Ivana Ondrijova

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
This study examines socio-demographic and socio-economic differences in compulsive buying tendencies among adult consumers in Slovakia using a quantile regression approach. The analysis is based on a quota-based sample of 1,000 respondents aged 18 years and older. Data were collected in March 2025 through an online questionnaire survey administered by the professional research agency FOCUS. Compulsive buying was measured using a standardized 16-item Compulsive Buying Behavior scale evaluated on a seven-point Likert scale. The overall compulsive buying score was calculated as the arithmetic mean of all items, and the scale demonstrated high internal consistency. Quantile regression models were estimated at τ = 0.25, τ = 0.50, and τ = 0.75 to examine whether socio-demographic and socio-economic factors operate differently across lower, medium, and higher levels of compulsive buying tendencies. The results indicate that unemployment is the most consistent socio-economic predictor of higher compulsive buying tendencies across the analyzed quantiles. Education shows a predominantly negative but less stable association, with statistically significant effects observed mainly at the median quantile for selected educational categories. Age is negatively associated with compulsive buying, particularly at the median quantile, while gender and personal income do not show stable statistically significant effects. The overall explanatory power of the models is limited, suggesting that socio-demographic characteristics capture only part of the variability in compulsive buying behavior. The study contributes to consumer behavior research by showing that quantile regression can reveal heterogeneous associations that may be obscured in mean-based models. At the same time, the findings should be interpreted as evidence of partial socio-demographic differences rather than as a comprehensive explanation of compulsive buying behavior.

Acknowledgment
Funded by the EU NextGenerationEU through the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Slovakia under the project No. 09I03-03-V04-00737.