Do mobile shoppers feel smart in the smartphone age?

Abstract

The research examined whether mobile shoppers feel smart in today's smart age. It has been observed that impulse buying and price dependency are increasing among mobile shoppers in the smart phone age. We paid attention to 'smart shopper feelings (SSFs)' to find the reason of the phenomenon. SSFs are defined as ego-expressive excitements generated in consumers by price promotion. Consumers using smartphones can browse for and purchase items easily and feel 'smarter', with a greater sense of efficacy compared with traditional shopper. In this paper, the antecedents and consequences of SSFs that come from mobile shopping were identified and tested. Our results show that the characteristics of a buying experience undergone through mobile promotion and shopping applications significantly affected SSFs. Furthermore, the experience identified a significant effect of SSFs on impulse buying and price dependence. The implications of this work and suggestions for further research are outlined based on the results.