Gadgets Are Always in the Hands of Consumers: The Triggers for Impulsive Buying Behavior

Media technology is changing how people communicate, work, consume goods and services, and socialize. Meanwhile, digital devices always move wherever people move, even when the owner is sleeping, making people very dependent on gadgets. This book chapter examines impulse buying habits by controlling online product campaigns. Because online and offline life cannot always overlap during the COVID-19 pandemic, gadgets always guide every activity, including shopping, and become impulsive triggers. The literature review approach to 152 articles that have been published in various academic journals is analyzed with the dimensions of "Resources" of shopping activities, psychologically "Internal" factors, and "External" factors of retail industry marketing communication activities. The results show that new resources that are the primary basis for impulsive buying are gadgets or devices and marketplaces with their applications. Internal factors that encourage impulsiveness are cognitive dissonance, hedonism and materialism, anxiety/uncertainty, and self-esteem, plus 18 external factors that trigger impulsive buying (price discounts, marginal need for the item, mass distribution, self-service, social media ad campaigns, prominent store display, short product weight, ease of storage, retailer's apps, visual and aroma products, live streaming, credit card and e-money, peer group interaction, in-store events, sales-person performance, point-of-purchase, and online review). In closing, managerial implications and future research related to impulsiveness and online shopping are also discussed.