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Introduction
The growth of shopping has been tremendous since the second half of the twentieth century, evidenced by the mushrooming of shopping hubs, known variedly as shopping malls, town squares, flea markets, and bazaars, even in small towns ([22] Dommermuth and Cundiff, 1967). Especially in the USA, spending has far exceeded disposable income and replaced saving as a revered value ([72] Zuckerman, 2000).
Shopping, traditionally defined as the act of examining of goods or services from shops and gathering purchase-related information with or without the intent to purchase, has become a characteristic feature of the present day society ([80] Buttle, 1992). With a blend of hedonic and utilitarian values, it is simultaneously a leisure activity and an economic activity. Shopping is a social event and is one of the major triggers of the current consumer culture ([13] Belk, 1988). For many individuals, shopping is a means to gain membership in an aspired social class and hence shopping reflects more of the nuances of contemporary social relationships than the utility of the products purchased ([44] Miller, 1998). Thus, shopping is both descriptive and ascriptive. [3] Arnold and Reynolds (2003) unearthed the following six shopping related motivations and associated behaviors: adventure shopping, social shopping, gratification shopping, idea shopping, role shopping, and value shopping.
In the context of student shopping, the present researchers propose some relationships so far unnoticed by consumer researchers: it is hypothesized that the level of cognitive dissonance in the aftermath of impulsive buying is significantly greater than the same after a planned purchase and that individuals with higher impulsiveness trait experience a higher level of cognitive dissonance than their counterparts with lower impulsiveness trait. Taking in to account the nuances of spring break shopping, the researchers also explore a few other important issues about shopping behavior among college students such as the preference for national versus foreign brands, media influence, the impact of the current economic downturn, and student spending across the academic levels.
Empirically verifying the relationships proposed in this paper will give vital clues to marketers: for instance, if impulse buying is capable of generating more cognitive dissonance, the same calls for post-purchase dissonance reducing marketing interventions. If marketers do not actively intervene in the dissonance resolution process and channelize its direction,...