The Impact of Mood on Consumer Impulsiveness
Dr. Michael S. Pepe, Daniel C. Buff

Abstract
This research investigated consumer susceptibility to impulsive spending in a shopping environment and assessed whether mood, as well as other potential variables, affected judgment at the point of purchase. The research objectives were developed to determine if mood affects a consumer’s impulse buying tendency and willingness to spend money that they originally did not plan. In addition, we also researched whether a “pleasant” consumer is more willing to spend more money than an “unpleasant” consumer is. Classifying “pleasant” and “unpleasant” consumers was made possible by using John Mayer’s Brief Mood Introspection Scale (BMIS), which separates sixteen different moods into these two categories. After administering the survey and analyzing the data, the findings indicate there is a positive relationship between a “pleasant” consumer and their willingness to spend more money. In addition to this finding, it was also found that “pleasant” consumers will be more susceptible to making impulsive spending decisions. Based on these findings, businesses need to emphasize situational influences that cause “pleasant” moods amongst their customers during their time at the store and at the point of purchase. Our findings did not find any demographic variables such as education, age, gender, and income on impulsive purchasing decisions.

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