Past research has suggested that the hedonic value from shopping has a positive effect on shopping satisfaction, store satisfaction, quality evaluation and revisit intention respectively(e.g., Babin et al. 1994; Carpenter 2008). But, this study assumes that the value doesn’t always create positive consequences. In some cases, negative consequences can result from the value. Based on the assumption, this study explores effects of shopping fun considered as one of the hedonic value from shopping on the unnecessary purchase, especially from a consumer perspective. Here, the unnecessary purchase is defined as the action to buy products not positively necessary or to buy necessary products beyond what’s needed.
The study only considers an offline situation. This is because of two reasons. First, old consumers are expected to have few opportunities to purchase products online because they are not accustomed to the Internet environment. Second, consumers have difficulty in enjoying enough fun from the online shopping because they can not touch, wear, or taste products and can not feel the atmosphere of the store which consists of light, fragrance, music and so on, compared to the offline shopping. Therefore, the study excludes the case of the online shopping.
To accomplish the purpose of the research, this study uses the structural equation model including the constructs such as the amount of shopping time, shopping addiction, and advance purchase-planning behavior as well as the shopping fun and the unnecessary purchase.
This study defines the shopping addiction as the personal tendency to pursue intentionally the relief of negative emotions or the acquisition of positive emotions by shopping although earlier works have focused only the relief dimension. The advance purchase-planning behavior is considered in the study as the behavior to plan what to purchase and where to purchase products or brands before the actual shopping.
Based on past literature, a total of six hypotheses are addressed in the study. Concretely, H1 and H2 predict that the perceived fun from shopping would have a positive effect on the amount of the shopping time which in turn enhance the unnecessary purchase. These hypothesesstem from the opponent process theory and the shaping theory(Mowen and Minor 2001). In terms of the relationship among the shopping fun, the shopping addiction, and the amount of the shopping time, H3 and H4 expect that the perceived fun from shopping would have an indirect positive effect on the amount of the shopping time, which is mediated by the shopping addiction. As a route from the shopping addiction to the unnecessary purchase, H5 and H6 suggest that the shopping addiction would decrease the advance purchase-planning behavior which in turn cause the unnecessary purchase.
The survey research was conducted to test the hypotheses on the last week in July, 2010. A total of one hundred and ninety respondents living in Seoul were interviewed by ten well-trained surveyors. The sample population was 40 percent male and included members in the age groups 20s, 30s, and 40․50s. The proportion in their 20s was approximately 40 and those in their 30s and 40․50s comprised approximately 30 percent respectively. The mean age of the sample was 34.1.
Each construct in the study was measured by three seven-point scale items. An exploratory factor analysis of all items yielded five factors using the criteria of the eigenvalue of .9, with each factor explaining from 6.51 to 29.03 percent of the variance. Each item had a factor loading above .40. The α-value of each construct was between .70 and .84. The factor analysis and the α-values provided the evidence of construct validity. All multi-item scales were averaged for further analysis. That is, each exogenous and endogenous construct in research model was represented by a single indicator using the averaged scale.
The proposed model was tested by using the AMOS program. As a result, it was shown that all fit indices indicated a reasonably fit of the proposed model (χ2=6.51 (df: 4, p > .05),GFI= .91, AGFI= .88, NFI= .90, CFI= .90, RMR= .08). Tests of the hypotheses were conducted by a maximum-likelihood estimation procedure using the same program.
Results show that the perceived shopping fun has a positive effect on the amount of the shopping time which in turn enhances the unnecessary purchase(path coefficient: .47, t=5.20, p < .001; path coefficient: .33, t=5.57, p < .001, respectively). Also, the fun contributes positively to the shopping addiction which has positive influence subsequently on the amount of the shopping time(path coefficient: .12, t=2.04, p < .05; path coefficient: .38, t=4.72, p <.001, respectively). It is also found that the shopping addiction decreases on the advance purchase-planning behavior which has in turn a negative effect on the unnecessary purchase (path coefficient: -.14, t=2.10, p < .05; path coefficient: -.31, t=4.82, p < .001, respectively).
In addition, the female consumers are shown in the study to perceive the shopping fun higher than the male and the age has a negative relationship with the perception of the shopping fun.
From a theoretical or a practical perspective, there are some implications in the study. First, the study suggests, on a consumer level, that the shopping fun can cause the unnecessary purchase by the increasing the shopping time or the decreasing the behavior of purchase planning before actual shopping. There is quite a possibility that the same would be applied to playing a game or drinking for the fun. Considering past works have focused only on the positive consequences from the shopping fun, we can find a differentiated contribution from the finding. Second, as for companies, they have to bear in mind that strategically fostering shopping fun would not be always positive. Companies would be confronted with an unexpected resistance of consumer groups such as their criticism for destroying a healthy consumption culture or even no-buy campaign if a bond of sympathy about the relationship between shopping fun and unnecessary purchase developed among people. Third, this study implicates that companies have to pay special attention to CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility) because, in some cases, the shopping fun promoted by them does harm to consumers’ purchase activities as suggested. This study has limitations in several ways. First, the results are on the basis of data from a general shopping situation. For the validity of them, further research should test the hypotheses under a specific situation such as department stores, discount stores, or convenience stores. Second, as a measure of the amount of shopping time, this study used self-report time. For the generation of results, applying absolute shopping time to the research model is needed in further research. Third, our sample was limited to one population group such as consumers in Seoul, which also lower the generality of the study’s results. Therefore, future research is necessary to explore negative consequences from the shopping fun by including other population groups and get the confirming results. In spite of the limitations, the findings in the study are expected to contribute to the existing theory and marketing practices.
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