Can College Students' Control Their Spending Spree?: Evidence from Chinese College Students during "Double Eleven"

Abstract

E-commerce has become an essential platform for buying and selling products online. The rise of such a platform gives Taobao networks the distinctive opportunity to bring their products to the doorstep of their customers. The study investigates the features employed by Taobao vendors that influence Chinese students to buy on impulse during the "Double Eleven", also nicknamed "Single's Day" online festival celebration. Structured questionnaires with closed-ended questions were used to collect data from the college students. In total, 502 responded to the questions, STATA application software, descriptive and other factor analysis tools were used in the analysis of the data. The results review that, promotional tools such as gargantuan discounts, coupons, secured payment systems, ability to negotiate the price and the like encourage students to spend more during the Singles' Day Online Festival. The research shows vividly the vulnerability of college students who buy on instinct during double eleven, due to the expert advertising tactics employed by Taobao vendors. The study ends with a recommendation and areas of further research.