Hedonism, hedonistic shopping experiences and compulsive buying tendency: a demographics-based model approach

Although consumer and marketing research has focused on identifying various precursors of compulsive buying behavior, little attention has been paid to more complex relationships examined from the perspective of hedonism as a personal value, hedonic shopping experiences, and consumer demographics. Thus, the present study postulates a mediation model in which the extent of hedonisms relationship to compulsive buying via hedonistic shopping experiences is diagnosed, and proceeds to moderation effects based on consumer demographic characteristics (i.e gender, age, education). Using data (N = 1,245) from a representative survey, and based on structural equation modeling, results revealed that hedonism significantly influences compulsive buying via hedonistic shopping experiences, while moderation effects indicated that these relationships were stronger in younger individuals, mostly women. In contrast, these effects were nonsignificant with regard to consumers’ education level. The studys findings are discussed in terms of the theoretical and practical insights to better understand and prevent contemporary consumerism trends related to hedonism, hedonistic shopping, and compulsive buying tendencies. The research also offers important public policy and retailing implications.