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NEUROMARKETING RESEARCH OF IMPULSE BUYERS

Introduction

In this paper, I plan to identify the connection between the frontal lobe of our brain

and impulse purchases done by us. Impulse buying is an unplanned purchase by the consumer

and it has been portrayed by each one of us one time or another. For the retailers, impulse

behavior of consumers has turned into a major source of revenue for them (Choudhary,

2014).

A lot of studies have been conducted till date to determine the factors behind impulse

buying behavior of consumers. It has been determined that over half of the mall shoppers

were impulse buyers and over one third of the departmental store purchases have been made

on impulse (Unsalan, 2016). Self-assessment tools such questionnaires & surveys were used

by marketers in earlier times to understand consumer behavior and what impacts their

decision making process. However technological advancements in recent years have enabled

the marketers to use electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance

imaging (fMRI) to study consumers’ emotions and cognitive responses. Frontal lobe (also

known as evolved brain) of the brain is responsible for controlling our impulses whereas the

our instinctive brain (known as old brain) and feeling brain (known as mid-brain comprising

of the amygdala and the hippocampus) is responsible for instant & snap decision. The frontal

lobe is the thinking part of the brain that provides reasoning & performs assessment for

purchase but it takes longer to process the information.

I believe that the application of neuroscience tools will help retailers & marketers in

predicting whether the consumers will buy a particular product or not. Application of
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neuroscience-based principles would also help in creating marketing messages & visuals that

better connect with their target audience (Hall, 2018). By applying functional Magnetic

Resonance Imaging (fMRI) & electroencephalography (EEG), I can see which parts of brain

are activated while executing any purchase. This would help us to understand the

fundamental neural underpinnings of psychological processes that drive consumer behavior

& the decision making process (Shaw, 2017).

I expect to find that if the brain is given lesser time to process all the information

wherein the marketer invokes the faster old & feeling brain and bypasses the slower & more

judgmental frontal lobe then it would result in more impulse purchases by the consumer. I

believe that the application of neuroscience in marketing aspect is still at a very primitive

stage but this field holds a huge potential for marketers. Lots of research has been done on

what part of brain is activated while making decisions on what to buy. But to apply the

principles of neuroscience on impulse buying, we need to conduct experiments on consumers

who are presented with a situation similar to impulse buying wherein the time given to

consumers in very less for any purchase. If we can study the time taken by frontal lobe to

register the pros & cons of a purchase before the actual purchase is done, we can identify the

pattern behind impulse purchases. Also we need to identify what kind of visual elements of a

product registers immediately with the old & feeling brain that helps us in making snap

decisions which we may regret later.

Keywords: neuromarketing, consumer behavior, neuroscience, impulse buying, impulse

control, neuropsychology
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Literature Review

Consumers buy products not only because they need them but also because of a

sudden urge to buy them. Impulse buying phenomenon has been investigated by researchers

& marketers for many years. Impulse buying has increased over past few decades due to high

incomes, various payment options available and online purchasing alternatives. As per

various studies conducted, it has been found that almost 62% of supermarket sales and 80%

of luxury good sales are made up of impulse purchases. Impulse buying was first identified

by marketing literature by Clover in 1950 (Unsalan, 2016). In 1951 Applebaum discovered

that impulse buying occurs when a customer is stimulated by store environment to make a

purchase. It has also been established that impulse buying is more arousing and irresistible,

less deliberate than the planned purchasing behavior. Impulse buying differs from compulsive

buying wherein a consumer is involved in excessive & repetitive buying of goods.

Researchers over the past have categorized the factors affecting impulse purchases into two

categories i.e. internal factors & external factors. Many consumers are affected by their

exposure to stimulus inside the store such as product displays, shelf positions, packaging,

product line and price. Various external factors include store environment, product

characteristics & promotional activities. Internal factors of impulse buying include culture

and various consumer characteristics such as age, gender, mood, materialism, shopping

enjoyment & impulse buying tendency. Various situational factors of impulse buying include

time, money, presence of others & in-store browsing. The time give to a consumer for

shopping determines the level of impulse purchasing he will indulge in. The lesser the time a

consumer has the higher the probability that he/she would be involved in impulse buying.
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The availability of money is a facilitator in the impulse buying process because it

increases the purchasing power of the individual (Unsalan, 2016). The presence of others also

makes an impact on positive or negative outcome of any purchase decision. Individuals prefer

to make less impulse purchase while alone as compared to when they are in a group. In-store

browsing produces encounters with desirable products, whose encounter produces an urge to

buy, which is difficult to resist due to the physical proximity of products (Unsalan, 2016).Till

now research on impulse buying behavior of consumers have been conducted in developed

countries such as USA, France, and Japan. However, due to cultural differences, less

disposable income and credit availability in developing countries, the results might be

different. Different types of environmental design variables can be studied such as fast

tempo and high volume music increase arousal levels, warm colors such as orange, yellow

and red are associated with elated arousal, and ambient scents such as grapefruit or other

citrus fragrances increase stimulation levels (Unsalan, 2016). Highly impulsive buyers are

likely to be unreflective in their thinking, to be emotionally attracted to the object, and to

desire immediate gratification (Choudhary, 2014). These consumers often pay little attention

to potential negative consequences that may result from their actions (Choudhary, 2014).

Impulse buying is usually related to unhappiness & anxiety and it can also be linked to

personality trait which triggers a person into making impulsive purchase a habit (Choudhary,

2014). Since 1950 research has been carried out in the field of consumer research to

understand the concept of impulse buying using various self-assessment tools like surveys

and questionnaires (Choudhary, 2014). However, consumers are unskilled at retrospective

introspection. But the introduction of neuroscience has opened a whole new dimension for

the marketers to understand consumer behavior and what drives them to make a particular

decision.
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Insights and tools from neuroscience are of great value to marketers as they allow

them to understand neural underpinnings of psychological processes. Neuroscience uses

electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging that studies

consumers’ emotions and cognitive responses. Neuromarketing is the application of

neuroscientific knowledge (often derived by consumer neuroscience), primarily in industry,

for company‐specific marketing insights (Shaw, 2017). Neuroscientific techniques have

triggered the interest of marketers in recent years due to the possibility of unraveling the

black box inside the mind of consumers. Neuroimaging techniques provide seemingly

objective physiological data which can be more reliable than self‐report data. This can help

marketers in producing products & marketing them in a way that would increase their

revenues and profits. The human decision making process is carried out through a complex

symphony of neuronal firing and functional circuitry because of which researchers use

simplified abstractions of brain areas and neural circuits to organize scientific knowledge

(Shaw, 2017). Four neural circuits namely attention, memory, emotional processing & reward

processing are studied by researchers. At any point of time, we are bombarded with more

information than our brain can process, hence it is important to know which information we

need to process. Two modes of attention are present i.e. bottom-up attention (unconsciously

driven which is essential for impulse purchase) and top-down (conscious information relevant

to consumer’s goals & expectation). Visual representation makes the processing of

information much easier and it facilitates the connection to neurons in prefrontal cortex.

Memory is required to use the past information in future decisions. Feelings like happiness,

sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust, play an important role in decision‐making and post

decision appraisal (Shaw, 2017).

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One of the major factors involved in decision making is the cost-benefit analysis for

determining the utility of option alternatives. Reward circuit is activated in response to

attractive desirable resources and experiences (Shaw, 2017). Reward is separated into two

psychological components namely wanting & liking. Wanting system is a network of brain

processes that govern motivation and is expressed as the desire for rewards (Shaw, 2017).

Dopamine is released to increase desire of rewards. On the other hand, liking system is

associated with pleasure responses.

Neuroscience has grown dramatically over the last decade, but still it has not been

able to achieve its full potential (Morin, 2011). The major factor limiting the usage of

neuroscience is the controversy that has surrounded it on ethical and privacy issues. Due to

these controversies, many studies on advertising have not been published. Gradually this

perspective is changing as more & more companies are adopting the usage of neuroscience

for marketing & advertising purposes. Neuroimaging techniques allow marketers to examine

the brain reflexes & gain insights on the subconscious processes. The first scholarly piece of

neuromarketing research was performed by Read Montague, Professor of Neuroscience at

Baylor College of Medicine in 2003 and published in Neuron in 2004 (Morin, 2011). In this

experiment, a study was conducted wherein a group of people were asked to drink Pepsi or

Coca Cola during which their brains were being scanned by fMRI machine. This study

revealed that various parts of brain lighted up depending on whether the people were aware

of the brand name (Morin, 2011). Results of the study showed that the brand Coca Cola

owned a piece a piece of frontal cortex. The frontal lobe is considered the seat of our

executive function (EF) which manages our attention, controls our short-term memory, and

does the best of our thinking—especially planning (Morin, 2011).

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As per the results of this study, when people were aware of the brand that they were

consuming, their EF part of the brain lighted up but when people were not aware of the

brand, they actually preferred the taste of Pepsi, during which an older structure nestled in the

limbic system was active.

According to the various studies conducted, it has been concluded that we use only

20% of our brain consciously and we do not control the bulk of our attention since we are too

busy scanning the environment for potential threats since survival is one of our most basic

instincts. We are controlled mostly by the reptilian brain that has developed over millions of

years and this is the part of the brain which focuses on survival, makes us selfish and prefers

mental shortcuts over long deliberations (Morin, 2011). This part of the brain is also known

as old brain. It is able to process visual stimuli without the use of the visual cortex which is

why we as humans prefer images over words & explanations (Morin, 2011). Many

researchers have demonstrated that we worship our cognitive abilities, but our brain is still

dependent on instinctual responses for millions of years and will continue to do so long time

since biological adaptation to a fast changing environment is too slow (Morin, 2011). From

neuromarketing perspective, it means that in order to optimize the processing of information,

we need create products & images that speaks directly to the reptilian brain. Our brain has

three main parts, namely instinctive brain or reptilian brain (old brain) that makes snap

decisions and is based on survival & pleasure instincts. Feeling brain consists of amygdala

and the hippocampus that works as a ‘traffic cop’ between the old and new brain parts and

this part of the brain is responsible for making snap decisions based on hundreds of things we

see and experience every day (Hall, 2018). Our evolved brain or frontal lobe is the thinking

part of the brain and the part where reasoning lives. This part of the brain is involved in
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assessing the pros & cons of making a decision and the cells in this region are highly evolved.

Hence, this is the part of the brain that controls our impulses and is known as the prefrontal

cortex. This area is the last to develop in our brain which is why it has been observed that

young people are impulsive. The instinctive brain & feeling brain are the ones that always

running in the background and were made for fast, automatic, intuitive actions without

thinking (Hall, 2018). The frontal lobe (evolved brain) works slowly, methodically &

logically and it consumes a lot of energy since it requires a lot of effort and hence this part of

the brain allows us to make well-thought-out, deliberate decisions (Hall, 2018). To increase

impulse buying, marketers need to connect with the instinctive brain & feeling brain while

bypassing the frontal lobe by giving less time to consumers to think about. If the frontal lobe

does not have time to assess the feasibility of a product and the older brain makes a snap

decision to purchase, then it will automatically result in impulse buying which is why most of

merchandize that is aimed at impulse purchase is kept near the cash register. By adopting this

technique, marketers ensure that various stimuli are present to connect with the consumers at

instinctive level and since they have limited time at the cash register, they buy the product

before the evolved brain comes into action to think about the consequences of the purchase.

This will enable marketers to drive more impulse purchases and will result in increasing their

profit margins.

There are three hormones in visitor’s brains that determine the sales effectiveness

namely Dopamine, Cortisol and Oxytocin (Hall, 2018). Dopamine is the neurotransmitter

often called the ‘reward chemical’ and this hormone is known to be tied to addiction and

causes consumers to want, desire, seek out and search (Hall, 2018). Cortisol is called the

stress hormone that is used to regulate blood sugar, the immune system and metabolism
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(Hall, 2018). As cortisol goes down, it lowers trust level and which in turn reduces purchases.

Oxytocin is the trust chemical that is triggered to increase empathy & trust. Since your

prospects need to trust you before they will buy from you, your marketing creative must

trigger the release of this hormone (Hall, 2018). A recent study conducted by Ph.D. student

Scott Hayton has revealed that impulses can be controlled. The team trained rats to control

impulsive responses until a signal was presented and electrical signals between cells in the

brain's frontal lobe grew stronger as they learned to control their impulses (Queen’s

University, 2010). This showed that impulsive behavior can be controlled by training and this

improvement is marked by specific brain changes (Queen’s University, 2010). The major

challenge of exploring the full potential of neuroscience in marketing is the fact that

marketers are not able to scan the brain of consumers while they are shopping in stores. The

necessary technology, a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine, remains

prohibitively expensive and requires subjects to lie down in a coffin-like tube (Eaves, 2007).

Various companies like General Motors and Ford are already using brain imaging techniques.

A recent study has found that there are two segments in the frontal lobe namely medial

prefrontal cortex that is associated with balancing gains and losses and the insula that

registers pain. If the price of a product is lower than what consumers are willing to pay, the

medial prefrontal cortex showed greater activity. On the other hand, when price is higher than

what the consumer is willing to pay, then insula part showed higher activity. Sometimes we

tend confuse compulsive buying with impulsive buying. Compulsive buying is more related

to addiction wherein impulsive buying is unplanned purchase. Compulsiveness appears to be

more linked with increased frontal lobe activity while in case of impulsiveness it can be said

to be more associated with reduced frontal lobe activity.

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Conceptual Framework

According to the theory of cognitive dissonance, it has been believed that impulse

buying behavior may be a coping strategy used to avoid discomfort associated with the

possible disconfirmation of expectations. According to a recent study, it was seen that

impulsive buyers experience rather lower levels of cognitive dissonance than planned buyers.

Accordingly, when a non‐impulsive buyer makes an impulsive purchase, the cognitive

dissonance experienced by him is seen to be significantly higher than when a typically

impulsive buyer makes such a purchase (George & Yaoyuneyong, 2010). When a

consumer makes an emotional connection with an item, they can be led to believe

that making the purchase will boost their social status, or feel ‘more complete’ in themselves

(Joshi, n.d). On the other hand, people who feel confident, fulfilled, and in control of their

lives have less need for baubles to feel better; and are less likely to buy something on impulse

(Joshi, n.d). There exist three irresistible impulses that influence everything we buy (Farzan,

2015). First is the survival instinct that compels us to seize the item in front of us. Second is

the habit that forces us to buy what we have become used to over the years and the third is

our goal that tempts us to get lost in the details (Farzan, 2015).

Many other theories do surround this characteristic of impulse buying on consumers.

One theory is that extroverted people do more impulse purchases whereas on the other hand,

conscientious people and those who have a high need for control over their environment

seem far less likely to do so (Joshi, n.d). It is also believed that people who are susceptible to

stress or have impulse control issues in general are also more likely to impulse buy as a

means of managing their stress (Joshi, n.d).

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Proposed Experiment or Future Study

All the neuromarketing studies that have been conducted till date have been quite

narrow since they examine only certain aspects of psychological processes such as attention,

memory, or emotional reactions. We need to study the basic, integrative psychological

processes that address fundamental aspects of decision‐making and involve multiple brain

regions in a holistic way (Hall, 2018).

Since we have already established that frontal lobe is responsible for controlling

impulses whereas the old brain is responsible for impulsive decisions. Hence, I propose that

we study the activity of neurons and how signals travel to the old brain when consumers are

in the act of making an impulse purchase. Till now all the studies have been done by showing

images to consumers while they were inside the fMRI machines but the factors stimulating

these impulse purchases are missing at this time such as the ambience of the store, the

background music, the display of merchandise and interaction with the sales persons. So to

accurately predict the behavior of consumers during impulse purchases, we need to include

these elements in our research. Since it is not possible to conduct the research inside the

stores when consumers are actually in the process of buying, we can create the ambience of a

store to achieve the best possible results.

For this, we play the background music for consumers while their brains are being

scanned. Till now images were being shown to consumers but I propose that we can create a

walkthrough for customers so that it would feel like walking in a store while processing all

the information.
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An amount is given to consumers that they can keep in case they do not purchase

anything. This walkthrough should allow people to navigate as they wish to and approach the

billing counter for final payment. The stimuli that are present in normal stores should be there

in this walkthrough as well such as many visually appealing objects placed near the billing

counter while the consumer has to make a decision in small amount of time. People from

various backgrounds need to taken as a sample in this study such as people from rich income

background & low income background or people of varying ages from college students to old

age people. This variation would help us understand as to what kind of products attract

different segments and drives these customers.

During this study, we should also the change the surrounding ambience such as the

background music periodically to observe the effect of these factors on impulse buying. Also

the products displayed for consumers should be a mix of visually appealing objects with

many visuals on the packaging v/s objects that display information of the product. During this

study, we should see which parts of the brain are activated while making an informed

purchase or unplanned purchase. These brain activations can also be measured in response to

the stimuli present. Also we can study the time taken to process an impulse purchase for

products placed on shelves v/s for products placed near the counter.

I believe that if such as extensive study can be conducted on consumers then it would

help us gain an insight of the consumer mind & how our brain makes impulse purchases.
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Conclusion

From our above discussion, we can easily conclude that neuromarketing is here to

stay and this field is now evolving. Its capabilities are still at a very primal stage but with

time it will grow and help marketers in gaining a huge insight into the functioning of human

mind. Ethical issues will continue to surface but standards have already been adopted to make

sure that neuromarketing research is conducted with respect and transparency (Morin, 2011).

More & more companies are adopting the use of neuromarketing for their advertising &

promotional campaigns. Numerous studies have contributed to the conclusion that there are

multiple factors that drive impulse buying behavior in consumers such as emotions, stress,

enjoyment, bargain, happiness and so on and it has been established as one of the major

source of revenue for retailers & marketers. Marketers use the buying tendencies of

consumers to their advantage and increase their profits.

Signals are communicated in the brain through the movement of neurons. In different

scenarios it is seen that different parts of the brain lights up while making a purchase. From

our above research and various studies conducted, it has been observed that while making an

impulse purchase, the older part of the brain is active. On the other hand, while making a

conscious decision, the frontal lobe of the brain is more active. Hence, the frontal is

responsible for controlling impulses but it also takes a longer time to process the information

as compared to the old brain.

We also know that our brain controls our purchasing decisions in ways we don’t even

expect it to but that doesn’t mean our conscious mind is off the hook entirely (Farzan, 2015).

It never hurts to take a look at our spending choices and see if there are any unnecessary

expenditures that we can cut so that our funds are disturbed (Farzan, 2015).
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