Effect of Green Packaging and Store Environment on Impulse Purchase Intentions of Environmentally Friendly Apparel

Abstract

The increased focus on sustainability has played a major role in shaping the consumption behavior of the customer within the store ambiance of the apparel retail industry, as retailers have been forced to explore environmentalistic approaches to packaging and grocery store layout. Although few researches have been conducted to establish the impact of planned sustainable consumption, the relationship of impulse buying behavior towards green apparel has received little attention in the literature. The current research addresses how green packaging and store atmosphere influence the intentions to impulsively purchase the environmentally friendly apparel. Primary data were gathered with 200 consumers by using a quantitative research design where a structured questionnaire was used. Data analysis was done by use of frequency, descriptive statistics, reliability, correlation and multiple regression. It was found that the green packaging along with the store environment has a strong positive effect on the impulse purchase intentions, although store environment has a stronger effect. The findings also show that positive store atmosphere impact increase emotional involvement, and green packaging enhance trust and ethical attractiveness, simultaneously leading to spontaneous buying decision making. The research has an impact on the literature because it extends the impulse buying theory into the context of sustainable apparel consumption and provides practical recommendations on the topic of how retailers can advertise using green apparel by way of experiential and ethos retailing.