Inspire to Delight: the Effects of Customer Inspiration on Consumers’ Purchase Decisions

In an affluent consumer society characterized by an abundance of products and information customers with high demands seek new inspiration and individual solutions. However customer inspiration (CI) has hardly been considered in marketing research yet. This study explores the psychological mechanisms of CI as a new concept in marketing as well as its effects on intentional and behavioral outcome variables. findings indicate that CI can significantly influence loyalty and purchase amount. The positive loyalty effect is partially mediated by customer delight (CD) and positive affect (PA). Unplanned spending occurs as a result of a mental process leading from CI across PA and CD. Implications for retailers are discussed and directions for future research identified.