The Effect of Flash Sales and Urgency Marketing on Impulse Buying Through FOMO as a Mediating Variable Among E-Commerce Users in Indonesia

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the effects of flash sales and urgency marketing on impulse buying, both directly and indirectly through Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) as a mediating variable among e-commerce users in Indonesia. This study employed a quantitative approach with an explanatory research design. Data were collected through a survey of 92 e-commerce users selected using purposive sampling, with the inclusion criteria of being at least 17 years old, actively using e-commerce platforms, and having made purchases during flash sale events. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4. The results indicate that flash sales have no significant effect on either impulse buying or FOMO. In contrast, urgency marketing has a positive and significant effect on FOMO but does not have a significant direct effect on impulse buying. FOMO has a positive and significant effect on impulse buying. The mediation analysis shows that FOMO does not mediate the relationship between flash sales and impulse buying, whereas FOMO mediates the relationship between urgency marketing and impulse buying while its direct effect on impulse buying is not significant. These findings indicate that impulsive purchasing behavior is more strongly influenced by the psychological mechanism of FOMO triggered by urgency marketing. Theoretically, these findings extend the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework by distinguishing promotional stimuli that primarily provide economic incentives, such as flash sales, from urgency cues that more directly activate an internal psychological response in the form of FOMO, which subsequently drives impulse buying. The study highlights the importance of urgency-based marketing strategies in e-commerce.