Compulsive buying behavior of Smartphones by university students

Abstract

Background Few studies have analyzed compulsive buying behavior in relation to a specific product. Smartphones are hugely popular products today, especially among young people. These two aspects have motivated this research into the compulsive buying behavior of Smartphones by university students. Methods To study this behavior, the main features that differentiate compulsive buyers from those that are not are analyzed, and their risk profiles are obtained through a discrete choice model. Results Sociodemographic features that define buyers with the greatest propensity to compulsiveness are younger age, longer time spent daily using social networks, higher spending on the acquisition of Smartphones and having owned a greater number of these devices. These buyers also show shopping addiction and greater feelings of guilt after the purchase as well as more positive and negative affective states when purchasing Smartphones. Conclusions This analysis not only determines the characteristics that define young individuals with a tendency toward compulsiveness in Smartphone purchases, but also contributes to quantifying the probability of having this tendency.

What Do We Know When We Know a Compulsive Buying Person? Looking at Now and Ahead

“… Paying attention to a high-risk group: the young. The results of previous research confirming that young people seem to be prone to compulsive buying [ 8 , 12 , 120 ] establish the basis of the need defended by some authors [ 18 , 68 , 121 , 122 ] to design studies aimed at clarifying the scope and variables involved in the compulsive buying behavior of this risk group. In this regard, given the high probability that, at this age bracket, the phenomenon is at its initial stages, knowing what personal dimensions are involved in young-people compulsive buying will provide an opportunity to design early actions with some assurances of efficacy, thus stopping its progress.…”

Leading Generation Z’s Financial Literacy Through Financial Education: Contemporary Bibliometric and Content Analysis in China

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