Marketing Papers
Document Type
Working Paper
Date of this Version
2013
Abstract
Unplanned category purchase incidence is an important source of retailer volume and profits. We analyze this phenomenon in detail with a multi-level Poisson model calibrated on data from 434 households making over 18,000 purchases in 58 categories across 3,000 trips to 21 stores. We find that unplanned category purchase incidence is not proportional to the number of categories bought, and not a single shopping trip is completely unplanned. The majority of variation is across shoppers. Specifically, it is explained in part by demographic variables traditionally measured by marketers, but more by other "traits" that reflect long-run shopping habits such as level of planning and information gathering styles. Short term shopping goals (e.g., major trip, forgotten needs, etc.) also play an important role. We replicate classic results of time available (more unplanned purchasing) and high store knowledge (less unplanned purchasing); however we find that the overall occurrence of unplanned purchasing is significantly lower than that commonly reported.
Keywords
consumer behavior, Poisson Model, retailing, unplanned purchasing
Recommended Citation
Bell, D. R., Corsten, D., & Knox, G. (2013). Unplanned Category Purchase Incidence: Who Does It, How Often, and Why. Retrieved from https://repository.upenn.edu/marketing_papers/301
Included in
Advertising and Promotion Management Commons, Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Business Analytics Commons, Marketing Commons, Operations and Supply Chain Management Commons, Sales and Merchandising Commons
Date Posted: 15 June 2018
Comments
This is an unpublished manuscript.