The impulsive behavior phenomenon has been extensively studied during the last decades. However, the online version of this behavior is a relatively new concept and there are few studies that try to explain and redefine this concept for the World Wide Web (Madhavaram and Laverie 2003, Zhang, Prybutok and Strut 2007). The contribution of this study is to create a conceptual model for online impulse behavior and then to test it in the context of online grocery retail. The study identifies some marketing communication tools that can enhance impulsive behavior on the internet, and an experimental study with a major groceries retail company in Portugal was conducted over the course of 5 weeks. We manipulated the placement of banners on the website for 10 different product categories - 5 hedonic and 5 utilitarian. This impact among different types of products led us to identify impulsive behavior in an online store. This study provides a first step to understanding impulsive behavior online.

Mestrado em Marketing