Mobile Marketing and Its Effects

MASTER'S THESIS
Mobile Marketing and its Effects on the

Online Impulsive Purchasing Tendency
Ellinor Bucht
Rebecka Gillberg
2015
Master of Science in Business and Economics (Civilekonom)

Business and Economics
Luleå University of Technology

Department of Business Administration, Technology and Social Sciences
Acknowledgements
This thesis is the final piece of our education in Master of Science in Business and Economics
at Luleå University of Technology. We would like to acknowledge and extend our gratitude to
the people that made it possible for us to complete this thesis.
We would like to thank our supervisor Mana Farshid for her guidance and encouragement.
We would also like to thank our family and friends for their support during this process.
Luleå, June 2015
Ellinor Bucht Rebecka Gillberg

Abstract
Marketing is essential to influence consumers’ impulsive purchasing behavior and due to the
fast development of both electronic and mobile commerce new ways of advertising have
emerged. Mobile marketing is a channel that has the potential to be more effective than
traditional mass media channels since it allows organizations to build personal relationships
with their customers. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how different mobile marketing
channels can influence consumers’ desire to purchase clothes impulsively online. This
research is of descriptive and explanatory character and in order to answer the research
purpose a quantitative study was conducted, where a questionnaire was randomly distributed
to people in the city center of Luleå. The results suggest that individuals with a positive view
towards SMS- and in-app advertising also react positively to online in-store promotion. Thus,
the interactive effects between these promotional channels increase individuals’ general
online impulsive purchasing tendency.
Key words: online impulsive purchasing, mobile marketing, responsiveness to promotions

and impulse purchase tendency
Sammanfattning
Marknadsföring är ett viktigt redskap för att påverka konsumenters impulsiva köpbeteende
och i och med e-handelns snabba utveckling har det uppstått nya marknadsföringsmöjligheter.
Mobil marknadsföring är en lovande kanal som har potential att bli effektivare än traditionella
massmediekanaler eftersom den gör det möjligt för organisationer att skapa personliga
relationer med sina kunder. Syftet med det här examensarbetet är att undersöka hur olika
mobila marknadsföringskanaler kan påverka konsumenters vilja att köpa produkter impulsivt
via Internet. Uppsatsen är av beskrivande och förklarande karaktär och för att besvara syftet
har en kvantitativ studie genomförts, där en enkät slumpvis delats ut till personer i Luleå
centrum. Resultaten tyder på att individer med en positiv syn på reklam i SMS och appar även
reagerar positivt på erbjudanden i webbutiker. Detta innebär att interaktiva effekter mellan
dessa säljfrämjande kanaler ökar individers allmänna impulsiva köptendens på Internet.
Table of Content
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Problem Discussion .......................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 4
1.4 Delimitation ...................................................................................................................... 4
2. Literature Review ................................................................................................................. 5
2.1 Impulsive Purchasing ....................................................................................................... 5
2.1.1 Hedonically Complex Experience ............................................................................. 6
2.1.2 On the Spot ................................................................................................................ 7
2.1.3 Exposure to a Stimulus and its Effects on Impulsive Purchasing ............................. 7
2.2 Mobile Marketing ............................................................................................................. 8
2.2.3 Marketing Channels ................................................................................................ 10
2.3 Marketing and its Effects on Impulsive Purchasing ....................................................... 12
2.4 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 15
3. Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................... 17
3.1 Conceptual Model and Hypotheses ................................................................................ 17
4. Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 21
4.1 Research Purpose ........................................................................................................... 21
4.2 Research Approach......................................................................................................... 21
4.3 Research Strategy ........................................................................................................... 22
4.4 Data Collection ............................................................................................................... 22
4.4.1 Questionnaire Development .................................................................................... 24
4.4.2 Pilot Study ............................................................................................................... 25
4.5 Sample Selection ............................................................................................................ 25
4.5.1 Participants .............................................................................................................. 26
4.6 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................. 27

4.6.1 Data Preparation ...................................................................................................... 27
4.6.2 Descriptive Statistics ............................................................................................... 28
4.6.3 Statistical Techniques .............................................................................................. 28
4.7 Quality Standards ........................................................................................................... 29
4.7.1 Reliability ................................................................................................................ 29
4.7.2 Validity .................................................................................................................... 31
5. Data Presentation and Analysis ........................................................................................ 33
5.1 Characteristics of Respondents ...................................................................................... 33
5.2 Assumptions ................................................................................................................... 37
5.3 Correlations .................................................................................................................... 38
5.4 Hypotheses Testing ........................................................................................................ 39
5.4.1 Regression ............................................................................................................... 40
5.4.2 Results of the Regression Analysis ......................................................................... 42
6. Conclusions and Implications ........................................................................................... 45
6.1 Conclusions for the Research Question.......................................................................... 45
6.2 Implication for Theory ................................................................................................... 47
6.3 Implication for Practitioners ........................................................................................... 48
6.4 Limitations ..................................................................................................................... 48
6.5 Further Research............................................................................................................. 48
References
Appendix
List of Tables
TABLE 2.1 DIMENSIONS OF THE IMPULSE PURCHASE DEFINITION
TABLE 2.2 COMPARISON OF TRADITIONAL, ONLINE, AND MOBILE
ADVERTISISNG MEDIA
TABLE 2.3 CATEGORIES OF MOBILE ADVERTISEMENTS
TABLE 2.4 HYPOTHESES FOR THE MODEL “RESPONSIVENESS TO PROMOTIONS
AND IMPULSE PURCHASE TENDENCY”
TABLE 4.1 RELEVANT SITUATIONS FOR DIFFERENT RESEARCH METHODS
TABLE 4.2 RELIABILITY OF THE SMS ADVERTISEMENT AND IN-APP
ADVERTISEMENT SCALE
TABLE 4.3 RULES OF THUMB ABOUT CRONBACH-ALPHA COEFFICIENT SIZE
TABLE 4.4 INTER-ITEM CORRELATIONS FOR SMS ADVERTISEMENT
TABLE 4.5 INTER-ITEM CORRELATIONS FOR IN-APP ADVERTISEMENT
TABLE 5.1 GENDER DISTRIBUTION
TABLE 5.2 AGE DISTRIBUTION
TABLE 5.3 MONTHLY INCOME DISTRIBUTION
TABLE 5.4 ONLINE SHOPPING FREQUENCY
TABLE 5.5 ONLINE AVERAGE SPENDING
TABLE 5.6 WEBSHOP OFFERS
TABLE 5.7 VARIABLES AND MEAN VALUES
TABLE 5.8 CORRELATIONS BETWEEN THE VARIABLES
TABLE 5.9 EFFECTS OF SMSAD AND INAPPAD ON INSTORE (EQUATION 1)
TABLE 5.10 EFFECTS OF PROMOTIONS AND GENDER ON GENERAL ONLINE
IMPULSIVE PURCHASING TENDENCY (EQUATION 2)
List of Figures
FIGURE 2.1 RESPONSIVENESS TO PROMOTIONS AND IMPULSE PURCHASE
TENDENCY
FIGURE 2.2 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ONLINE SALES PROMOTION AND
IMPULSE BUYING ONLINE
FIGURE 3.1 RESPONSIVENESS TO PROMOTIONS AND IMPULSIVE PURCHASING
TENDENCY
FIGURE 5.1 RESEARCH MODEL
1. Introduction
This chapter presents the background of the problem area, followed by a problem discussion.
After that, the overall purpose and research questions of the thesis will be stated and finally
the delimitation is presented.
1.1 Background
Electronic commerce includes “any form of economic activity conducted via electronic
connections” and has been a part of the business vocabulary since the 1970s (Wigand, 1997).
More specifically, electronic commerce is the trade of goods, information, or services
between businesses, as well as businesses and consumers conducted on the Internet (Fraser et
al., 2000). In his report, Wigand (1997) described that the Internet would play a critical role
for conducting business by the year 2000. This anticipation proved to be correct and during
the last decade electronic commerce has evolved significantly.
The annual turnover of electronic commerce in Sweden has increased with approximately 36
billion Swedish crowns (SEK) between the years of 2004 and 2014 (Hui Research, 2014).
These numbers include only online retailing. In DIBS Payment Services AB’s annual report
on Swedish e-commerce 2014, services such as travel and hotel as well as downloads of
music, videos, and applications, were also included. According to this report, the Swedish
electronic commerce had a turnover of 81 billion SEK in 2014, which is a seven percent
increase from 2013. (DIBS, 2014)
Mobile commerce is a type of electronic commerce which refers to “any transaction with
monetary value that is conducted via a mobile network” (Clarke, 2001). The trend of using
mobile devices (mobile phones and tablets) played a significant part for the extensive growth
in 2014. During the year, the number of mobile shoppers increased with over 40 percent,
which corresponds to 736 000 new consumers. (DIBS, 2014) According to Google’s report on
cross-platform consumer behavior, studies show that 81 percent of purchases are impulsive
when using mobile devices. (Google, 2012)
People in the ages 25 to 44 are responsible for practically the entire increase of online
purchases, and half of all Swedish consumers in this age group make their online purchases
with a mobile device. Purchasing with phones or tablets is increasing in all ages; mostly
between the ages of 55 and 64. Electronic commerce has become a way to make everyday life
work, and it is not the price that is the most important reason for online purchasing, but rather
the fact that it is effortless and grants accessibility to a wider range of products than physical
stores do. Using mobile devices to make purchases has increased the consumption in most
industries. The amount of purchases made from different product categories has changed, in
2014, for instance, clothing and footwear overtook media as the largest product category.
(DIBS, 2014)
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Due to accessibility to online stores at all hours and from any location it has become easier for
consumers to succumb to impulsive purchasing behavior (Eroglu et al., 2001). Previous
studies about consumers’ decision-making presuppose the general theory of rational decision
where choices are made after considering different options from various alternatives (Tversky
& Kahneman, 1974). Violation of the requirements of rationality can occur and in such cases,
consumers make choices without carefully considering the alternatives, with inadequate
information about the intended product, or without prior intent of purchase (Tversky &
Kahneman, 1981). Impulsive purchasing is an example of such a case. This behavior is
defined as unplanned buying and is a “sudden, compelling, hedonically complex purchasing
behavior in which the rapidity of the impulsive purchasing decision process precludes
thoughtful, deliberate consideration of all information and choice alternatives” (Kacen &
Lee, 2002; Stern, 1962). Retailers have realized the importance of this buying behavior and
try to influence consumers to purchase impulsively through store layouts, product packaging,
and in-store promotions (Dholakia, 2000). Impulsive purchasing is not limited to any type of
product or retail setting (Cobb & Hoyer, 1986).
Purchases in general can be based on explicit or implicit memories from a promotional

message about a product or service. Explicit memories means that consumers actively try to
recall or think back to an advertisement seen on a previous occasion in order to remember the
information from that specific message. Implicit memories, however, are retrieved
automatically. Impulsive purchases can be generated by unconscious memories of advertising
that consumers have been exposed to through different marketing channels. (Shapiro &
Krishnan, 2001)
Stern (1962) identifies nine factors that are crucial for influencing impulsive purchasing; one
of them is mass advertising. According to him, impulsive buying is based on consumer
knowledge about a product, which is received from previous experience or from advertising.
The reminder benefit of advertising is of great importance since impulsive buying increases.
Rook (1987) also emphasizes the significance of advertising since the unexpected and
spontaneous desire to purchase something is likely to be caused by a visual confrontation with
a product or by a promotional message.
The rapid development of mobile commerce also opens up new ways of advertising. Instead
of relying only on traditional advertising in printed media or television, companies can
promote their merchandise using mobile marketing such as SMS, MMS, QR codes, in-app-
ads, or promotion advertising on mobile adapted web pages. Mobile marketing is a promising
channel that enables organizations to send messages to consumers in better ways than through
mass media channels. Mobile marketing has become increasingly important since this
marketing channel provides opportunities to build personal one-to-one relationships with
consumers through mobile devices. (Hsu, 2014) In 2014, marketers worldwide spent nearly
25 billion US dollars on mobile marketing, an increase with 10 billion US dollars from 2013
(Statista, 2015).
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1.2 Problem Discussion
As mentioned previously, advertising is a significant factor that impacts consumers’
impulsive purchases. In addition to the studies already mentioned, there are other studies on
impulsive purchasing and factors that affect this behavior. Weinberg and Gottwald (1982), for
instance, concluded that impulsive buying behavior is induced through emotions and that
information processing plays a small part in the buying decision process. Although this article
is more than 30 years old, it is still relevant today. Even though the amount of information
that is available today is greater, information processing may still have a small impact on
consumers’ purchasing behavior, as the majority of consumers make impulsive purchases
using their mobile devices.
Another study on marketing issues and possibilities in wireless commerce concludes that
impulsive purchasing behavior depends on low value and low involvement product categories
(Kannan et al., 2001). More recent studies have put impulsive buying in the context of
promotional channels. Drossos and Fouskas (2010) study the effect of product involvement on
buying intentions with focus on the mobile advertising channel, with the purpose of
investigating what type of products can be advertised successfully via SMS advertisements.
They conclude that impulsive purchases are connected to low involvement products and that
this behavior is more likely to be positive when receiving an SMS advertisement close to the
point of sale.
Low product involvement means that consumers engage in little active information seeking,
there is little comparison among product attributes, there is no special preference for
particular brands, and there is a perception that different brands are quite similar.
(Zaichkowsky, 1985). For high product involvement, however, the buying decision process is
longer and goes through different stages of information seeking and evaluation of criteria
(Browne & Kaldenberg, 1997). Product categories such as clothing can be connected to both
low and high product involvement depending on for instance the type of clothing and the type
of brand. Ultimately, however, the level of involvement depends solely on the consumer.
(Martin, 1998)
Kaisheng (2011) identifies sales promotion as the most important marketing tool to instigate
impulsive buying online, whereas Hultén and Vanyushyn (2014) study the impact of direct-
mail marketing, TV commercials and in-store displays on impulsive purchasing. Their
findings show that there are interactive effects between the mentioned promotional channels
that increase impulsive buying behavior. They conclude that in-store display is the most
effective promotional tool. While direct-mail and TV commercials can attract customers to
the store, in-store displays will make sure customers look, feel, and buy the clothes. Their
study does however not include mobile advertising as a promotional channel.
Consumers buy products and services more and more online, since making online purchases
is effortless and allows access to a wider range of products than physical stores do. Electronic
commerce facilitates the everyday life for many consumers by making it possible to buy
products or services twenty four hours a day. (DIBS, 2014) The trend of using mobile devices
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to make purchases increases significantly. Several studies have pointed to impulsive
purchases for low value and low involvement products. The question is if this is changing
given the increasing trend of using of mobile devices. Implicit memories are an important
factor to drive impulses to buy. This is done by various ways of advertising of which mobile
advertising is a new way to promote merchandise.
Previous studies on the impact of marketing on impulsive purchasing suggest that future
studies in this area should include mobile marketing, indicating that the research on how
mobile marketing affects impulsive purchasing is insufficient (e.g. Drossos & Fouskas, 2010;
Hultén & Vanyushyn, 2014).
1.3 Purpose
The purpose of this thesis is to examine how different mobile marketing channels, such as
SMS advertising, advertising in mobile applications, and online in-store promotion, can
influence consumers’ desire to purchase products impulsively online. Based on the previous
discussion as well as the purpose of the thesis, the following research question has been
developed:
What is the relationship between mobile marketing and consumer online impulsive
purchasing tendency?
1.4 Delimitation
This thesis will focus on one product category in order to facilitate the analysis of individuals’
impulsive purchasing behavior. The selected product category is clothing since this is the
product category that individuals purchase most of online.
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2. Literature Review
This chapter presents an overview of existing literature relevant to the purpose and research
question stated in chapter one. First the focus will be on impulsive purchasing, continuing
with mobile marketing channels, and lastly previous studies on the effects of marketing on
impulsive purchasing will be presented.
2.1 Impulsive Purchasing

Impulsive purchasing can be defined as “unplanned” buying and is a consumer behavior that
deviates from the rational decision-making process, which involves making choices based on
carefully considerations of different options from various alternatives (Stern 1962; Tversky &
Kahneman, 1974). The phenomenon of this behavior has been studied in numerous studies in
the areas of retailing and consumer behavior and several attempts have been made to define
and measure the prevalence of impulsive purchasing (Piron, 1991).
TABLE 2.1. Dimensions of the impulse purchase definition

1 Unplanned purchases
2 Response to stimulus
3 Deliberately planned to benefit from special offers
4 Thrill seeking
5 Decision made on the spur of the moment
6 Result of deliberation process
7 Not in response to previously recognized problem
8 No buying intentions formed prior to entering the store
9 Sudden and spontaneous desire to act
10 State of psychological disequilibrium
11 Psychological conflict and struggle
12 Reduction of cognitive evaluation
13 No evaluation of consequences
SOURCE: Adapted from Piron (1991)
The earliest studies from the 1940s defined impulsive purchasing as unplanned, but the
understanding improved with Stern’s (1962) identification of four types of impulsive
purchasing: pure, reminder, suggestion and planned purchasing. This mix of different
purchasing behaviors is influenced by a diversity of personality, economic, time, location, and
cultural factors, which not only vary among consumers’ purchasing the same product, but also
for the same consumers purchasing the same product under different circumstances.
Pure impulse buying is the easiest form to identify and is solely based on emotions that
interrupt normal buying patterns. Reminder impulse purchasing occurs when consumers see a
product and are reminded of the need to purchase it. Suggestion impulse buying takes place
when consumers see a product for the first time and realize a need for it, without previous
experience or knowledge. Lastly, Stern’s definition of planned purchasing corresponds to
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Nesbitt’s (1959), who defined it as “intelligent shopping”, which means that consumers
search for and take advantage of in-store promotions without previous purchase intentions.
Stern (1962) stated that impulsive purchasing “is related to ease of buying” and identified four
resources used when making a purchase: money, time, physical effort and mental effort.
Money refers to the price of the product and the costs for going to or from the store; time is
the time spent in going to or from the store, physical effort means driving or walking to or
from the store and lastly, mental effort includes budgeting and scheduling for the trip. When
the expense of these resources is low, purchasing becomes easy and the probability of an
impulse purchase increases significantly.
2.1.1 Hedonically Complex Experience

Rook and Hoch (1985) focused on the psychological aspect of the phenomenon, defining five
emotional responses that distinguish impulsive from non-impulsive behavior: 1) “a sudden
and spontaneous desire to act”, 2) “a state of psychological disequilibrium”, 3) “the onset of
psychological conflict and struggle”, 4) “a reduction in cognitive evaluation”, and 5) “lack of
regard for the consequences for impulsive buying”.
Rook (1987) described impulsive purchasing as a hedonic experience, explaining that the
phenomenon is based on strong feelings; both good connected to pleasure and bad connected
to pain. In his study, people who had experienced impulsive purchasing described good
feelings such as happy, satisfied and wonderful. People also said that shopping on impulse
made them feel better if they had been feeling sad. Bad feelings associated with impulsive
behavior, however, included feelings such as guilt, helplessness, nervousness, feeling out of
control, and even panic. In general it is perceived as bad to make impulse purchases. Because
of these variations of feelings, Rook (1987) considered impulsive purchasing as hedonically
complex.
In his study, Rook (1987) also pointed out the difference between impulsive and
contemplative (thoughtful) buying. First of all, while contemplative buying is characterized as
a normal and calm deed, impulse buying is a thrilling, out of the ordinary, spontaneous, and
fast experience where the likelihood of grabbing a product is higher than selecting one. Unlike
a contemplative purchase, a buying impulse has a tendency to interrupt consumers’ regular
routine. Purchasing on impulse, consumers feel more out-of-control than when making
thoughtful purchases. Rook’s (1987) definition corresponds to Stern’s (1962) characterization
of pure impulse buying behavior, i.e. that impulsive purchasing is more emotional than
rational contingent.
It is also proposed that normative evaluations potentially can influence the buying behavior of
consumers, since normative judgments are one part that allows consumers to conduct an
impulsive purchase. This means that if consumers experience a negative norm, the purchase
will probably not be conducted. While in other situations the norm can support to act on
impulse. Except from the normative judgments, the other part that influences impulsive
purchasing is the personal characteristics of consumers. (Rook & Fisher, 1995)
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2.1.2 On the Spot
An important aspect of impulsive purchasing that Piron (1991) discussed, is that the decision
to purchase the item should be decided “on the spot”. That means that the complete purchase
decision process should be performed at the point of sale. “On the spot” can be specified as
the instant time and place that the process is completed. The decision to purchase is made
immediately as consumers see the product or the advertisement representing the product. This
also means that if consumers get an urgent need of purchasing a product before entering the
store, the purchase would be considered as planned due to the fact that the consumers would
need to transport themselves to the store to be able to purchase the product. (Piron, 1991)
2.1.3 Exposure to a Stimulus and its Effects on Impulsive Purchasing

Appelbaum (1951) was the first to propose that impulsive purchasing could be affected by
exposure to an in-store stimulus. This proposal was later corroborated by Nesbitt (1959) and
Stern (1962). While Nesbitt considered this to be intelligent shopping, Stern based his
classification of pure, reminder, suggestion and planned impulsive buying behavior on the
assumption that the behavior is linked to consumers’ exposure to a stimulus.
Different types of stimuli such as the product itself, bright colors, special premiums, point-of-
purchase displays and end aisle displays, companion items to specific products, and
atmospherics have been shown to have an effect on consumers’ increased impulsive
purchasing behavior. (Piron, 1991; Rook & Hoch, 1985; Stern, 1962)
Kotler (1973) describes the atmosphere as an influence that affects the purchase, and therefore
it is an important marketing tool. Atmospherics is the “effort to design buying environments
to produce specific emotional effects in the buyer that enhance his purchase probability”.
Kotler also explains that “an atmosphere is seen, heard, smelled and felt” and that how it is
perceived and the effects of it differs between consumers. The atmosphere emits stimuli to
consumers that provide them with information about how they should act.
Stern (1962) identified nine factors that promote impulsive purchasing; low price, marginal
need for the item, mass distribution, self-service, short product life, small size or light weight,
ease of storage, prominent store display, and mass advertising. Low prices increase the
likelihood of consumers buying something on impulse, which in turn implies that expensive
items are not impulse items, although there is not a determined border for when items are
considered inexpensive and become impulsive. Items that are of no crucial need to purchase
on a regular basis, consumers can delay until it is convenient to purchase them. These items
are not the main purpose of a shopping tour and therefore they are not likely to be planned
purchases, but rather impulsive products. The accessibility to an item and how easily it is
found also affects impulsive purchasing; the more places consumers see the item in, the more
likely is the purchase. Self-service grants consumers more freedom and contributes to quicker
purchases, which leads to that consumers may also buy something more than supposed on
impulse. Furthermore, products with short buying cycles are more likely to be purchased on
impulse, since these products need to be purchased more often, and therefore are not always
planned beforehand. The size or weight of products as well as the ease of storage can also
7
increase impulsive purchasing. Items that are easy to transport home and that are easy to store
are more likely to be purchased on impulse while heavy and large purchases more likely need
to be planned. Crucial factors that impact impulsive buying are in-store displays and mass
advertisements. Advertising messages serve as reminders of products and provides
information about different items. In combination with visible in-store displays, such as
position on the shelves, special package, and promotion, advertising increases the possibility
of impulsive purchases. (Stern, 1962)
2.2 Mobile Marketing

The American Marketing Association (1985) defined marketing as “the process of planning
and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and
services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives”.
Mobile commerce has earlier been described as “wireless commerce” as well as “mobile e-
commerce” (Schwartz, 2000). A broad definition of mobile commerce is that it is “any form
of mobile communication with the customer” (Frolick & Chen, 2004). Some have described it
as some sort of transaction with a monetary value, while others have defined it as transactions
via mobile devices using wireless telecommunication networks and other wired electronic
commerce technologies (Clarke, 2001; Siau et al., 2001). The mobile commerce channel is
useful for developing relationships with consumers and also for enhancing marketing and
promotion (Jimenez, 2002).
Scharl et al. (2005) define mobile marketing as “using a wireless medium to provide
consumers with time- and location-sensitive, personalized information that promotes goods,
services and ideas, thereby benefiting all stakeholders”. A more recent definition emphasizes
that mobile marketing is a two- or multi way communication which is used to promote offers
to the consumers using mobile technology (Shankar & Balasubramanian, 2009).
TABLE 2.2. Comparison of traditional, online, and mobile advertising media

Magazine/Newspaper TV WWW Mobile
Display Color/greyscale static Color Color Color
Animated
Mode Visual/haptic Audio/visual Audio/visual Audio/visual/haptic
Presentation Pull Push Pull (banner) Push (SMS/MMS),
type Pull (Banner)
Involvement High Low Relatively high High
Environment Mostly focused Diverse Focused Usually distracted
Information Detailed Limited Detailed Very limited
Targeting Medium Hard Easy Easy
Advertisement Exposure Exposure Interactive/exposure Interactive/exposure
type
SOURCE: Adapted from Park, Shenoy & Salvendy (2008)
Mobile marketing is attractive for several different reasons. First of all, it is easy to reach the
consumers since they bring their phones everywhere, which means that they have constant
8
access to the device and pay it considerable attention. It is a high speed communication tool
where the individual one-to-one targeting makes it possible to send information relevant for
the consumer, based on for example demographics and geographic location, meaning that it
can be rather personalized. Like the Internet, this marketing channel is highly interactive,
since consumers can reply promptly to the information, or choose to save it and reply later.
(Yuan & Cheng, 2004)
Mobile devices, especially mobile phones are the most personal items in the world since
individuals carry them wherever they go, and have become more and more desirable with
added features (Jayawardhena et al., 2009). Due to the increasing tendency of organizations
to send unauthorized text messages, so called “spam”, many European countries have
implemented regulations to prevent this behavior (Kautonen et al., 2007). To initiate a two-
way mobile communication between sellers and consumers, consumers need to give their
permission to the sellers beforehand, which also means giving their approval that their
personal data will be stored in the mobile marketing database. Personal data can include
information on, for instance, demographic and location, and the more marketers can use
different types of data, the likelihood of creating relevant, customized, personalized, and
efficient promotional messages on mobile devices increases. (Ho & Kwok, 2002;
Jayawardhena et al., 2009)
When mobile marketing is delivered with permission and the content is relevant, it drives
response actions and forms awareness of the brand (Mohamed Yunos et al., 2003). Marketers
are able to track and determine the locations of consumers and measure consumer responses,
so to conduct efficient mobile marketing it is essential to take advantage of the characteristics
of the mobile channel such as time and location. (Jimenez, 2002; Yuan & Cheng, 2004)
McManus and Scornavacca (2005) argue that an effective mobile marketing campaign should
consist of the following four factors; permission, reach, richness and customization.
Permission means that companies should respect consumers’ privacy and control over their
own choices, which is important for gaining trust from the consumers (Barnes & Scornavacca,
2004). Reach or ubiquity means the number of consumers that can be reached and when
contact can be made. Richness describes not only the quality of the message, but also the
format, how easy it is to track and measure and if interaction from the consumers is needed.
(Jelassi & Enders, 2004) Customization describes that the message should capture the interest
of consumers and therefore it needs to be personalized, trustworthy, concise, and connect on
an emotional level. The messages should not be sent too frequently, and time and place should
be appropriate. (Barnes & Scornavacca, 2004; Jelassi & Enders, 2004)
As mentioned, mobile devices are highly personal and are carried by consumers more or less
at all times. This is beneficial for companies, but it can also present a disadvantage. When
consumers receive promotional messages through for instance text messages, they may find
themselves in an environment that distracts them which can cause them to ignore the
advertisement for the moment and perhaps forget it. In addition, the size of the mobile device
constitutes a restriction in advertising space. (Park, Shenoy & Salvendy, 2008) The cost of
9
marketing via for instance SMS and MMS is not that high which results in that businesses
sometimes send out advertisements to a large audience without personalizing the offers to suit
the receivers’ preferences. This may result in potential consumers becoming annoyed with
this type of marketing approach. (Rittippant et al., 2009) Another concern is that mobile
marketing is intruding on consumer privacy and in the case of spam there are security
concerns such as fraud, false identities, damaging and doubtful content, and enticement.
(Rettie et al., 2005; Sipior et al., 2004).
2.2.3 Marketing Channels

As mentioned earlier the channels of mobile marketing are SMS, MMS, QR codes, in-app
ads, and promotion advertising on mobile adapted web pages (Hsu, 2014). The channels have
different purposes, such as enforcing a direct purchase, stimulating demand, and increasing
brand image and loyalty (Park, Shenoy & Salvendy, 2008).
TABLE 2.3. Categories of mobile advertisements

Communication Business purpose Presentation type Message type
type
Push Direct purchase Message (SMS/MMS) Pure advertisement
Pull Stimulates demand, Mass media promotion Attached advertisement

Motivation to actively Sales promotion/discount
searching for specific QR code
products In-app ad
Interactive Enhancing brand image Application Attached advertisement
(screensaver/wallpaper/
mobile game)
SOURCE: Adapted from Park, Shenoy & Salvendy (2008)
The most common mobile application is the short message service (SMS), which is used as a
form of direct marketing. It is defined by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) as “an
interactive system of marketing that uses one or more advertising media to effect a
measurable response and/or transaction at any location” and practices a push strategy to
provide the consumers with messages containing information that can be directly aimed for
the specific customer. (Muk, 2007) This wireless push marketing strategy involves
salespersons who initialize the communication and supply consumers with promotional
messages to mobile phones. The messages are often connected to a specific time and location.
(Frolick & Chen, 2004) This strategy is a good option to promote low value products and
impulse buy products. Push advertisements can either be undesirable, for instance promotions
delivered via SMS to consumers in the context of an existing customer relationship, or
advertisements may be ordered where consumers have agreed on having products or services
“pushed” to them at certain times. (Koski, 2004; Leppäniemi et al., 2004)
A number of previous studies on the effectiveness of text messages as a channel imply that
this method of delivering promotional messages has great potential (e.g. Barwise & Strong,
10
2002; Drossos et al., 2007). Advertising that is delivered to consumers’ mobile devices with
permission “captures consumer’s attention, drives response actions, and builds brand
awareness” (Mohamed Yunos et al., 2003). Barwise and Strong’s study (2002) based on a
large survey on younger consumers, advocates that permission-based mobile marketing is a
good channel for advertisements concerning low cost products. They discuss some necessities
that marketers need to consider. First of all, the likelihood of gaining consumer attention
increases if the messages are for instance humoristic or contain relevant information. The
challenge is to create an interesting message with a limitation of 160 characters. (Barwise &
Strong, 2002)
The Multimedia message service (MMS) offers multimedia communication on mobile

devices that is more vivid, expressive, and personalized. It involves exchange of messages
containing pictures, animations, video clips, and sound clips, and can be combined with a text.
(Hsu et al., 2007) This further makes the push promotion to consumers more entertaining and
creative because of the richer content that can be sent with MMS compared to SMS. (Novak
& Svensson, 2001)
Quick response codes (QR codes) are two-dimensional barcodes that can be read by using the
camera of a mobile phone or tablet. (Rouillard, 2008) If the mobile device is not equipped
with a QR code reader it can be downloaded as an application. The use of QR codes is an
effective type of multi-channel marketing that can contain all sorts of information. It is for
example used in printed media such as newspapers, magazines, and on packages. (Okazaki et
al., 2012)
Narang, Jain and Roy (2012) analyze how QR codes can impact consumer attitudes toward
advertising, brand, and purchase intentions. They come to the conclusion that QR codes are
highly efficient in increasing consumer involvement since they can be combined with other
media platforms. By delivering exhaustive and valuable information, this marketing channel
also emphasizes the content of the message. There are several advantages with QR codes that
can be used in mobile marketing; however, consumers are not that familiar in using QR codes.
The study also revealed that QR codes were connected to high involvement products rather
than low involvement items, since consumers engaged in searching for product details and
QR codes deliver more extensive information. (Narang, Jain and Roy, 2012)
In application advertisements (in-app ads) is another type of advertising on mobile platforms,

which can be in the form of banner pop-ups, full-page image ads, or video ads. When clicking
on in-app banners consumers are directly transported to the web store and the promoted
product, which makes it easy for consumers to engage in impulsive purchasing. (Koufaris,
2002) While the above mentioned channels SMS and MMS are characterized as push
advertisement, in-app ads are usually initiated by consumers themselves, thus taking a pull
approach (Barnes, 2010). A pull strategy refers to the effort of a seller to stimulate final user
demand and to motivate consumers to actively search for a specific product through
promotional activities (Leppäniemi et al., 2004). In-app advertisements therefore depend on
consumers since they can choose whether to activate the advertisements by clicking on the
11
banner or not (Raines, 2013). Companies implement a pull strategy when wholesalers and
retailers stock numerous competing products but consumers show now interest in these items.
The objective of pull strategies is to increase consumer demand; sales promotion and
advertising often contribute to this strategy. (Boone & Kurtz, 2011; Lamb & Hair, 2011)
Sales promotion on mobile adapted web pages is another form of mobile marketing, where
promotion advertisements are shown on the official mobile versions of websites. (Hsu, 2014)
The Internet enables 24 hours online accessibility, global availability, and allows instant
response to promotional messages (Hoffman & Novak, 1995; Rowley, 2004). This
promotional marketing tool includes a diversity of short-term incentives that stimulate
immediate demand, and includes marketing activities such as displays, coupons, rebates,
premiums, trade shows, and other non-recurring irregular selling efforts. (Boone & Kurtz,
2011; Lamb & Hair, 2011) Combined with other forms of promotion, sales promotions enable
short-term purchasing incentives, for instance coupons for discounted or free products for a
certain period of time can be included in advertisements (Boone & Kurtz, 2011).
2.3 Marketing and its Effects on Impulsive Purchasing

There are many previous studies that examine the relationship between marketing and
impulsive buying behavior in physical environments. However, there are not many who look
at this relationship from an online perspective.
Hultén and Vanyushyn (2014), for instance, put planned impulsive purchasing in relation to
in-store promotion in physical stores. Their model is based on the hypotheses that external
promotion (direct mail marketing and TV commercials) and internal promotion (in-store
displays) are interacting to induce impulsive purchasing. This is due to the fact that consumers
are reminded of promotion that they have seen earlier when they are exposed to promotion
when visiting the store. It provides consumers with increased susceptibility to promotion in
the store and can evoke a hidden desire to purchase the product because of the advertising that
generated a positive image of the product. This is consistent with Stern's (1962) definition of
planned impulsive purchases. Ultimately this may lead to customers making a planned or
unplanned purchase of the product. In their study, Hultén and Vanyushyn (2014) use clothes
as base for the examination.
12
External Promotion Internal Promotion Control variables:
- Advice from staff
- Shopping frequency
Direct-mail H2 - Average spending
marketing - Age of the shopper
- Country
H1
In-store H5 General impulse
promotion purchase tendency
H3
H6
TV Commercials
H4
Gender
FIGURE 2.1. Responsiveness to promotions and impulse purchase tendency

SOURCE: Hultén & Vanyushyn (2014)
TABLE 2.4. Hypotheses for the model “responsiveness to promotions and impulse purchase
tendency”
H1 There is a relationship between positive reactions to direct-mail marketing and
consumers’ positive responses to in-store promotion.
H2 Positive responses to direct-mail marketing increase shoppers’ general impulse
purchase tendency.
H3 There is a relationship between positive reactions to TV commercials and consumers’
positive responses to in-store promotion.
H4 Positive responses to TV commercials increase shoppers’ general impulse purchase
tendency.
H5 There is a relationship to consumers’ positive response to in-store promotion and their
general impulse purchase tendency.
H6 Female shoppers make more frequent impulse purchases than male shoppers do.
SOURCE: Hultén & Vanyushyn (2014)
The results of their findings show that there is a strong relationship between impulsive
purchasing and how often consumers make purchases, and that the phenomena is more
common among those who purchase often. The authors also learn that men generally spend
more money than women when they shop, although they do not shop as often. Men find it
more important to receive advice from personnel in the stores than women do and younger
consumers are more positive in their reactions towards promotion than older consumers.
Further, the results show that those who perceive direct mail marketing and TV commercials
as positive also have a positive view on in-store promotion. Internal promotion has a unique
individual impact on impulsive purchasing while the impact of external promotion is not as
significant. External promotion is important when it comes to marketing, but the results
13
indicate that it is the internal promotion that triggers impulsive purchasing. The findings also
show that younger consumers who shop often have a higher tendency to shop on impulse and
that people who spend less money on their purchases perform more impulsive purchases.
Kaisheng’s (2011) study takes a different approach than Hultén and Vanyushyn and
investigates the relation between online sales promotion and impulsive purchasing online, by
presenting a model on the relationship through the time and energy that consumers spend on
web browsing.
Online sales promotion

Impulse buying online
Online sales promotion types
Contents of communication
Methods for announcement
Time and energy on web Online buying impulsiveness

browsing
FIGURE 2.2. Relationship between online sales promotion and impulse buying online
SOURCE: Kaisheng (2011)
Kaisheng discusses three dimensions of online sales promotion - online sales promotion
types, content of communication, and methods for announcement - that can be used to
measure the short-term effect of online sales promotion on buying impulsiveness and on
impulsive purchasing online. He emphasizes the importance of studying this relationship
since promotional messages that appeal to consumers will lead to more time spent on web
browsing, which in turn increases the likelihood of becoming affected by the promotion,
increases the probability that the consumers will experience buying impulsiveness and finally
impulsive purchasing online.
The first dimension consists of online sales promotion types and is the dimension that wields
the most attention. Price-oriented and product-oriented incentives are two traditional types of
sales promotion which are commonly used on the Internet as well, since the objectives and
means of running online and traditional sales promotion are quite the same. Online sales
promotion might need some adjustments concerning the means. Coupons and sales price are
frequently used among price-oriented online sales promotions, while premiums and bonus
packs are recurrent among product-oriented stimulus. Combining different incentives is
significant for online sales promotion. In a study by Drossos et al. (2007) on successful SMS
advertising, the authors conclude that the use of incentives in SMS advertising, such as price
14
reductions or discounts, lead to increased positive attitudes towards a brand as well as
increased purchase intentions.
Contents of communication is the second dimension of Kaisheng’s (2011) study that can have
an impact on the effectiveness of online sales promotion, depending on the way in which
information is presented as well as the types of information.
The last dimension, methods for announcement, represents the carrier for online sales
promotion, including pop ups, banner ads, sales icons, and so on. The level of attraction relies
on the method and its design affects the time and energy that online consumers spend on web
browsing. Furthermore, this dimension includes the decision of how much information that
sales ads should hold and also what a website should contain in terms of the combination of
methods and incentives. Combinations that are too complicated will waste consumers’ time
and enthusiasm, and deviate from the simplicity that symbolizes the impulsive purchasing. On
the other hand, too simple combinations provide insufficient information to consumers, which
may mean that consumers do not slip to impulsive buying behavior.
In contrast to traditional marketing in physical environments, online shopping does not enable
face-to-face interaction between seller and consumer which increases the importance of visual
promotion and in turn may stimulate consumers’ online impulsivity. Kaisheng (2011) states
that online sales promotion is the most significant marketing tool and that the longer time
individuals spend on web browsing, the more likely they are to be susceptible to online sales
promotion. He concludes that through the combination of different promotional types, online
sales promotion can generate positive results to purchasing online.
2.4 Summary
One of the first definitions of impulsive purchasing describes the phenomenon as
“unplanned”. Stern (1962) proposed a more accurate definition by categorizing impulsive
behavior into four different types of impulsive purchasing; pure, reminder, suggestion, and
planned.
Studies with psychological and emotional aspects have contributed with more understanding
about the phenomenon (e.g. Rook & Hoch, 1985). It is suggested that the behavior has a
connection to strong feelings and is described as a hedonic experience (Rook, 1987).
Normative judgments have also shown to affect the purchasing situation (Rook & Fisher,
1995).
An important part of impulsive purchasing is that the purchase should be decided immediate
at the point of sale, that is, “on the spot”. All purchases that have been thought out before
entering the store are considered to be planned and can therefore not be categorized as
impulsive. (Piron, 1991) Stern (1962) mentioned “mass advertising” as one out of nine
important factors affecting impulsive purchasing.
Different types of stimuli and their impact on impulsive purchasing have also been examined.
Here, factors such as in-store stimuli, the atmosphere, the product itself, premiums, and
15
displays are mentioned as factors that act as stimulus for consumers. (Appelbaum, 1951;
Kotler, 1973; Piron, 1991; Rook & Hoch, 1985; Stern 1962)
In a more recent study, Hultén and Vanyushyn (2014) have investigated the connection
between impulsive purchasing and promotion where the results proved that there is a strong
connection between internal promotion and impulsive purchasing, but also that positive
experience of external promotion affects the view of internal promotion positively. Another
study, by Kaisheng (2011), examines the relation between online sales promotion and
impulsive purchasing online, and comes to the conclusion that online sales promotion can
generate positive results to purchasing online.
There is insufficient research on how mobile marketing affects impulsive purchasing.

Therefore, the next step in examining the impulsive purchasing area is to take a mobile
marketing approach, investigating how marketing via mobile channels can influence
consumers to purchase impulsively online.
16
3. Conceptual Framework
This chapter presents theories and models that will be used to answer the research purpose.
After the literature review, it is essential to develop a conceptual model to visually show the
relationships that will be examined. Conceptualization consists of three parts: (1)
identification of variables and constructs of the research, (2) specification of hypotheses and
relationships, and (3) development of a conceptual model that represents the theoretical basis
of the relationships that will be tested. (Hair et al., 2007)
First, variables and constructs need to be identified. Variables are observable and measurable
elements that evaluate a single question or statement, which are measured directly.
Constructs, however, are a combination of questions or statements, employed to represent
concepts or characteristics that can only be measured indirectly through variables (e.g.
questionnaires). Variables and constructs can be either independent or dependent.
Independent variables or constructs are measurable characteristics that can impact or explain
the dependent variable, while dependent variables or concepts are the ones that the research is
trying to understand or explain. (Ibid)
The purpose of the research is to examine how different mobile marketing channels influence
consumers’ desire to purchase products and services impulsively online. After reviewing the
presented literature related to the research area, the model “Responsiveness to promotions and
impulsive purchasing tendency” by Hultén & Vanyushyn (2014) was chosen as conceptual
model for answering the research purpose. This is due to the fact that the study examines
planned impulsive purchasing (dependent variable) and the interactive effects of the
promotional tools (independent variables) that contribute to consumers visiting the stores and
make purchases. After establishing the conceptual model, the hypotheses will be specified.
3.1 Conceptual Model and Hypotheses

The hypotheses in our research are based on the hypotheses of Hultén and Vanyushyn's
(2014) study. In their study, Hultén and Vanyushyn look at the relationship between different
marketing channels, such as television advertising, direct-mail marketing, and in-store
promotion, and impulsive purchasing behavior in physical stores. The focus on the influence
of different marketing techniques will be the same as in the study of Hultén and Vanyushyn,
specifically, that impulsive purchasing is stimulus driven. This corresponds to Stern’s (1962)
definition of planned purchasing which means that consumers search for and take advantage
of in-store promotions without previous purchase intentions.
In this study, an online approach of impulsive purchasing will be taken, focusing on

marketing on mobile phones. Figure 3.1 is an illustration of the conceptual model and
hypotheses.
17
External Promotion Internal Promotion
SMS advertising H3
H2 Online in-store General online impulsive

H1
promotion purchasing tendency
H4
H5 H6
In-app advertising
Gender
Control variables:
- Age
- Monthly income
- Online shopping frequency
- Online average spending
-
FIGURE 3.1. Responsiveness to promotions and impulsive purchasing tendency
SOURCE: Adapted from Hultén and Vanyushyn (2014)
First of all the figure shows that internal promotion, in this case online in-store promotion, is
crucial for consumers to make impulsive purchases. In-store promotion is essential to get
consumers to take action and complies with Stern's (1962) explanation of planned impulsive
purchasing. Online in-store promotion acts as a stimulus that is used for influencing and
contributing to unplanned purchasing because of the various short-term incentives that
stimulate immediate demand. This type of promotion consists of marketing activities such as
point-of-purchase displays, coupons, rebates, and other non-recurring irregular selling efforts,
of which sales promotion in the form of coupons have shown to have effect on impulsive
purchasing. (Boone & Kurtz, 2011; Lamb & Hair, 2011) Following the discussion above the
first hypothesis is:
H1 There is a relationship between consumers’ positive reactions to online in- store

promotion and their general impulsive purchasing tendency.
The internal promotion is affected by external promotion of which consumers have received a
positive impression that consciously or subconsciously attracted them to enter the store. After
reviewing the literature, SMS and in-app advertising have been selected as external
promotion. SMS advertising is the most common mobile application used by organizations to
communicate with consumers, and furthermore it is a type of direct marketing technique that
encourages impulsive purchasing and is effective for promoting low value products
(Leppäniemi et al., 2004; Koski, 2004). Since promotional messages through this channel are
personally aimed to the receiver and are delivered with permission, they capture the attention
of consumers, drive them to respond through actions, and contributes to increased brand
awareness (Mohamed Yunos et al., 2003; Drossos et al., 2007) Direct marketing, such as SMS
18
advertising, is efficient for building a positive experience of products prior to the purchase,
which may later on lead to a purchase when entering the store (Rajagopal, 2010). Therefore,
the hypotheses are:
H2 There is a relationship between positive reactions to SMS advertising and consumers’

positive reactions to online in-store promotion.
H3 Positive reactions to SMS advertising increase consumers’ general tendency to purchase

on impulse.
In-app advertising was chosen because it is a common phenomenon in apps and it can be a
great addition to text messages. In contrast to SMS advertising, in-app ads are directed
towards all users of the app. Clicking on in-app banners directly transports consumers to the
web store and the promoted product, which makes it effortless to engage in impulsive
purchasing. (Koufaris, 2002) The other mentioned channels, MMS and QR codes, will not be
included. MMS is very similar to SMS and the concept of QR codes is to scan barcodes for
additional information and therefore previous researchers argue that purchases are not
impulsive if individuals have sought information using QR codes. Therefore, the following
hypotheses are suggested:
H4 There is a relationship between positive reactions to in-app ads and consumers’ positive
reactions to online in-store promotion.
H5 Positive reactions to in-app ads increase consumers’ general tendency to purchase on

impulse.
Impulsive purchasing behavior differs between males and females. Previous studies show that
women engage more often in impulsive purchasing than men, but men spend more when they
shop. (Pentecost & Andrews, 2010; Hultén & Vanyushyn, 2014) Consumers’ impulsive
purchasing behavior can be affected by different types of in-store stimuli such as the product
itself, special premiums, point-of-purchase displays, and companion items to specific products
(Stern, 1962; Rook & Hoch, 1985; Piron, 1991). Since women tend to buy more on impulse
than men, and since in-store stimuli can trigger impulsive purchasing behavior, retailers can
highlight such stimuli in stores whose products appeal to women (Tifferet & Herstein, 2012).
In a study by Coley and Burgess (2003), the result shows that women and men make
impulsive purchases in different product categories. While men purchase products on impulse
that symbolize a strong personal identity, such as technology and entertainment, women make
impulsive purchases of products that relate to social identity and convey “emotional stylistic
appearance”. The combination of these components, that is, making impulsive purchases of
products that appeal to women’s’ identity and responding to in-store stimuli while shopping,
leads to the reasonable assumption that women purchase clothes on impulse to a greater
extent than men. To conclude, the following is hypothesized:
H6 Female shoppers make more frequent online impulsive purchases of clothes than male
shoppers do.
19
In excess of the dependent (impulsive purchasing) and independent variables (promotional
tools), some control variables are included in the conceptual model that might impact
impulsive purchasing tendencies among consumers. First of all, the control variables shopping
frequency, average spending and age from the original model of Hultén and Vanyushyn
(2014) will be kept, since these factors might influence the general online impulsive
purchasing tendency. Shopping frequency and average spending are in the online context. For
the former question the option “once a year or less” was added to include individuals that
rarely purchase clothes online. Stern (1962) defines income as a factor that can influence
purchasing behavior, which is why this factor has been included as a control variable in the
model.
20
4. Methodology
This chapter presents the used research methods for this thesis. These include the research
purpose, approach and strategy, data collection, sample selection, data analysis, and finally
reliability and validity as quality standards.
4.1 Research Purpose

There are three kinds of research: exploratory, descriptive and explanatory. Exploratory
studies are aimed at understanding observed phenomena, explanatory to find causal
connections, and descriptive to describe events or circumstances (Saunders et al., 2009). The
overall purpose of this thesis is to examine how different mobile marketing channels, such as
SMS advertising, advertising in mobile applications, and in-store promotion on mobile
adapted webpages, can influence consumers’ desire to purchase products and services
impulsively online. In order to answer this purpose, the following research question was
developed:
RQ What is the relationship between mobile marketing and consumer online impulsive
This thesis is of descriptive and explanatory character since it seeks to describe the
relationship between the cause variable mobile marketing channels and the effect variable
impulsive purchasing.
4.2 Research Approach

The research approach can be either qualitative or quantitative. A quantitative approach refers
to collecting data by assigning numbers that directly represent the characteristics of something
and analyzing data through diagrams and statistics. The samples are large and although the
design of the questions is influenced by the researcher’s opinion, the results are relatively
objective since the respondents provide the numbers. Qualitative data, however, is collected
through unstructured interviews or observations, such as in-depth interviews and focus
groups. The sample sizes are usually small, and the respondents are selected to meet a certain
quota. The data collection provides non-standardized data, which requires classification into
different categories, and the results of qualitative approaches are more subjective since this
approach necessitates interpretation. (Hair et al., 2007) The purpose of this research is to
examine if there is a relationship between marketing and impulsive purchasing through the
testing of a number of hypotheses, which means that a quantitative approach is most suitable.
The research approach can be either inductive or deductive. A deductive approach is

descriptive and based on a theoretical position including hypotheses that is derived and
proven by the collection of data, eventually coming to a conclusion. An inductive approach,
on the other hand, seeks to develop the theory after analyzing and drawing conclusions of the
data collection. (Saunders et al., 2009) This thesis will have a deductive approach since it is
based on existing theory.
21
4.3 Research Strategy
There are several different research strategies to choose among; experiment, survey, case
study, action research, grounded theory, ethnography, archival research analysis and history.
What strategy that suits the research is guided by the research question, since it must make it
possible to implement the purpose of the research. It also depends on how much existing
knowledge there is in the area, time and resources. (Saunders et al., 2009) In excess of the
research question, Yin (2009) also emphasizes two other conditions; control over actual
behavioral events and focus on contemporary events in contrast to historical events.
TABLE 4.1. Relevant situations for different research methods

Method Form of research Requires control over Focuses on
question behavioral events contemporary events
Experiment How, why? Yes Yes
Survey Who, what, where, No Yes

how many, how
much?
Archival Analysis Who, what, where, No Yes/no

how many, how
much?
History How, why? No No
Case Study How, why? No Yes
SOURCE: Yin (2009, p. 8)
Due to the quantitative nature of this study, a survey was selected as research strategy. This
strategy is suitable for descriptive and explanatory research with a deductive approach and
enables to answer questions such as who, what, where, how much and how many. Surveys are
advantageous when collecting a large amount of data out of a population and for finding
causes of relationships between different variables. It is also convenient for obtaining results
that can represent an entire population. Surveys are usually conducted in the form of
questionnaires, and since the data is standardized it is also easy to compare the answers. The
survey strategy can also be performed by observations, and structured interviews with
standardized questions. (Saunders et al., 2009) However, the survey strategy for this research
will be a questionnaire since the research seeks to find a relationship between impulsive
purchasing and marketing based on a wide range of people.
4.4 Data Collection

A quantitative data collection method comprises collecting primary numerical data from
individuals, for example by using structured questionnaires or observation guides. The data
may include general background information such as gender, age, education and income, and
22
also information about lifestyle, attitudes, behavior, opinions and beliefs. There are three
categories of a quantitative data collection; self-completion, interviewer-completion and
observation. A survey questionnaire will, as mentioned, be used for collecting data for this
research. Questionnaires belong to the self-completion category and are a suitable approach
when collecting data from a large sample. (Hair et al., 2007) It also allows analyzing the data
by utilizing descriptive and inferential statistics. (Saunders et al., 2009)
When collecting data from respondents through a structured questionnaire the questions are
preset to be able to measure the characteristics of the individuals or phenomena. It is
important that the collected data is accurate and therefore a carefully designed questionnaire is
advantageous. The following activities are important to consider when constructing the
questionnaire; the general design, validation of the questionnaire by testing the questions in
advance, and the method by which the questionnaire is managed. (Hair et al., 2007)
Usually a questionnaire is formed for receiving large amounts of data in a numerical form.
The questions are standardized and the answers are preset and limited, which generates an
outcome that is mutually exclusive and exhaustive. A mutually exclusive outcome means that
each possible answer has a specific response category and exhaustive outcome means that a
response category is included for each possible answer. The wording of the questionnaire is
important for gaining accurate information. It is most common that the questionnaire is
performed without the researcher being present; therefore the subject and design must also
appeal to and motivate respondents to complete and return the questionnaire on their own.
(Hair et al., 2007)
However, there are also some weaknesses determined with this type of data collection
method. First of all, a questionnaire has only capacity of a limited number of questions and if
the questions are poorly developed, they can be misunderstood. This means that there is a risk
that the respondents may give erroneous answers. It is also difficult to know whether the
respondent completed the questionnaire on their own or with help from someone else that
affected the answers. All these factors can cause response bias. Other problems are loss of
researcher control, low response rate, and the fact that it is not possible to know if those who
respond give answers that are representative for the whole target population. (Hair et al.,
2007; Saunders et al., 2009)
The options for collecting data were either to send an online survey by e-mail or to personally
distribute the questionnaire in the city center of Luleå. The difficulty with an online survey
was to reach out to all people in the targeted age group, 20 to 65 years old, since private e-
mail addresses are not available for the public. If an online survey had been chosen for data
collection, it would only have been possible to reach students at Luleå University of
Technology through their student e-mail. Since the majority of the university students are
between 20 and 30 years old, it had not been possible to reach the entire target population.
The questionnaire was therefore personally handed out to people in the shopping area in the
city center of Luleå. The shopping area in Luleå is concentrated in a relatively small area
where a lot of people pass by on foot, making it easier to approach them. The data was
23
collected in a week; during the week days the questionnaire was handed out from 3.00 p.m. to
7.00 p.m. since that is the time in which most people are on their way home from work and on
the weekend it was handed out during the shopping hours.
4.4.1 Questionnaire Development

A questionnaire that is firmly designed and developed gives proper and correct information.
Questionnaires are structured frameworks built up by a set of questions and scales that are
intended to bring forth primary data. If the stages in the research are well constructed and
performed, the result of the questionnaire is valid and reliable. (Hair et al., 2007)
The questions chosen for the research should be evaluated in order to decide if the response to
the questionnaire will accomplish the information that is necessary to be able to test the
hypotheses and understand the relationships. It is also essential to evaluate the questions from
the respondents’ perspective and consider factors such as ability and willingness to answer the
stated questions. Essential parts in developing a questionnaire are identifying the concepts to
measure, the method of measurement, which questions to include, and the wording and
sequence of them, as well as the overall view of the questionnaire. The questions included
must be relevant to the objectives of the research. The outcomes of an accurate questionnaire
are high response rate and minimal error. (Ibid)
The opening questions of the questionnaire should be capturing the attention of the respondent
and promote the topic to encourage participation. After the opening questions comes the
research topic questions and they are intended to supply information about the research topic.
This part should begin with the general questions and end with more specific questions, like a
funnel. Classification questions about demographics and socioeconomics should be placed at
the end of the questionnaire, since these kinds of questions can be sensitive and therefore
affect participation and the respondents’ answers to the question that follows. (Ibid)
The questions used for this research have been adapted from the study by Hultén and
Vanyushyn (2014) and reformulated to suit a mobile context (see Appendix I). In order to
introduce and generate interest in the topic the questionnaire begins with the dependent
variable, that is, how often respondents purchase clothes impulsively online. This question is
followed by three questions each for the two constructs SMSAD and INAPPAD (see
Appendix II) asking the respondents about their general opinion about the promotional
channel, their general tendency of purchasing clothes online on the basis of such promotion,
and how often such promotional messages induce online impulsive purchases. For the
independent variable INSTORE, respondents were asked how often online in-store promotion
induced online impulsive purchases (see Appendix II). Both the dependent and independent
variables, except gender, were assessed with an ordinal seven-point Likert scale (where
1=never and 7=always or 1=very negative and 7=very positive). For the independent variable
gender, respondents were able to choose between the two response options “male” and
“female”.
24
In their study, Hultén and Vanyushyn use the seven-point scale to ask about two in-store
promotional tools; two-for-the-price-of-one offers and items on special in-store display. For
this thesis, the in-store promotional offers did not suit the online context and the question was
changed. The question was specified and adapted to online purchasing; including for example
free shipping and coupon codes, asking participants about what kind of offers would trigger
their impulsive purchasing tendency online.
Other questions in this research deviating from the seven-point scale are the control variables
such as age, monthly income, online average spending, and online shopping frequency. Age
was chosen to be an open ended question and the remaining ones were closed questions with
response options. The control variables were placed at the end of the questionnaire since these
questions can be sensitive for respondents and affect them negatively. Furthermore, the
respondents were able to choose between answering the questionnaire in English or Swedish.
4.4.2 Pilot Study

It is necessary to conduct a pretest of the questionnaire to be able to assess the accuracy and
consistency of the respondents’ answers. It is suitable to implement the pretest on respondents
that have the same characteristics as the intended, and to ask them what they think about the
instructions, scales, wording, and layout of the questionnaire, to assure that the questions are
relevant and clear. The pretest should be performed on a small sample, preferably between
five and thirty individuals. (Hair et al., 2007)
Before launching the questionnaire a pilot study was conducted in order to clarify whether the
questionnaire was easy to follow and if there was anything that could be misunderstood. The
pilot study was conducted with eleven people within the selected age range, who were asked
to critically review the questionnaire. The pilot study resulted in a few small changes in
formulations.
4.5 Sample Selection

Collecting and analyzing data from the entire population is called census. Mostly this is not
possible to realize due to constraints such as time, money, and access. Instead, researchers can
reduce the amount of data needed through either probability or non-probability sampling.
Probability sampling occurs mostly in quantitative research and involves the selection of a
sample from a population based on randomization or chance which represents the target
population. Non-probability sampling is used when there is a supposition that the distribution
of characteristics of the population is even. Researchers assume that all samples are
representative, which suggests that the results will be correct. (Saunders et al., 2009)
This thesis uses probability sampling since it is the best option for reaching out to individuals
in the targeted age group (see section 4.4 on how the data was collected) and conclusions
were drawn from a sample of the target population in order to answer the research question of
the thesis. According to Hair et al. (2007) there are five sampling techniques to choose from:
simple random, systematic, stratified, cluster, and multi-stage. The sampling technique this
thesis uses is simple random sampling, which means that every part of the target population
25
has an equal probability of being selected. The target population is people between the ages
20 to 65 in Luleå Municipality, which corresponds to approximately 50 000 individuals (SCB,
2015). The possible respondents were approached in the city center of Luleå, since as
mentioned the area is concentrated and a lot of people pass by on foot, making it easier to
approach them.
4.5.1 Participants
The decision of using people in the ages 20 to 65 as participants for this study is mostly based
on a previous study about Swedish electronic commerce. The study concluded that people
between 25 and 44 years old are responsible for almost the entire increase of online purchases
and people between 55 and 64 years old have been shown to make increased purchases on
phones and tablets. (DIBS, 2014) The reason for also including people between 20 and 24
was because people in this age group grew up with personal computers, mobile phones and
the Internet, the so called Generation Y, and therefore it was of interest to study whether they
also exhibit impulsive purchasing tendencies or not (McCrindle, 2003).
In order to decide on a suitable sample size, a study by Baruch and Holtom (2008) on survey
response rate levels and a study on determining the proper sample size by Israel (1992) were
used as guidelines. Baruch and Holtom (2008) study survey response rate levels in 167 studies
published between the years 2000 and 2005 and conclude that the average response rate on an
individual level was 52.7%. The authors therefore recommend an average response rate of
approximately 50% on the individual level.
Another guideline for assessing the appropriate sample size is to calculate it by taking the
number of independent variables into account and using the following formula: N > 50 +
8*m, where m represents the number of independent variables. For instance, 5 independent
variables require 90 cases. However, if the dependent variable is not normally distributed
more cases are needed. (Tabachnik & Fidell, 2007, p.123, in Pallant, 2010, p.150)
Another way to determine the proper sample size is to rely on published tables that provide
the sample size for a specific set of criteria. These are level of precision, confidence level and
degree of variability. The level of precision is the interval, stated in percentage points, in
which the true value of the population is estimated to be. The confidence level refers to that
the average value acquired by a sample is equivalent and normally distributed in relation to
the true population value. In a normal distribution, about 95% of the sample values lie within
two standard deviations of the true value of the population. Degree of variability in the
measured characteristics relates to the allocation of characteristics in the population. A more
heterogeneous population requires a larger sample size in order to achieve a certain degree of
precision. The more homogeneous a population, the smaller the sample size required. (Israel,
1992)
The participants of this study were people that were approached in the shopping area in Luleå
city. Due to the impossibility to keep a correct count of the total number of individuals that
were asked to answer the questionnaire, the response rate cannot be estimated. Therefore the
26
proper sample size was determined by using the formula that Pallant (2010) suggests. Since
this research has eight independent variables, 114 cases are required (50 + 8*8 = 114). A total
number of 232 people answered the questionnaire, which is above the requirement. Of the 232
respondents, 107 were male (46.1%), 113 were female (48.7%) and three respondents did not
specify their gender (1.3%). There were nine (3.9%) respondents who either did not answer
every question (gender excluded) or whose age was either lower or higher than our defined
age range. The number of participants in relation to the population in Luleå provides a level of
precision of ± 7% (Appendix III).
4.6 Data Analysis

Analyzing data in quantitative studies includes exploring, presenting, describing and
investigating relationships and trends. Collected quantitative data in raw form has no meaning
if it is not turned into information. For data to be useful it has to be analyzed and interpreted
and to their help researchers can use quantitative analysis techniques such as graphs, charts
and statistics. (Saunders et al., 2009) Hair et al. (2007) define two approaches for quantitative
data analysis: descriptive statistics for understanding the data and statistical tests to test
hypotheses. In this thesis descriptive statistics of the results are presented and interpreted, and
statistical analyses are made to test the proposed hypotheses. The software used for the data
analysis in this research was IBM SPSS (version 22).
4.6.1 Data Preparation

Before analyzing collected data it has to be examined to confirm the validity of the data and if
it is complete (Hair et al., 2007). For this research, the first step of the data preparation was to
remove all the questionnaires which were not fully completed. There were, however, three
questionnaires with missing gender which were not removed, since these were still useful for
the analysis. Consequently, a total of 223 questionnaires were useful for the analysis (see
section 4.5.1 for the total number of respondents).
The second step was to code the variables in IBM SPSS in order to analyze the collected data.
Both the dependent and independent variables, except gender, were assessed with an ordinal
seven-point Likert scale (where 1=never and 7=always or 1=very negative and 7=very
positive). The independent variable gender is a binary variable and was coded 0 for men and 1
for women. The control variable online shopping frequency was coded with 1 for consumers
who purchase clothes on the Internet once a year or less and 8 for those who purchase clothes
several times a week. The variable online average spending was coded with 1 representing
consumers who spend 249 Swedish crowns or less and 7 representing consumers who spend
more than 2000 Swedish crowns per buying opportunity. The variable monthly income was
coded with 1 for consumers who have a monthly income of less than 25 000 Swedish crowns
and 6 for those who have a monthly income of more than 60 000 Swedish crowns. Lastly, the
control variable age was an open ended question and was therefore coded with the specific
age of each respondent.
27
Missing data
When conducting research, especially with people, it is difficult to procure complete data
from every case. With IBM SPSS there are ways to find out to what extent that values are
missing for every variable, and the program provides three different options to deal with
missing data. It is vital to choose carefully, since it can have a large impact on the results.
(Pallant, 2010) The options are briefly presented below.
• Exclude cases listwise means that the cases are only included in the analysis if data is
complete on all of the variables. This option can limit the sample size. (Ibid)
• Exclude a case pairwise refers to excluding cases only if the missing data is required
for the specific analysis. In all other analysis where the necessary information is
available, the cases will be included. (Ibid)
• Replace with mean involves calculating the mean value for a variable and giving each
missing case this mean value. This option is not preferred, since the results of the
analysis can be misleading. (Ibid)
In this research, the cases were excluded pairwise, since the majority of variables were useful
for the analysis.
4.6.2 Descriptive Statistics

In order to gain an understanding of the collected data, descriptive statistics are used. (Hair et
al., 2007). The descriptive statistics included in this thesis are frequency distribution,
measures of central tendency, and measures of dispersion.
Frequency distribution examines data from a single variable and provides statistics of the
responses for the different values of the variable. Although frequency distribution tables
present easily read and basic information, it is usually necessary to summarize the information
in order to better understand the information from the collected data. Measures of central
tendency, such as mean, median, and mode, can be used to do this. Measures of dispersion
describe the variability of responses, that is, the tendency for responses to depart from the
central tendency. Measures of dispersion include range, variance, standard deviation,
skewness and kurtosis. (Hair et al., 2007)
4.6.3 Statistical Techniques

Hair et al. (2007) describe different statistical techniques for testing hypotheses. The
techniques used for this thesis were previously used in study by Hultén and Vanyushyn
(2014) in order to examine the same type of relationship.
A correlations test was used to examine the relationship between two variables. All variables
– dependent, independent, control - were be included. A t-test and a multiple regression were
used to test the hypotheses. While a t-test compares the means of two variables, a multiple
28
regression uses various independent variables in the same type of regression equation in order
to forecast a single dependent variable.
Before testing and analyzing the collected data, some assumptions common to the mentioned
techniques are necessary. These are level of measurement, independence of observation,
normality, linearity, homoscedasticity, and multicollinearity. Pre-analysis was conducted in
order to test the assumptions and the results were adequate and therefore it was possible to
conduct the analysis (for details, see sections 5.2 and 5.4.1).
4.7 Quality Standards

It is important that the method for collecting data generates reliable outcomes. Accuracy is
connected with validity and consistency with reliability. When these two factors are handled
correctly it reduces errors in the measurement. Errors may for example occur because of
interviewer bias, data input errors and misunderstandings. (Hair et al., 2007)
4.7.1 Reliability
Reliability is always essential in scientific studies. When it comes to questionnaires, they are
considered to be reliable when repeated application empties into consistent results time after
time. Reliability is connected with consistency in the findings and is often associated with
multi-item scales, which means that the ratings for the questions should correlate. Stronger
correlations grant higher reliability, while weak correlations cater for unreliable results. (Hair
et al., 2007)
To ensure reliability, Hair et al. (2007) mention three guidelines to follow. The first one is that
a minimum of three items in a scale should be measured for a special concept. Secondly, the
measured items should have a positive correlation and thirdly the correlation level should not
be lower than 0.30. In that case it needs to be evaluated if the items should be removed.
The constructs that are included in this thesis are seven items that have been adapted from the
study on impulsive purchasing by Hultén and Vanyushyn (see Appendix II). The first two
constructs deal with external promotion (SMS- and in-app advertisement) consisting of three
items each and the response is collected through an ordinal seven-point Likert
scale. Symonds (1924) argues that a seven-point scale is optimal for high reliability. To use
more than seven intervals does not result in increased reliability, while a scale with less than
seven intervals results in a classification that becomes too broad to be reliable. The third
construct (online in-store promotion) deals with internal promotion and consists of one item.
It is essential to test if the scales that will be included in the thesis are reliable. Reliability can
be measured by assessing the scale’s internal consistency, that is, to what extent the items that
constitute the scale are interrelated and if the items are measuring the same underlying
construct. Internal consistency can be determined using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient.
Cronbach’s alpha ranges from 0 to 1 and ideally, the value of the alpha should be above 0.7 or
higher in order for the scale to be considered reliable. (Pallant, 2010) Cronbach’s alpha is
however sensitive to short scales (e.g. scales with fewer than ten items) and in these cases it is
29
common that the alpha values are lower than 0.5. Therefore it is more suitable to calculate the
inter-item correlation for the items. For scales with few items the optimal range is 0.2 to 0.4.
(Briggs & Cheek, 1986, in Pallant, 2010, p.97) In table 4.2 the result of the Cronbach’s alpha
calculation is presented.
TABLE 4.2. Reliability of the SMS advertisement and in-app advertisement scale
Case Processing Summary Reliability Statistics
N % Cronbach’s Alpha (SMS ad) N of Items
Cases Valid 223 96.1 0.776 3
Excluded 9 3.9 Cronbach’s Alpha (in-app ad) N of Items
Total 232 100 0.786 3
The value of Cronbach’s alpha for SMS advertisements is 0.776 and for in-app advertisement
the value is 0.786. Both alpha values are higher than 0.7 which suggests that the internal
consistency can be considered as reliable. This is also considered to be “good” according to
the rules of thumb presented in table 4.3 (Hair et al., 2007).
TABLE 4.3. Rules of thumb about Cronbach-Alpha coefficient size

Alpha Coefficient Range Strength of Association
< 0,6 Poor
0,6 to < 0,7 Moderate
0,7 to < 0,8 Good
0,8 to < 0,9 Very Good
≥ 0,9 Excellent
SOURCE: Hair et al. (2007)
The inter-item correlation for each scale was however also calculated since Cronbach’s alpha
is sensitive to few items. The results of the calculations are presented in table 4.4 and 4.5 (see
Appendix IV for complete tables).
TABLE 4.4. Inter-item Correlations for SMS advertisement

Item 1 Item 2 Item 3
Item 1 1
Item 2 .508 1
Item 3 .360 .795 1
TABLE 4.5. Inter-item Correlations for in-app advertisement

Item 1 1
Item 2 .558 1
Item 3 .355 .746 1
30
To be able to evaluate if the scales are reliable a calculation of the scales is required. The
equations below represent every correlation between the items and the relevant values are
those that do not correlate to themselves.
Equation 1: SMS advertisement
0.508 + 0.360 + 0.795

𝑥 =
6
𝑥 = 0.2772
Equation 2: In-app advertisement
0.558 + 0.355 + 0.746

𝑥 =
6
𝑥 = 0.2765
The equations generate two values; 0.2772 and 0.2765. As mentioned, the optimal value
should lie between 0.2 and 0.4, which is the case for the inter-item correlations of both
constructs (Briggs & Cheek, 1986, in Pallant, 2010, p.97). The scales can therefore be
considered as reliable.
To summarize, the outcome of the reliability calculations showed that the SMS advertisement
scale resulted in a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.776 and the in-app advertisement scale
generated an alpha value of 0.786. Due to the weakness of scales that include less than 10
items, an inter-item correlation test was performed for each scale. The value for SMS
advertisement then amounted to 0.2772 and for in-app advertisement the inter-item
correlation was 0.2765, concluding that both values fall within the recommended range for
inter-item correlations. This indicates that the scales are reliable. The last construct, in-store
promotion, consists of one item and therefore the internal consistency through Cronbach
alpha’s coefficient cannot be assessed. The reliability for this construct is consequently
questionable.
Another factor that ensures reliability is that the questionnaire, which was originally written in
English, was translated into Swedish since the survey was conducted in the city center of
Luleå and the respondents speak Swedish as their native language. The questions were
carefully translated into Swedish to ensure that they complied with the questions in English,
in order to decrease the possibility of translation error.
4.7.2 Validity
Validity is about measuring what is supposed to be measured. A construct has perfect validity
if it has no error in the measurement. Comparing what is observed with what is true is an
example of how validity easily could be measured, although in most cases the true measure is
not known. The approaches on how to estimate validity that have been used in this thesis are
content validity and construct validity. (Hair et al. 2007)
31
Content validity is a matter of systematic and subjective estimations of a scale’s ability to
measure what is supposed to be measured. Often the content validity is not sufficient in itself
to measure the validity; therefore construct validity is also used. (Ibid)
Construct validity is about what the construct or scale actually measures. To understand this,
the theoretical rationale that leads to the measurements that is derived is essential. It is used
for explaining why the scale functions and how the interpretation of the results can be made.
The assessment of construct validity is made by controlling convergent and discriminant
validity. Convergent validity involves to what extent the construct has a positive correlation
with other measurements of the same construct, while discriminant validity involves to what
extent the construct has no correlation with measurements that deviate. (Ibid)
The constructs applied in this thesis are borrowed from a study by Hultén and Vanyushyn
(2014) concerning impulsive purchasing in physical stores. Their research model is primarily
based on a study by Stern (1962) on the significance of impulsive purchases, which has been
cited in many studies in this scientific area. Furthermore, a pilot study was performed in order
to assess the accuracy and consistency of the respondents’ answers, which in turn contributes
in obtaining validity.
32
5. Data Presentation and Analysis
This chapter presents the results of the study. The data has been collected through
questionnaires handed out to people in the ages of 20 to 65 in the shopping area of Luleå.
Results of statistical analyses will be described and analyzed in order to test the hypotheses.
The main focus of this chapter lies on presenting the results of the hypotheses in order to
answer the study’s research question; however, descriptive statistics have also been included
to create an understanding of the collected data. The software used to test and analyze the data
is called IBM SPSS (version 22), and for guidance on how to use the software, the SPSS
Survival Manual by Pallant (2010) was relied on. In order to make this chapter easy to follow,
each section is divided into a descriptive part, analysis, and discussion. For a better
understanding of the data, the results are presented in figures and tables. These can either be
found directly in the section or in the Appendix.
5.1 Characteristics of Respondents

The total number of participants catering data for this thesis was 223. In this section, the
respondents' characteristics in terms of gender, age, monthly income before tax, online
shopping frequency, online average spending, and preferences regarding webshop offers, will
be presented. In table 5.1 the gender distribution is presented, showing an even distribution of
female (50.7%) and male (48%) respondents. Three respondents did not specify their gender.
TABLE 5.1. Gender distribution

n Percent
Male 107 48.0
Female 113 50.7
N/A 3 1.3
Total 223 100
The variable age was collected through an open question in the survey, allowing precise
answers. In table 5.2 the age distribution has been summarized in age ranges of ten and the
last one in five years (for the specific ages see Appendix V). As shown in the table, the mean
age of the respondents is 37 years. Fourteen respondents (6.3%) chose to leave this question
blank.
TABLE 5.2. Age distribution

n Percent
20-29 74 33.2
30-39 48 21.5
40-49 50 22.4
50-59 30 13.5
60-65 7 3.1
N/A 14 6.3
Total 223 100
Mean 37 years
33
Respondents’ monthly income before tax is shown in table 5.3. The first interval (less than
25 000 SEK) was based on average monthly income in Luleå (SCB, 2014) and the highest
interval (more than 60 000 SEK) was chosen since there are not many high earners in Sweden
(SCB 2015). The majority of the respondents have an income less than 25 000 SEK (32.7%),
followed by 29.1% who earn between 30 000 and 39 000 SEK and 26% who earn between 25
000 and 29 000 SEK. The mean is estimated to 26 695 SEK and was calculated by assuming
that the respondents’ monthly income lies in the middle of each interval. That amount was
then multiplied with total respondents for each interval, summarized and divided with the
total number of respondents.
TABLE 5.3. Monthly income distribution

n Percent
Less than 25 000 SEK 73 32.7
25 000 – 29 000 SEK 58 26.0
30 000 – 39 000 SEK 65 29.1
40 000 – 49 000 SEK 19 8.5
50 000 – 60 000 SEK 6 2.7
More than 60 000 SEK 2 0.9
Total 223 100
Mean 26 695 SEK
The online shopping frequency of the respondents is presented in table 5.4, showing that the
majority seldom purchase clothes online. This variable was adapted from the study by Hultén
and Vanyushyn (2014) but the option “once a year or less” was added to include individuals
that rarely purchase clothes online. Most respondents (42.2%) make online purchases once a
year or less, 21.1% purchase clothes every six months and 14.3% purchase clothes every three
months. The mean of 2.41 indicates that the respondents shop a bit more frequent than every
six months.
TABLE 5.4. Online shopping frequency

n Percent
Once a year or less 94 42.2
Every six months 47 21.1
Every three months 32 14.3
Every two months 19 8.5
Once a month 10 4.5
Twice a month 20 9.0
Once a week 1 0.4
Several times a week 0 0
Total 223 100
Mean 2.41
Respondents’ average spending per online buying opportunity is presented in table 5.5. The
option with the highest amount was based on the assumption that most people do not purchase
expensive clothes online and the other intervals were based on prices from popular clothing
retailers such as H&M and Gina Tricot.
34
The majority of respondents who buy clothes online, stated that they spend 249 SEK or less
(26%), followed by 46 respondents who spend between 500 and 749 SEK (20.6%) on average
per buying opportunity. An equal number of respondents answered that their average
spending lies between 750 and 999 SEK (15.2%) and between 1000 and 1499 SEK (15.2%).
The mean of this variable is estimated to 660 SEK and was calculated in the same manner as
the variable monthly income.
TABLE 5.5. Online average spending

n Percent
249 SEK or less 58 26.0
250 – 499 SEK 32 14.3
500 – 749 SEK 46 20.6
750 – 999 SEK 34 15.2
1000 – 1499 SEK 34 15.2
1500 – 1999 SEK 11 4.9
2000 SEK or more 8 3.6
Total 223 100
Mean 660 SEK
The respondents were asked to evaluate what kind of webshop offers that trigger their
impulsive purchasing tendency of clothes and the result is presented in table 5.6.
TABLE 5.6. Webshop offers

n Percent
2 for the price of 1 offers 54 24.2
N/A 169 75.8
Total 223 100
Free shipping 85 38.1

N/A 138 61.9
Total 223 100
Items displayed on main page 43 19.3

N/A 180 80.7
Total 223 100
Coupon codes 82 36.8

N/A 141 63.2
Total 223 100
Not affected by offers 64 28.7

N/A 159 71.3
Total 223 100
Several online shops were visited to determine the most common offers and the research
resulted in four different alternatives. The option “not affected by offers” was also added.
Respondents were able to choose several alternatives. The result presented in table 5.6 shows
that the impulsive purchasing tendency of the respondents is mostly affected by free shipping
35
(38.1%) and coupon codes (36.8%). 28.7% stated that they are not affected by webshop
offers.
In table 5.7, all of the examined variables - dependent, independent and control - are
illustrated. The mean values of the dependent variable as well as all of the independent
variables are below the scale’s center point. The general opinion about SMS and in-app
advertisements is negative and the mean value of the dependent variable indicates that the
respondents seldom make impulsive purchases when buying clothes online.
In the analysis in sections 5.3 and 5.4, the independent variables SMS advertisement, in-app
advertisement, and online in-store promotion have been compiled of all questions for each
construct and are referred to as SMSAD, INAPPAD, and INSTORE.
TABLE 5.7. Variables and mean values

Mean SD
Dependent variable
General tendency of making impulsive purchases online 2.23 1.438
Independent variables
SMS Advertisement (SMSAD)

Opinion about SMS advertisement 2.35 1.415
General online purchase tendency induced by SMS advertisement 1.77 1.222
Online impulsive purchases induced by SMS advertisement 1.70 1.140
In-app advertisement (INAPPAD)
Opinion about in-app advertisement 2.52 1.266
General online purchase tendency induced by in-app advertising 1.92 1.235
Online impulsive purchases induced by in-app advertising 1.70 1.148
Online in-store promotion (INSTORE)
Online impulsive purchases induced by online in-store promotion 2.82 1.679
Gender
Male (%) 48.0
Female (%) 50.7
N/A (%) 1.3
Control variables
Age (in years) 37 11.663

Monthly income before tax 2.25 1.135
Online shopping frequency 2.41 1.644
Online average spending 3.09 1.723
36
5.2 Assumptions
Prior to testing and analyzing the collected data, some assumptions common to the techniques
used in this chapter are needed. This applies in particular to the correlations test in section 5.3
and the multiple regression in section 5.4. The assumptions are briefly presented below.
Level of measurement
The scales of the measurements for the variables in this chapter are continuous intervals.
(Pallant, 2010)
Independence of observations
The collected data needs to be independent of each other, that is, one measurement or
observation cannot be affected by another measurement or observation. Therefore, it is to be
considered suspect when data is collected in settings where the participants have some sort of
interaction with one another. (Pallant, 2010)
Since the questionnaire was personally handed out it was possible to make sure that the
participants did not communicate with one another while answering the questions.
Normality
The distribution of the scores for each variable should be normal, and this can be checked
through the histograms of scores on each variable. In larger samples it is common that the
variables are not normally distributed. Instead it is possible to inspect the normal probability
plots, where the “observed value for each score is plotted against the expected value from the
normal distribution”. An approximate straight line indicates a normal distribution. (Pallant,
2010)
The histograms were checked for normality and showed a positive skewness, which according
to Pallant (2010) is common for scales and measures used in the social sciences, and depends
on the underlying character of the construct that is being measured. The normal probability
plots, however, showed an even distribution, which means that the variables can be used for
the analysis.
Linearity
There should be a linear relationship between two variables. In a scatterplot the outcome
should be inferred as a straight line, and not a curve. (Pallant, 2010) The scatterplots in this
research show weak but linear relationships between the variables, suggesting that the
variables could be used for the analysis.
Homoscedasticity
The values of variable X and variable Y should have the same variance (Pallant, 2010). This
was checked in the scatterplots, which indicated homoscedasticity.
37
5.3 Correlations
Correlation describes the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two
variables. This thesis follows the procedure of acquiring and interpreting the Pearson product-
moment correlation coefficient (r), since the examined variables are measured on a continuous
scale (interval). The Pearson correlation coefficient (r) only takes values from -1 to +1, and
the sign specifies whether the correlation is positive (if one variable increases, the other
increases as well) or negative (if one variable increases, the other decreases). The strength of
the relationship is indicated by the size of the absolute value regardless if the sign is positive
or negative. (Pallant, 2010)
A correlation of either -1 or 1 indicates a perfect relationship and suggests that the value of
one variable can be assessed by knowing the value of the second variable. If a correlation,
however, has a value of 0, there is no relationship between the variables, which in turn means
that one variable cannot contribute in predicting the value of the other variable. The
scatterplot of a perfect relationship shows a straight line and the scatterplot presenting no
relationship between variables has no clear pattern. (Ibid)
In order to interpret the values, a guideline suggested by Cohen (1988, in Pallant, 2010) will
be used. Values ranging from r = .10 to .29 represent a small relation, values between r = .30
and .49 indicate a medium relation, and lastly, values ranging from r = .50 to 1.0 are
considered to have a strong relation.
The result of the correlation test is presented in table 5.8 below (see Appendix VI for detailed
table). The independent variables SMSAD, INAPPAD, and INSTORE are a compilation of
the questions for each construct (see Appendix II).
TABLE 5.8. Correlations between the variables

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 General online 1
impulsive purchasing
tendency
2 SMSAD .395** 1
3 INAPPAD .399** .429** 1
4 INSTORE .603** .449** .520** 1
5 Online shopping .698** .343** .348** .641** 1

frequency
6 Online average .325** .126 .176** .251** .320** 1
spending
7 Monthly income - .096 .035 .104 - .101 - .147* .086 1
8 Age - .197** .057 - .086 - .269** - .275** - .065 .560** 1
9 Gender .274** .285** .092 .168* .314** - .010 - .106 .009
Notes: **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed); *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed)
38
The findings of the correlation test suggest that there is a very strong relation between online
shopping frequency and the general online impulsive purchasing tendency (r = .698, p =
0.00), indicating that people who shop frequently commit more to impulsive purchasing than
people who shop less frequently do. The correlation between online average spending and
general online impulsive purchasing tendency (r = .325, p = 0.00) is not as strong, but the
relation between the two variables indicates that respondents who have an impulsive
purchasing tendency of clothes spend on average more per shopping opportunity.
Furthermore, the variables online shopping frequency and online average spending have a
medium relationship (r = .320, p = 0.00), which means that there is a chance that people who
shop frequently online also spend more money per shopping opportunity.
The online shopping frequency differs in regard to gender. Women shop more often (mwomen =
2.92; mmen = 1.89), however men spend on average more than women when they shop (mwomen
= 3.09; mmen = 3.12). The difference in online average spending between men and women is
less than the difference in online shopping frequency, that is, men and women spend almost as
much when they purchase clothes (see Appendix VII for detailed tables).
The analysis implies that there is a positive relationship between SMSAD and INSTORE (r =
.449, p = 0.00) as well as INAPPAD and INSTORE (r = .520, p = 0.00). If the impulsive
purchasing tendency is influenced by promotional messages via SMS or apps, the chance of
being affected by online in-store promotion is also greater. The findings also show that there
is a strong correlation between online shopping frequency and INSTORE (r = .641, p = 0.00).
The online shopping frequency increases if the online impulsive purchasing tendency is
affected by online in-store promotion.
Age has proven to have a relatively small relationship with regard to online impulsive
purchasing tendency (r = -.197, p = 0.004). The correlation is negative, which means that
younger shoppers tend to be more impulsive when purchasing clothes than older shoppers.
5.4 Hypotheses Testing

To test the proposed hypotheses two interrelated equations have been adapted from Hultén
and Vanyushyn (2014) in order to suit the purpose of this thesis. The equations will be
utilized to determine the direct as well as the indirect effects that the selected mobile
marketing channels have on the general online impulsive purchasing tendency of the
respondents.
39
External Promotion Internal Promotion
SMS advertising H3
H2 Online in-store General online impulsive

H1
promotion purchasing tendency
H4
H5
In-app advertising H6
Gender
Control variables:
- Age
- Income
- Online shopping frequency
- Online average spending
FIGURE 5.1: Research model
The first equation examines the proposed relationships in hypotheses 2 and 4, that is, the
possible positive effects of the variables SMSAD and INAPPAD on INSTORE with the latter
being the dependent variable. The variables are a compilation of the questions for each
construct (see Appendix II).
𝐼𝑁𝑆𝑇𝑂𝑅𝐸 = 𝛾! + 𝛾! ×𝑆𝑀𝑆𝐴𝐷 + 𝛾! ×𝐼𝑁𝐴𝑃𝑃𝐴𝐷 + 𝜀!"#$%&'
The second equation examines the relationships proposed in hypotheses 1, 3, 5, and 6. The
first three, hypotheses 1, 3, and 5, state that positive reactions to external and internal
promotion increase the general impulsive purchasing tendency and the last one, hypothesis 6,
states that female shoppers make more frequent online impulsive purchases of clothes than
male shoppers do. The effects of the control variables age, monthly income, online shopping
frequency, and online average spending are also captured in this equation.
𝑇𝐸𝑁𝐷𝐸𝑁𝐶𝑌 = 𝛽! + 𝛽! ×𝐼𝑁𝑆𝑇𝑂𝑅𝐸 + 𝛽! ×𝑆𝑀𝑆𝐴𝐷 + 𝛽! ×𝐼𝑁𝐴𝑃𝑃𝐴𝐷 + 𝛽! ×𝐺𝐸𝑁𝐷𝐸𝑅

!
+ 𝛽! ×𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙! + 𝜀!"#$"#%&
!!!
In order to test the equations and to check for cross equation correlation a regression analysis
was performed.
5.4.1 Regression
Multiple regression is based on correlation and can be used to examine the relationship
between a continuous dependent variable and several independent variables. Different from
correlation, multiple regression enables a more advanced examination of the interrelationship
40
among a set of variables. There are a variety of different multiple regression types, however
the three primary types of analysis are standard-, hierarchical-, and stepwise multiple
regression. (Pallant, 2010)
For this thesis, standard multiple regression will be used. This type allows entering the
independent variables into the equation at the same time. The independent variables are then
individually evaluated regarding its predictive power in addition to what is offered by the
other independent variables. This approach is used if one wants to find out how much
variance in a dependent variable a set of variables can explain together as a group, as well as
the amount of unique variance in the dependent variable that can be explained by each of the
independent variables. (Ibid)
In addition to the assumptions presented in section 5.3 that are common for both correlation
and regression, there are some assumptions that have to be taken into account before
performing a multiple regression. The assumptions are presented below.
Multicollinearity
Multicollinearity concerns the relation between the independent variables. When the
independent variables have a high correlation, that is when r = .9 or higher, multicollinearity
is existing. The output of a multiple regression presents two values, tolerance and variance
inflation factor (VIF), that can aid in determining if multicollinearity exists. Tolerance points
at how much of the variability of one independent variable is not clarified by the other
independent variables. A value that is less than .10 indicates multicollinearity. The variance
inflation factor is the inverse of the tolerance value and if this value is above 10,
multicollinearity exists. When conducting a multiple regression, multicollinearity is not
appreciated since this does not coincide with a good regression model. Therefore it is
necessary to evaluate this prior to the regression. (Pallant, 2010)
All correlation coefficients have a value that is below 0.9, which suggests that
multicollinearity is not a problem. Furthermore, no tolerance values are less than .10 and no
VIF values are above 10. Thus, multicollinearity is not a problem.
Outliers
Before performing a multiple regression, all variables that will be used should be checked for
outliers, that is, very low or very high scores. Multiple regression is highly sensitive to
outliers and therefore it is important to either remove the outliers from the data set or to
provide low or high scores for those variables without deviating too much from the remaining
cluster of scores. (Pallant, 2010)
This thesis uses a seven-point scale for the dependent and independent variables and all
answers between one and seven are accepted, which means that there are no outliers.
41
Normality, linearity, homoscedasticity, and independence of residuals
All relate to different aspects of the distribution of scores and the type of underlying relation
among the variables. These factors are controlled by the residuals scatterplots, where residuals
are the difference between the score of the predicted and the obtained dependent variable.
(Pallant, 2010) Through the residuals scatterplots it is possible to check for:
• Normality, which refers to that the residuals should have a normal distribution around
the predicted dependent variable score. (Ibid)
• Linearity means that the relationship between the residuals and the predicted
dependent variable scores should be straight linear. (Ibid)
• Homoscedasticity implies that the variance of the residuals about predicted dependent
variable scores should be identical for all predicted scores. (Ibid)
The normal probability plots for both equations show a fairly straight line around the
predicted variable score and the scatterplots indicate a weak but linear relationship between
the residuals and the predicted dependent variable. This means that the variables can be used
in a multiple regression (see Appendix VIII).
5.4.2 Results of the Regression Analysis

The result of the regression analysis for the first equation is presented in table 5.9 (for detailed
table, see Appendix IX).
TABLE 5.9. Effects of SMSAD and INAPPAD on INSTORE (Equation 1)

γ s.e. t p > |t|
Constant .603 .231 2.612 .010
SMSAD .147 .032 4.531 .000
INAPPAD .221 .034 6.582 .000
R2 .333
The findings indicate that respondents who have a positive view on SMS advertisements (γ =
.147, p = .000) and in-app advertising (γ = .221, p = .000) also respond positively to online in-
store promotion. This means that if the predictor SMSAD increases by 1, the dependent
variable INSTORE increases with 0.147 and in the same way, if the predictor INAPPAD
increases by 1, INSTORE increases with 0.221.
To determine whether the relationships are true for the entire population or not, a t-test was
performed. All results are presented with at least a 95% confidence level. The t-value for both
SMSAD (t = 4.531) and INAPPAD (t = 6.582) are above the critical t-value of 1.984, which
means that both relationships are true for the entire population. These results indicate that
there is support to uphold hypotheses 2 and 4.
42
In order to examine how well the equation fits the data, the R-square value (R2) has been
checked, and for the first equation the R-square value is .333. This means that the model,
which includes SMSAD and INAPPAD, explains 33.3% of the variance in INSTORE.
The second equation assesses the influence of both independent and control variables on the
dependent variable general online impulsive purchasing tendency. The result of the regression
analysis for this equation is presented in table 5.10 (for detailed table, see Appendix X).
TABLE 5.10. Effects of promotions and gender on general online impulsive purchasing tendency
(Equation 2)
β s.e. t p > |t|
Constant -.156 .361 -.483 .665
SMSAD .040 .026 1.516 .131
INAPPAD .039 .027 1.407 .161
INSTORE .159 .060 2.627 .009
Gender .181 .149 1.214 .226
Online shopping .405 .059 6.926 .000
frequency
Online average .090 .042 2.111 .036
spending
Age .000 .008 .046 .964
Monthly income -.032 .075 -.420 .675
R2 .556
The result shows that only one of the promotional channels, online in-store promotion (β =
.159, p = .009), has an impact on the dependent variable. The coefficients of the variables
SMS (β = .040, p = .131) and in-app advertisements (β = .039, p = .161) do not have a
significant effect on the general online impulsive purchasing tendency. The t-value of
INSTORE (t = 2.627) is above the critical t-value of 1.984, which indicates that on a 95%
confidence level, the relationship between online in-store promotion and general online
impulsive purchasing tendency is true for the whole population. Thus, there is support to
uphold hypothesis 1 while there is no support for upholding hypotheses 3 and 5. Furthermore,
the findings indicate that gender has an impact on the impulsive purchasing tendency (β =
.181), however, this result is not true for the entire population since the relationship cannot be
confirmed on a 95% confidence level. Consequently, hypothesis 6 is not supported.
The findings reported in table 5.10 also demonstrate that the control variable online shopping
frequency (β = .405) has a distinct impact on the respondents’ general online impulsive
purchasing tendency, whereas the variable online average spending has a very small effect (β
= .090). Based on the insignificance of the latter variable on the online impulsive purchasing
tendency, there was an interest to investigate if the impulsive purchasing tendency differs
between low and high spenders. The seven response options of this question were divided into
two categories; “low spenders”, consisting of people who spend below 750 SEK, and “high
spenders”, representing those who spend more than 750 SEK. An independent samples t-test
43
(see Appendix XI) showed that there is a difference between low and high spenders (t =
3.932, df = 164.302, p = 0.00, low spenders, M = 1.93; high spenders, M = 2.70). The results
of the t-test indicate that respondents in the “high spenders” category make more impulsive
purchases online, thus confirming the findings presented in the correlation matrix (see table
5.8).
The results that stand out are the control variables age and monthly income, since neither of
these variables have an impact on the online impulsive purchasing tendency. The outcome of
the correlations test in section 5.3 suggests a connection between age and the online impulsive
purchasing tendency (r = -.197), therefore there probably exists another coefficient for this
explanatory variable, one that the regression was not able to estimate (the coefficient with a p-
value of .964 is insignificant), perhaps due to small sample size. For the variable monthly
income, both the correlation (r = -.096) and the coefficient (β = -.032, p = .675) in this
research are insignificant, suggesting that monthly income has no impact on the impulsive
purchasing tendency.
The R-square value (R2) was checked in order to examine how well the second equation fits
the data. The R-square value is .556, which means that the model, including all independent
variables and control variables, explains 55.6% of the variance in the dependent variable,
general online impulsive purchasing tendency.
44
6. Conclusions and Implications
This chapter presents the conclusions of the thesis. The research question presented in the
first chapter will be answered in order to fulfill the purpose of the study; to examine how
different mobile marketing channels, such as SMS advertising, advertising in mobile
applications, and online in-store promotion, can influence consumers’ desire to purchase
products impulsively online. Implications for theory and practitioners, limitations of the
research, and further research will also be discussed in this final chapter.
6.1 Conclusions for the Research Question
RQ What is the relationship between mobile marketing and consumer online impulsive
The findings from testing the hypotheses indicate that there is a relationship between mobile
marketing channels and the online impulsive purchasing tendency. From the analysis it can be
concluded that people with a positive view on the external promotional channels, SMS- and
in-app advertising, also have a positive reaction to the internal promotional channel, online in-
store promotion. Thus, the interactivity of these three promotional channels increases the
online impulsive purchasing tendency.
Individually, however, SMS- and in-app advertising do not have a significant effect on the
online impulsive purchasing tendency. This result is consistent with findings in the study by
Hultén and Vanyushyn (2014) and demonstrates that there is no difference between the
external promotional channels examined in these studies. Neither traditional advertising nor
mobile marketing has a direct effect on consumers’ impulsive purchasing tendencies. A
possible explanation is that consumers do not see the connection between the promotional
message and the advertised product, but instead unconsciously retrieve memories of
advertising that they have been exposed to. Shapiro and Krishnan (2001) define this as
implicit memories. Another explanation could be that mobile marketing intrudes on consumer
privacy and therefore consumers experience negative feelings toward advertisements on their
personal devices. This corresponds to previous studies on the effects of mobile marketing
channels (e.g. Rettie et al. 2005; Sipior et al. 2004).
External promotion may thus be a trigger for online impulsive purchases but the main
objective is to influence consumers to react positively to online in-store promotion. To
summarize, while SMS- and in-app advertising do not have a direct impact on the online
impulsive purchasing tendency, there is an interactive effect that amplifies the effect of online
in-store promotion.
The results further suggest that there is a strong positive relationship between online shopping
frequency and online impulsive purchasing tendency, indicating that people who shop
frequently commit more to impulsive purchasing than people who shop less frequently do.
The external promotional channels are therefore vital in influencing consumers to visit
45
webshops, and consequently, increase the online shopping frequency. An increased shopping
frequency means that consumers more often are exposed to online in-store promotion, the
promotional channel that has a direct effect on consumers’ purchasing decision.
The connection between impulsive purchasing and internal promotion was first made by
Appelbaum in the 1950s and since then many studies have examined this relationship.
Different types of stimuli such as the product itself, special premiums, point-of-purchase
displays, and companion items to specific products have been shown to have an effect on
consumers’ increased impulsive purchasing behavior (Stern, 1962; Rook & Hoch, 1985;
Piron, 1991; Dholakia, 2000). In this thesis, webshop offers such as free shipping, coupon
codes, two for the price of one offers and items displayed on the main page were included in
the survey. The webshop offers that consumers experienced had the greatest impact on their
purchasing decision were free shipping and coupon codes.
The findings propose that there is a small relationship between consumers’ online average
spending and their impulsive purchasing tendency of clothes. The response options for the
question on online average spending were therefore divided into two categories, “low
spenders” representing consumers who spend less than 750 Swedish crowns and “high
spenders” representing those with an average spending of more than 750 Swedish crowns, in
order to examine if the online impulsive purchasing tendency differs between the groups. The
result showed that consumers who spend more than 750 Swedish crowns make more
impulsive purchases when shopping online. This is the opposite of the findings of Hultén and
Vanyushyn (2014) who concluded that consumers who spend less tend to make more
impulsive purchases. Based on own experiences of the authors of this thesis, the difference
can depend on that some webshop offers are valid only from a certain amount (and/or include
free shipping or coupon codes from a certain amount).
The findings also indicate that there is a relationship between gender and online impulsive
purchasing tendency, specifically, women engage more often in impulsive purchasing than
men. However, this relation cannot be proven since it cannot be confirmed on a 95%
confidence level. There are a number of possible explanations for this; cultural differences,
lower impulsive purchasing tendency in general, smaller sample, and that the research focuses
on an online perspective. In comparison to the study by Hultén and Vanyushyn (2014) with a
total of 493 complete responses, the survey in our research generated 223 complete responses.
The smaller sample size provided a lower mean value, indicating that the respondents in this
research are generally less impulsive, and if there is a difference between men and women it
is more unclear than in the study by Hultén and Vanyushyn (2014). Another reason could be
cultural differences since Hultén and Vanyushyn (2014) focused on two countries, France and
Sweden, and the majority of the respondents were French. The survey in our research, in
contrast, was solely distributed in Luleå city. There is a possibility that the impulsive
purchasing tendency of French and Swedish people differs. The respondents in our study
could also have a lower impulsive purchasing tendency in general regardless of gender,
providing the research with results that are not significant.
46
The overall lower values in this thesis compared to the study by Hultén and Vanyushyn
(2014) could depend on the online perspective of the impulsive purchasing tendency. Clothing
is a product category that consumers are reluctant to purchase on the Internet since they value
the ability to try clothes before the purchase. Webshops cannot offer consumers the possibility
to touch the clothes in the store, which according to Hultén and Vanyushyn (2014) is an
important factor that can induce impulsive purchases. Drossos and Fouskas (2010) study the
effect of product involvement on buying intentions and conclude that impulsive purchases are
connected to low involvement products. Low product involvement includes little active
information seeking, little comparison among product attributes, no special preference for
particular brands and a perception that different brands are quite similar (Zaichkowsky, 1985).
The buying decision process for high involvement products, however, is longer and includes
different stages of information seeking and evaluation of criteria (Browne & Kaldenberg,
1997).
Martin (1998) states that clothing can both be a low and a high involvement product,
depending on the type of garment and the consumer. The assumption can be made that the
level of involvement also depends on the way of purchase (online or in physical stores).
Clothes can become high involvement products when shopping online, especially if
consumers are not used to purchase on the Internet. As mentioned, consumers value the
possibility to try clothes before purchase and since this is not possible online, retailers often
provide a size guide with different measurements. Consumers who are uncertain of their size
need to spend some time in order to find the right measures prior to the purchase. If a garment
is ordered online and upon arrival proves to be the wrong size or otherwise not satisfactory,
consumers have to commit in returning it and may also have to pay for the return. Thus, it
may be easier to commit to impulsive purchasing in physical stores.
This thesis has come to the following main conclusions:
• Internal promotion has a direct effect on the online impulsive purchasing tendency.
• External promotion has an indirect effect on the online impulsive purchasing tendency
by inducing positive reactions to online in-store promotion.
6.2 Implication for Theory

This thesis contributes to theory by examining the effects of marketing on impulsive
purchasing tendencies in a context that has not been studied much. Previous studies (Kaisheng
2011; Hultén and Vanyushyn, 2014) have focused on either traditional marketing channels or
online marketing. Thus, examining impulsive purchasing tendencies in a mobile marketing
context contributes to theory by studying consumers’ view on receiving promotional
messages to their highly personal devices and how they experience that this affects their
impulsive purchasing behavior. The results of this thesis in comparison to the results of the
study by Hultén and Vanyushyn (2014), show that there is little difference between the effects
of mobile marketing channels and traditional marketing channels on consumers’ impulsive
purchasing tendencies. The external promotion thus has the same function regardless of how
47
it reaches the consumers, that is, to attract consumers to visit a store and make them more
susceptible to internal promotion. Furthermore, the thesis contributes to theory by studying
the impulsive purchasing tendency of a specific product category in an online setting.
6.3 Implication for Practitioners

The findings of this study suggest that consumers with positive views on SMS- and in-app
advertising have a higher probability to respond more positively to online in-store promotion.
Retailers can profit from the interactive effects induced by the external promotional channels,
and should therefore design their online in-store promotion in ways that evoke memories of
promotional messages. Thus, the effectiveness of a webshop’s in-store promotion can be
increased by helping consumers remember previously seen messages that influenced them to
visit the online store. Retailers should be aware of what kind of webshop offers consumers are
most susceptible to and incorporate these in their online promotion.
Furthermore, the findings show that consumers with a high online average spending are more
likely to purchase on impulse. To attract these high spenders, retailers can create offers that
are beneficial for consumers shopping for higher amounts.
6.4 Limitations
The data collection method for this thesis presents one limitation since it was collected
through a survey. Completing the questionnaire, respondents were asked to assess on a seven-
point scale how they are influenced by marketing and how marketing influences their
impulsive purchasing tendency. The outcome of a survey is highly subjective results since the
responses are estimated by the participants and it is not certain that the answers represent the
actual influence of marketing on their impulsive purchasing tendency.
Another limitation of this thesis is that there is only one item for the construct concerning
online in-store promotion, which makes the reliability of this construct questionable.
6.5 Further Research

The mobile marketing channels for this thesis included SMS and in-app advertising, and their
effects on consumers’ impulsive purchasing tendencies were studied. Further research on this
topic could examine the impact of other mobile marketing channels such as QR codes and
MMS on consumers’ impulsive purchasing tendency on the Internet, but also in physical
stores.
Furthermore, findings from this study show that women tend to make more impulsive
purchases of clothes than men. The questionnaires were personally handed out to randomly
selected people in Luleå city, and while conducting the survey, some male respondents
indicated that they never purchase clothes online but rather other products and services. This
information is the reason behind the next suggestion for future research, namely to examine
impulsive purchasing tendencies in other product categories or to compare impulsive
purchasing tendencies between different product categories, for instance media and
electronics, interior decorating, and consumables.
48
Another possibility for further research is to compare impulsive purchasing tendencies
between the Internet and physical stores on the basis of the same marketing channels. A
comparison between different cultures, countries or cities is another suggestion.
The data for this thesis was collected through a survey and because of that the results were
subjective. A suggestion for further research could therefore be to conduct an experiment
instead, in order to present an objective observation of people's perception towards
advertisements and their impulsive purchasing tendencies on the basis of that.
49
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Appendix
Appendix I - Questionnaire
1. How often do you purchase clothes impulsively online? (Impulsive = unplanned)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Never o o o o o o o Always
2. What is your general opinion about SMS advertising?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Very Very
negative o o o o o o o positive
3. What is your general tendency of purchasing clothes online on the basis of SMS
advertisement?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. How often does SMS advertisement affect your online impulsive purchasing tendency of
clothes? (Impulsive = unplanned)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. What is your general opinion about in-app advertising?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Very Very
negative o o o o o o o positive
6. What is your general tendency of purchasing clothes online on the basis of in-app
advertisements?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7. How often do in-app advertisements affect your online impulsive purchasing tendency of
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8. How often does online in-store promotion affect your impulsive purchasing tendency of
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9. What kind of offers in webshops trigger your impulsive purchasing tendency of clothes?
(Several options possible)
o 2 for the price of 1 offers

o Free shipping
o Items displayed on the main page
o Coupon codes
o I am not affected by offers
10. How often do you purchase clothes online?
o Several times a week

o Once a week
o Twice a month
o Once a month
o Every two months
o Every three months
o Every six months
o Once a year or less
11. How much do you spend on average each time you purchase clothes online? (in Swedish
crowns SEK)
o 249 SEK or less

o 250 – 499 SEK
o 500 – 749 SEK
o 750 – 999 SEK
o 1000 – 1499 SEK
o 1500 – 1999 SEK
o 2000 SEK or more
12. Gender
o Male
o Female
13. Age
14. What is your monthly income before tax?
o Less than 25 000 SEK

o 25 000 – 29 000 SEK
o 30 000 – 39 000 SEK
o 40 000 – 49 000 SEK
o 50 000 – 60 000 SEK
o More than 60 000 SEK
Appendix II - Constructs
SMS advertisement and online impulsive purchasing (SMSAD)
1 Opinion about SMS advertisement
2 General online purchasing tendency induced by SMS advertisement
3 Online impulsive purchasing tendency induced by SMS advertisement
In-app advertisement and online impulsive purchasing (INAPPAD)
1 Opinion about in-app advertisement
2 General online purchasing tendency induced by in-app advertisement
3 Online impulsive purchasing tendency induced by in-app advertisement
Online in-store promotion and online impulsive purchasing (INSTORE)
1 Online impulsive purchasing tendency induced by online in-store promotion

Appendix III – Sample size
Confidence Level is 95% and P = 5.
Size of Population Sample Size (n) for Precision (e) of:

±3% ±5% ±7% ±10%
500 a 222 145 83
600 a 240 152 86
700 a 255 158 88
800 a 267 163 89
900 a 277 166 90
1 000 a 286 169 91
2 000 714 333 185 95
3 000 811 353 191 97
4 000 870 364 194 98
5 000 909 370 196 98
6 000 938 375 197 98
7 000 959 378 198 99
8 000 976 381 199 99
9 000 989 383 200 99
10 000 1000 385 200 99
15 000 1034 390 201 99
20 000 1053 392 204 100
25 000 1064 394 204 100
50 000 1087 397 204 100
100 000 1099 398 204 100
>100 000 1111 400 204 100
a = Assumption of normal population is poor (Yamane, 1967). The entire population should be sampled.
SOURCE: Israel (1992)
The size of the target population (people between the ages 20 to 65 in Luleå Municipality) is
approximately 50 000 and the sample size of the survey is 223, which corresponds to a level
of precision of ±7%.
Appendix IV – Inter-item Correlations
Inter-item Correlations for SMS advertisement (3 Item scale)

Item 1 Pearson Correlation 1 .508** .360**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000
N 223 223 223
Item 2 Pearson Correlation .508** 1 .795**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000
N 223 223 223
Item 3 Pearson Correlation .360** .795** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000
N 223 223 223
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)
Inter-item Correlations for in-app advertisement (3 Item scale)

Item 1 Pearson 1 .558** .355**
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000
N 223 223 223
Item 2 Pearson .558** 1 .746**
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000
N 223 223 223
Item 3 Pearson .355** .746** 1
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000
N 223 223 223
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)
Appendix V - Age distribution
Age n Percent Age n Percent

20 5 2.2 42 5 2.2
21 7 3.1 43 6 2.7
22 5 2.2 44 3 1.3
23 8 3.6 45 8 3.6
24 11 4.9 46 7 3.1
25 8 3.6 47 3 1.3
26 7 3.1 48 5 2.2
27 9 4.0 49 7 3.1
28 8 3.6 50 7 3.1
29 6 2.7 51 5 2.2
30 7 3.1 52 2 0.9
31 4 1.8 53 2 0.9
32 7 3.1 54 4 1.8
33 4 1.8 55 5 2.2
34 7 3.2 56 1 0.4
35 4 1.8 57 3 1.3
36 1 0.4 58 1 0.4
37 3 1.3 60 2 0.9
38 9 4.0 61 2 0.9
39 2 0.9 62 1 0.4
40 3 1.3 64 2 0.9
41 3 1.3
N/A 12 5.5
Total 223 100.0
Mean 37 years
Median 35 years
Appendix VI - Correlation Matrix
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
General online Pearson .395** .399** .603** .698** .325** -.096 - .274**
1 impulsive Correlation 1 .197**
purchasing Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .153 .004 .000
tendency N 223 223 223 223 223 223 223 209 220
2 SMSAD Pearson .395** 1 .429** .449** .343 .126 .035 .057 .285**
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .061 .603 .413 .000
N 223 223 223 223 223 223 209 220
3 INAPPAD Pearson .399** .429** 1 .520** .348** .176** .104 -.086 .092
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .008 .123 .218 .176
N 223 223 223 223 223 223 223 209 220
4 INSTORE Pearson .603** .449** .520** 1 .641** .251** -.101 - .168*
Correlation .269**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .133 .000 .013
N 223 223 223 223 223 223 223 209 220
5 Online Pearson .698** .343** .348** .641** 1 .320** -.147* - .314**
shopping Correlation .275**
frequency Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .028 .000 .000
N 223 223 223 223 223 223 223 209 220
6 Online Pearson .325** .126 .176** .251** .320** 1 .086 -.065 -.010
average Correlation
spending Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .061 .008 .000 .000 .202 .350 .888
N 223 223 223 223 223 223 223 209 220
7 Monthly Pearson -.096 .035 .104 -.101 -.147* .086 1 .560** -.106
income Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .153 .603 .123 .133 .028 .202 .000 .116
N 223 223 223 223 223 223 223 209 220
8 Age Pearson - .057 -.086 - - -.065 .560** 1 .009
Correlation .197** .269** .275**
Sig. (2-tailed) .004 .413 .218 .000 .000 .350 .000 .893
N 209 209 209 209 209 209 209 209 208
9 Gender Pearson .274** .285** .092 .168* .314** -.010 -.106 .009 1
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .176 .013 .000 .888 .116 .893
N 220 220 220 220 220 220 220 208 220
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
Appendix VII - Comparison between online shopping frequency and online
average spending in relation to gender
Case processing summary of online shopping frequency and online average spending
Cases
Included Excluded Total
N Percent N Percent N Percent
Online 220 98.7 3 1.3 223 100
shopping
frequency
Online 220 98.7 3 1.3 223 100
average
spending
Online shopping frequency

Gender Mean N
Male 1.89 107
Female 2.92 113
Total 2.42 220
Online average spending

Gender Mean N
Male 3.12 107
Female 3.09 113
Total 3.10 220
Appendix VIII – Normal Probability Plots and Residuals Scatterplots
Equation 1. Effects of SMSAD and INAPPAD on INSTORE

Equation 2. Effects of promotions and gender on general online impulsive purchasing
tendency
Appendix IX - Regression for Equation 1
Model Summaryb
Model R R Square Adjusted R Std. Error of
Square the Estimate
1 .577a .333 .327 1.37733
Predictors: (Constant), INAPPAD, SMSAD
Dependent Variable: INSTORE
Coefficientsa
Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig. 95.0% Correlations Collinearity

coefficient Coefficients Confidence Statistics
Interval for B
B Std. Error Beta Lower Upper Zero Part Part Toler VIF
Bound Bound order ial ance
1. .603 .231 2.612 .010 .148 1.058

Constant
SMSAD .147 .032 .276 4.531 .000 .083 .211 .449 .292 .250 .816 1.226
INAPPAD .221 .034 .401 6.582 .000 .155 .287 .520 .406 .363 .816 1.226
a. Dependent Variable: INSTORE

Appendix X - Regression for Equation 2
Model Summaryb
Model R R Square Adjusted R Std. Error of
Square the Estimate
1 .746a .556 .538 .977
Predictors: (Constant), Monthly income, SMSAD, Online average spending, Gender, INAPPAD,
Age, INSTORE, Online shopping frequency
Dependent Variable: How often do you purchase clothes impulsively online?
Coefficientsa
Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig. 95.0% Correlations Collinearity

coefficient Coefficients Confidence Statistics
Interval for B
B Std. Beta Lower Upper Zero Part Part Toler VIF

Error Bound Bound order ial ance
1. -.156 .361 -.434 .665 -.867 .555

Constant
SMSAD .040 .026 .087 1.516 .131 -.012 .092 .395 .107 .072 .673 1.485
INAPPAD .039 .027 .082 1.407 .161 -.016 .093 .399 .099 .066 .655 1.526
INSTORE .159 .060 .185 2.627 .009 .040 .278 .603 .183 .124 .449 2.225
Gender .181 .149 .063 1.214 .226 -.113 .476 .274 .086 .057 .824 1.213
Online .405 .059 .463 6.926 .000 .290 .521 .698 .441 .327 .498 2.006
shopping
frequency
Online .090 .042 .107 2.111 .036 .006 .173 .325 .148 .100 .863 1.159
average
spending
Age .000 .008 .003 .046 .964 -.015 .015 -.197 .003 .002 .595 1.681
Monthly -.032 .075 -.025 -.420 .675 -.180 .117 -.096 - - .635 1.574
income .030 .020
a. Dependent Variable: How often do you purchase clothes impulsively online?

Appendix XI - Independent samples t-test
Group Statistics
Average N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
spending
General High
online 87 2.70 1.511 .162
spenders
impulsive
purchasing Low
136 1.93 1.309 .112
tendency spenders
Independent Samples Test

Levene’s
Test for
t-test for Equality of Means
Equality of
Variances
F Sig. t df Sig. Mean Std. Error 95% confidence
(2- Difference Difference Interval of the
tailed) Difference
Lower Upper
General Equal
online variances 4.367 .038 4.057 221 .000 .775 .191 .398 1.151
impulsive assumed
purchasing Equal
tendency variances
3.932 164.302 .000 .775 .197 .386 1.164
not
assumed

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MASTER'S THESIS

Mobile Marketing and its Effects on the

Master of Science in Business and Economics (Civilekonom)

Luleå University of Technology

Luleå, June 2015

Ellinor Bucht Rebecka Gillberg

Key words: online impulsive purchasing, mobile marketing, responsiveness to promotions

1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Problem Discussion .......................................................................................................... 3

1.3 Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 4

1.4 Delimitation ...................................................................................................................... 4

2. Literature Review ................................................................................................................. 5

2.1 Impulsive Purchasing ....................................................................................................... 5

2.1.1 Hedonically Complex Experience ............................................................................. 6

2.1.2 On the Spot ................................................................................................................ 7

2.1.3 Exposure to a Stimulus and its Effects on Impulsive Purchasing ............................. 7

2.2 Mobile Marketing ............................................................................................................. 8

2.2.3 Marketing Channels ................................................................................................ 10

2.3 Marketing and its Effects on Impulsive Purchasing ....................................................... 12

2.4 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 15

3. Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................... 17

3.1 Conceptual Model and Hypotheses ................................................................................ 17

4.1 Research Purpose ........................................................................................................... 21

4.2 Research Approach......................................................................................................... 21

4.3 Research Strategy ........................................................................................................... 22

4.4 Data Collection ............................................................................................................... 22

4.4.1 Questionnaire Development .................................................................................... 24

4.4.2 Pilot Study ............................................................................................................... 25

4.5 Sample Selection ............................................................................................................ 25

4.5.1 Participants .............................................................................................................. 26

4.6 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................. 27

4.6.2 Descriptive Statistics ............................................................................................... 28

4.6.3 Statistical Techniques .............................................................................................. 28

4.7 Quality Standards ........................................................................................................... 29

4.7.1 Reliability ................................................................................................................ 29

4.7.2 Validity .................................................................................................................... 31

5. Data Presentation and Analysis ........................................................................................ 33

5.1 Characteristics of Respondents ...................................................................................... 33

5.2 Assumptions ................................................................................................................... 37

5.3 Correlations .................................................................................................................... 38

5.4 Hypotheses Testing ........................................................................................................ 39

5.4.1 Regression ............................................................................................................... 40

5.4.2 Results of the Regression Analysis ......................................................................... 42

6. Conclusions and Implications ........................................................................................... 45

6.1 Conclusions for the Research Question.......................................................................... 45

6.2 Implication for Theory ................................................................................................... 47

6.3 Implication for Practitioners ........................................................................................... 48

6.4 Limitations ..................................................................................................................... 48

6.5 Further Research............................................................................................................. 48

Purchases in general can be based on explicit or implicit memories from a promotional

2.1 Impulsive Purchasing

TABLE 2.1. Dimensions of the impulse purchase definition

2.1.1 Hedonically Complex Experience

2.1.3 Exposure to a Stimulus and its Effects on Impulsive Purchasing

2.2 Mobile Marketing

TABLE 2.2. Comparison of traditional, online, and mobile advertising media

2.2.3 Marketing Channels

TABLE 2.3. Categories of mobile advertisements

Pull Stimulates demand, Mass media promotion Attached advertisement

The Multimedia message service (MMS) offers multimedia communication on mobile

In application advertisements (in-app ads) is another type of advertising on mobile platforms,

2.3 Marketing and its Effects on Impulsive Purchasing

FIGURE 2.1. Responsiveness to promotions and impulse purchase tendency

Online sales promotion

3 INAPPAD .399 .429 1

4 INSTORE .603 .449 .520** 1

5 Online shopping .698 .343 .348 .641 1

8 Age - .197 .057 - .086 - .269 - .275 - .065 .560 1

9 Gender .274 .285 .092 .168* .314** - .010 - .106 .009