Research Paper
Article citation: Maggon, M. (2025). I do not think before I leap (buy)! Impulse buying: An integrative review and future research directions. Acta Psychologica, 254, 104822.
Abstract
The aim of this paper was to use bibliometric analysis to fill a gap in the research and provide a detailed review of the impulse buying (IB) literature. A total of 541 journal articles published between 2014 and 2023 were retrieved from Scopus and systematically analyzed. The findings indicate that IB has received ample attention in previous studies. Four prominent clusters were identified using co-citation network analysis. The United States was the most influential country, with the most publications and citations in terms of IB research. In the past, authors have analyzed many factors that influence IB. However, some research areas remain underexplored, such as the impacts of the metaverse, artificial intelligence, and live commerce on IB. The findings have relevant implications for psychologists who focus on IB. IB is a crucial concept relevant to psychology and marketing researchers interested in uncovering novel psychological dimensions and requires timely reviews. Previous reviews have either been descriptive/conceptual (literature reviews re-examining and defining the construct) or contextual (meta-analyses of impulse buying in hospitality). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to explore IB's past, present, and future using bibliometric and content analysis across various online and offline buying platforms.