Impact of Plastic Money on Impulsiveness of Purchase Decisions among GCC Customers

Abstract: This study aimed at exploring the impact of plastic money of all kinds on impulsive purchase decisions of individuals within the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. We hypothesized that "Plastic money has a statistically significant influence on impulsive purchasing behavior", characteristics of plastic money included Security, Ease of use, Durability and Convenience. The quantitative approach was adopted using a questionnaire that was distributed electronically to a sample of 418 individuals. For analyzing the collected primary data, SPSS was adopted which included mean, frequency, standard deviation and multiple regression in order to process and reach needed results. Final outcomes of study indicated the acceptance of the presented hypothesized, and it appeared that plastic money has a statistically significant influence on impulsive purchasing behavior of consumers. In addition, it was seen through analysis that factors of convenience and durability were among most influential aspects in increasing consumer compulsive behavior with an R value of .898 and .652 respectively. In conclusion, plastic money increased the motivation of individuals towards making impulsive (emotional) purchasing decisions, because plastic money reduces the feeling of guilt and remorse as a result of the purchase, and thus pushes the individual to spend more, lose the track of their expenditures and depend more on financial solution in rescheduling their debt and finding an approach to spend more. This study recommended the need to increase attention to the fact that plastic money would negatively influence leverage ratio especially when individuals start to depend more on debit cards and increase the level of interest.

Keywords: Credit cards, paper money, Debit card, Polymer Money, Security, Ease of Use