Disaster: Losses, Emotions and Impulsive and Compulsive Buying. 45-60. Kacen, J. J., & Lee, J. A. (2002). The Influence of Culture on Consumer Impulsive Buying Behaviour. Journal of Consumer Psychlogy, 163-167. Karbasivar, A., & Yarahmadi, H. (2011). Evaluating Effective Factors on Consumer Impulse Buying Behavior. Asian Journal of Business Management Studies 2 (4), 174-181. Kim, J. (2003). College Students' Apparel Impulse Buying Behaviors in Relation to Visual Merchandising. Masters Thesis, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. Kollat, D. T., & Willett, R. P. (1967). Customer Impulse Purchasing Behaviour. Journal of Marketing Research, 21-31. Leon G. Schiffman, L. L. (2003). Consumer Behavior, International Edition. Menon, S. R. ( 2006). Time-Varying Effects of Chronic Hedonic Goals on Impulsive Behavior . Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 43. Park, F., & Lenon, S. F. (2006). Psychological and Environmental Antecedents of Impulse Buying Tendency in the Multichannel Shopping Context. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 56-66. Pine, K. J. (2009). Report on a survey into female economic behaviour and the emotion regulatory role of spending. Sheconomics Survey Report. Rook, D. W., & Fisher, R. J. (1995). Normative Influences on Impulse Buying Behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 305-313. Rosenberg. (1965). Sharma, D., Patel, D., & Halvadia, N. (2005). Decision Making Styles of Working Women in Buying Apparel: An Empirical Study. Indian Retail: On The Fast Track, Time for Bridging Capacity Gap, 18-27. Sheth, J. N. (n.d.). Introduction. A review of Buyer Behavior. Tabachnick, B. G., & Ffidell, L. S. (2001). Using multivariate statistics. Allyn and Bacon. Thompson, G. L. (2001). Eliminating Aggregation Bias in Experimental Research. Tirmizi, M. A., Rehman, K. U., & Saif, M. I. (2009). An Empirical Study of Consumer Impulse Buying Behavior in Local Markets. European Journal of Scientific Research, 522-532. 311

F.A. Amir et al. Tuyet Mai, N. T., Jung, K., Lantz, G., & Loeb, S. G. (2003). An Exploratory Investigation into Impulse Buying Behavior in a Transitional Economy: A Study of Urban Consumers in Vietnam. Journal of International Marketing, 13-35. W.Rook, D. (1987). The Journal of Consumer Research Vol.2. The Buying Impulse. Appendix Students of SZABIST are conducting a research to analyze the “Impulsive Purchase Behaviour of Women” in Pakistan. This information will exclusively be used for research purpose and will not be disclosed to anybody. Thank you for your time and cooperation! SCALE: 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly Agree Demographics: Age: 18-25 26-30 31-40 41-50 Education: Matriculation Undergraduate Graduate Post graduate Profession: Business Services Student Housewife Impulsive Buying Behaviour; 1. Price of a product plays an important role in the purchasing decision. 2. I will almost always purchase a product that is on discount.

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3. Need is promoted upon encountering the item while shopping. 4. You are tempted to buy the product which is in fashion. 5. When you see an item for the first time, you are tempted to buy the product which is in fashion. 6. Prior knowledge about the product plays a major role in your purchase decision. Self-Esteem; 1. On the whole, I am satisfied with myself in decision making. 2. I feel that I have a number of good qualities.

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I buy things to make myself feel better.

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Anxiety; 1. At times, I think I am no good at all.

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Buying is a way of reducing stress in daily life

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I go shopping to take my mind off things

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6. I feel anxious when I am in a social situation and I am expected to engage in some activity TV/Media; 1. I am influenced to some extent by my favorite personalities in the media regarding apparel. 2. Media frames the impact of idealistic personalities?

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Impulsivity; 1. I am an impulsive person.

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I am inclined to changing my interests habitually

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I like doing things just for the excitement

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I would like to try anything at least once

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My self-image is influenced by media?

4. The internet is not an important source of information about fashion and “being attractive.” 5. Pictures in magazines are an important source of information about fashion and "being attractive." 6. I compare my appearance to the appearance of celebrities and stars. 7. TV programs are an important source of information about fashion and "being attractive”.

5. I feel much satisfied when I get something which was not planned beforehand 6. I purchase clothes and put them away without ever using them.

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I just want to buy things and don’t care what I buy

8. things and later on don’t know why I bought them Social Desirability; 1. Sense of identity influences sense of fashion

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Association with society helps you decide your apparel

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I am often conscious about the way I dress up

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4. I socially construct myself; create an image of myself through the eyes of other people 5. I think about my family’s approval towards my apparel purchases

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