Factors influencing Singaporeans' intention to use pawnbroking services.

Abstract

This study examines the motivating factors behind the intentions of using pawnbroking services in Singapore. On the basis of prior research, we hypothesize that there are three factors (attitude, preference and future cash needs) influencing a potential customer’s intention to use pawnbroking services. In addition, we also hypothesize that a potential customer’s awareness and prior usage experience of the services affect his attitude towards pawnbroking. To test our hypotheses, data was collected from 206 random respondents with regards to their views towards pawnbroking through street and door-to-door surveys. The results support our study’s hypotheses that all three identified factors are positively correlated to the intention of using pawnbroking services, with attitude being the strongest influence. This signals to pawnbrokers about the importance of improving the general attitude held towards pawnbroking in order to encourage a higher usage rate among Singaporeans. Results relating demographical factors to intentions of using pawnbroking services also show that the lower income group has higher intentions to use pawnbroking services in the future, suggesting that this is a customer segment which pawnbrokers can focus on. Based on our findings, we propose several practical recommendations that can be applied to Singapore’s pawnbroking industry, such as educating the younger generation about pawnbroking, and modernizing traditional storefronts. To boost usage rate of their services, pawnbrokers should adopt these suggestions to improve customer perceptions and tailor their marketing strategies towards targeted customer segments.