Online impulse purchases versus planned purchases and the role of visual attributes

Abstract

Given the rapid growth of online buying, there seems to be a significant gap in understanding how consumers derive satisfaction from their past online fashion purchases, particularly in the absence of tactile experiences, relying solely on visual aesthetics for both planned and impulse decisions. This gap examines the necessity of evaluating how online shopping platforms should cater to diverse consumer behaviors. The goal is to examine how the visual aesthetic attributes of fashion clothing purchased online, whether through impulse or planned decisions, can influence satisfaction through a conceptualized model. It incorporates several variables’ mediating and moderating roles for a more plausible explanation. Two distinct samples were drawn from consumers who independently made planned purchases and those who made impulse purchases, totalling 483 respondents in the survey. Multigroup Structural Equation Modeling was employed for data analysis. The findings reveal that visual aesthetics significantly and positively impact perceived risk, perceived quality, and satisfaction. Additionally, perceived risk positively influences perceived quality. However, perceived quality exhibits a negative relationship with satisfaction. Both impulse and planned behaviors significantly moderate the relationship, except for the value aesthetic attributes of fashion clothing and perceived risk for impulse buyers. This article contributes to the theoretical and practical implications.