THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT ON IMPULSE BUYING AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF FEAR OF MISSING OUT AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

The current study focused on evaluating the mediating function of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) in the association between social media use and two consumer-related outcomes: university students' willingness to spend more and their uncontrollable desire to buy. Based on the Interaction of Person–Affect–Cognition–Execution Model, the study suggested that increased FOMO is an indirect way that social media use affects customer behaviour. The study design employed was a cross-sectional survey. Convenience sampling was used to select a sample of 378 students from public and private universities in Lahore, Pakistan. Social media involvement, FOMO, uncontrollable purchasing impulse, and readiness to pay scales were among the standardized assessment metrics employed. Pearson correlation analysis revealed significant positive relationships among all study variables. Social media engagement was positively associated with FOMO (r = .356, p < .01), uncontrollable buying desire (r = .303, p < .01), and willingness to pay (r = .313, p < .01). Mediation analyses using bootstrapping procedures demonstrated that social media engagement significantly predicted FOMO (B = 0.411, p < .001). FOMO leads significantly towards willingness to pay (B = 0.436, p < .001) and uncontrollable buying desire in participants (B = 0.672, p < .001). The indirect effects of social media engagement on willingness to pay (B = 0.179, 95% CI [0.127, 0.235]) and uncontrollable buying desire (B = 0.276, 95% CI [0.196, 0.360]) through FOMO were significant, while direct effects became non-significant, indicating full mediation. The findings highlight FOMO as an important psychological mechanism linking digital engagement with impulsive consumer behaviour among Pakistani university students.