The 8th Hatyai National and International Conference Thursday, June 22, 2017 at Hatyai University Page 455 STORE DYNAMICS, EMPLOYEE AND GENERATION Y IMPULSE PURCHASE Rahim Luqman 1 and Jason Wai Chow Lee 2* 1 Graduate student MBA Marketing Programme, Faculty of Business, Nilai University, Malaysia. 2 Associate Professor Dr., Dept. of Management & Marketing. Faculty of Business, Nilai University Malaysia. * Corresponding author, E-mail: wclee@nilai.edu.my Abstract Prior studies on impulse purchasing behaviour have focused on general segments covering mostly Baby Boomers, and Generation X (Gen Y). This study attempts to examine how apparel store dynamics manifested in music, lighting, layout and employees’ behaviour influence impulse purchase of Gen Y. Using convenience sampling technique, data was collected via a survey questionnaire from 120 Gen Y from a large suburb outside Kuala Lumpur to analyse the impact of store environment and impulse buying. Findings found that music, lighting, and layout had significant impact on impulse purchase. Contrary to prior theory, employee behaviour, however had a significant negative relationship with impulse buying behaviour. Findings have implications for theory and retail management. Keywords: Store environment dynamics, impulse purchase, Generation Y Introduction Impulse buying is an instinctive behaviour which every person possesses. Impulse purchase occur when there is an urge which occurs in a very short span of time, and the driving force behind the urge is the customer’s internal state which includes the emotions followed by the external environmental forces which includes all the internal and external environment of the store (Beatty and Ferrell, 1998). Retailers have exploited instinctive buying behaviour by putting more focus on marketing activities which lead to many widespread incidence of impulse buying across various types of products (Sharma, 2010). Due to the fierce competition in the market there is therefore a need to improve the environment of the store and the presentation of the store, so that they can differentiate their offerings from the rest in the market. Bakers et al. (2002) studied the store environment and found that characteristics such as ambience factors which includes lighting, scent and music, design factors in the assortment, layout, as well as social factors such as salespersons and the type of buyers in the store.