From Simulation to Possession: Psychological Ownership and Impulse Buying in IP-Based Experiential Retail

Abstract

This paper analyzes the role of IP-based experiential retail settings in shaping impulse-buying intention, with psychological ownership as an important explanatory variable. Although previous studies have shown the significance of exposure to stimuli and emotional attachment as factors in the consumption of popular products, little effort has been made to examine the psychological processes that translate these inputs into purchasing behavior. Based on the psychological ownership theory, this paper argues that IP-based experiential simulation, including narrative-symbolic immersion, sensory-aesthetic involvement, and interactive involvement, enhances the development of ownership feelings before acquisition. Quantitative research based on purposive sampling of the consumers who visited the POP MART store at ICONSIAM in Bangkok. Four hundred and fifty questionnaires were sent out, and 412 valid responses were obtained to be analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate that IP-based experiential simulation in the retail environment significantly increases psychological ownership, which, in turn, influences the intention to make impulsive purchases. Psychological ownership is considered a partial moderator of this relation. Moreover, flow experience enhances the impact of experiential simulation on psychological ownership and, consequently, on purchase intention. These results indicate that impulse buying in IP-based retail is not merely a stimulus-response but, critically, a behavioral expression of ownership. The study contributes to the literature by extending the psychological ownership theory to prepossession-experience contexts and by providing useful insights for designing immersive retail environments.