DECIPHERING THE IMPULSE TRIGGER: A COMPARATIVE STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING ANALYSIS OF ONLINE VERSUS OFFLINE IMPULSIVE BUYING BEHAVIOUR ACROSS SELECTED PRODUCT CATEGORIES

Abstract

Purpose: The structural factors influencing consumers' impulsive purchasing behaviour (IBB) in both online and offline shopping modalities are examined and contrasted in this research. The study uses an integrated framework to investigate the structural effects of Situational Factors (SF), Psychological Factors (PSY), and Marketing Factors (MF) on online (OnlineIBB) and offline (OfflineIBB) impulsive buying environments, as well as their combined impact on post purchase consumer behaviour (PPB). Methodology: Using a sample of 197 standard observations, a quantitative research approach was used. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) utilising SmartPLS 4 was used to assess the structural model and measurement characteristics (Ringle et al., 2024). Findings : The empirical findings show that the two contexts' impulsive triggers differ significantly. Situational factors (beta = 0.370) have the greatest direct influence on OfflineIBB in the offline channel, followed by marketing factors ($\beta = 0.340$), while psychological factors have a smaller effect (beta = 0.197). In contrast, Marketing Factors (beta = 0.458) are the primary driver of OnlineIBB in the e-commerce domain, followed by Psychological Factors (beta = 0.264), while Situational Factors (beta = 0.167) have a much smaller impact. Additionally, the research confirms that, in comparison to online impulse purchases ($beta = 0.220$), offline impulsive purchases transfer much higher into future post-purchase behaviours (beta = 0.548). Originality/Value: This study isolates how environmental design, strategic marketing, and internal consumer psychology change in magnitude while switching from physical shopfronts to digital apps by providing a detailed statistical comparison of structural route configurations. For omni-channel merchants looking to maximise conversion rates across product categories, these data provide instant strategic leverage.