A diary study of impulsive buying during the COVID-19 pandemic

The purpose of this paper is to explore why impulsive buying happens under emergency and crisis situations, such as that of COVID-19. Drawing on the cognitive-affective personality system theory (CAPS), we tested the dynamic influence of daily perceived uncertainty on COVID-19 on daily impulsive buying via daily information overload and daily information anxiety in a two-wave experience sampling method (ESM) design. Through a multilevel structural equation model (MSEM) analysis, we found that the daily perceived uncertainty on COVID-19 affected daily information overload, which in turn stimulated daily information anxiety, ultimately determining the daily impulsive buying. Namely, daily information overload and daily information anxiety played a complete chain-mediating role between the daily perceived uncertainty on COVID-19 and daily impulsive buying. The present paper is the first to uncover the important dynamic effect of the perceived uncertainty on COVID-19 on impulsive buying with diary data. Specific implications of these findings are discussed.