Relationship between time pressure and consumers' impulsive buying—Role of perceived value and emotions

Abstract

Live-streaming e-commerce has become one of the mainstream marketing scenarios, attracting the attention of consumers and the academic community. In live-streaming e-commerce, retailers often use limited-time sales to induce a sense of urgency, prompting consumers to make impromptu purchase decisions. However, existing studies show contradictory results regarding the effectiveness and underlying mechanism of this marketing method. This study empirically investigates the relationship between time pressure and impulsive buying, including affective and cognitive aspects, using the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) and Schachter-Singer (SST) theories. The results suggest that time pressure has a positive relationship with impulsive buying, with an affective rather than cognitive focus. Moreover, the relationship between time pressure and affective (vs. cognitive) impulsive buying is mediated by perceived value. Positive emotions positively moderate, while negative emotions negatively moderate, the relationship between time pressure and affective impulsive buying. This study enhances the understanding of how consumers make purchase decisions under time pressure in live e-commerce scenarios.