IDENTIFYING THE DETERMINANTS OF REPURCHASE INTENTIONS AFTER ONLINE IMPULSE BUYING: THE ROLES OF SATISFACTION AND REGRET

Abstract

This study adopts the expectation – confirmation theory and regret theory to identify crucial variables related to repurchase behavior in an online impulse buying context. The effects of five e-retailers’ characteristics and confirmation of expectation on shoppers’ satisfaction or regret after impulse buying were investigated and the influence of these two cognitive constructs has been investigated on customers’ post-purchase behavior like repurchase intentions and positive WOM. A total of 258 online customers who have purchased apparel impulsively in Korean online stores completed an online survey. Structural equation modeling with Amos 26 was used to analyze the data. The results suggest that confirmation of expectation, price transparency, firm’s sincerity, financial bonds and communication (relationship marketing) are predictors of regret, which in turn influences satisfaction and repurchase intention after impulse buying; confirmation of expectation, price transparency and financial bonds also exhibited considerable positive effects on satisfaction, which in turn influenced repurchase intention. Contrary to expectations, it was observed that product quality had no effect on customer satisfaction and regret. In addition, satisfied shoppers prefer repurchasing and spreading positive WOM and regretting customers are less inclined to repurchase. There are three main managerial implications that can be taken from this study. First, customer satisfaction is the strongest predictor of repurchase intention after impulse buying. Second, e-tailers should not ignore the effect of external referents- regret, because firm’s sincerity and communication were observed to have an indirect effect on satisfaction via regret. And third, the findings specifically demonstrate that the construct "regret" has an impact on customers' decision-making processes.