Park & Burns, 2005; Roberts & Martinez, 1997;
Xu, 2008; Yurchisin & Johnson, 2004). Younger
consumers showed higher compulsive tendencies
compared with older consumers. This may
be interpreted in the light that older consumer
groups may be cautious in their purchase habits
because they have family responsibilities. Strong
relationship between demographic variables and
compulsive behavior shows that specific consumer
groups are likely to show compulsive tendencies.
This may be related with the need to
show power and status in society. The findings
support earlier research that specific traits in-
fluence compulsive buying behavior (Faber &
O’Guinn, 1992). The findings add to existing
literature that a combination of demographic
factors can influence compulsiveness. H3 gets
accepted and H4 gets partially accepted as consumers’
attitude toward credit cards and credit
card use did not affect compulsive behavior of
Indian consumers.
These findings are new as earlier research
posits that credit cards are perceived as status
symbols and consumers possessing credit cards
exhibit compulsive behavior (Nga et al., 2011;
Phau & Woo, 2008; Pirog & Roberts, 2007;
Roberts, 1998; Roberts & Jones, 2001; Roberts
& Martinez, 1997; Wang & Xiao, 2009). In an
Indian context, possessing credit cards does not
translate into compulsive behavior. While collecting
data, it had been revealed by respondents
that they rarely preferred to use credit cards. People
were more used to making payments by cash
and felt that owning credit cards would translate
into extra costs. This also reflects in the size of
sample used for final analysis. About 80% of respondents
reported not owning any credit cards.
This finding is specific to Indian culture, where
people prefer to borrow money from friends and
relatives than to purchase products with credit
cards. The findings support earlier research by
Khare et al. (2012) on credit card use by Indian
consumers. Indian customers fear that credit
cards are costly and complex to use. The concerns
are associated with procedural delays if
the credit card gets lost, harassment from the administrative
authorities, and difficulty in getting
a credit card from banks. Marital status, income,
and education were found to be important factors
affecting compulsive buying. This may be
interpreted in the light that education and income
are related and affect consumers’ propensity
to purchase products to exhibit their social
status. Marital status affects consumers’ compulsive
tendencies. Single consumers are likely
to purchase products to show their social status
and may be careless in their purchase decisions.
Marriage would bestow responsibilities on individual
and curb impulsive tendencies.