Effects of the no-plastic-bag policy to impulse buying behavior

Abstract

While addressing the environmental issue concerning nonbiodegradable waste, the no-plastic-bag policy also has an economic impact on the retail sector as it potentially reduces impulse buying behavior. This study uses questionnaires to examine factors affecting impulse buying and test the effect of the no-plastic-bag policy on impulse buying in Chiang mai, Thailand. As the no-plastic-bag policy is already implemented in all convenience stores, the study cannot collect data on the controlled group where buyers can still get free plastic bags. Therefore, this study uses the bring-your-own-bag (BYOB) behavior as a proxy for the no-plastic-bag policy. Realizing the potential self-selection biases of the BYOB behavior, the impact is estimated using the endogenous treatment effect model. The results show that people who bring their own bags make 19.2 percent more impulse purchases than those with no bag. This indicates that the no-plastic-bag policy significantly reduces impulse buying behavior. In addition to the key objective, this study also examines factors influencing buyers' decision to bring their bags to shop.

The results indicate that those who bring bags do it due to the deontological rather than teleological ethical evaluation. The BYOB campaign has been implemented. The results suggest that the campaign's performance can be improved by focusing on developing a sense of moral obligation to reduce nonbiodegradable waste. The successful BYOB campaign can reduce the negative impact from the impulse buying reduction and induce the stores to continue supporting the no-plastic-bag policy.