The effect of psychological and social factors on impulse buying intention: The mediating role of luxury comsumption attitude

With globalization, significant changes have occurred in the factors shaping consumer behavior, leading to a diversification of purchasing behaviors. Particularly in the postmodern era, accelerated technological developments have contributed to the increase in impulsive buying behaviors, characterized by quick and unreflective decisions. Although many factors influence impulsive purchasing, psychological and social factors play a decisive role. Within the scope of this study, the effect of luxury consumption attitudes on impulsive buying behavior was examined among consumers of luxury products residing in Türkiye. The main objective of the study is to reveal how psychological and social factors such as materialism, narcissism, hedonism, self-concept, prestige, and status affect attitudes toward luxury consumption and how these attitudes are reflected in impulsive buying intention. A quantitative research method was adopted, and a structured questionnaire was used as the data collection tool. The research was conducted with 608 individuals across Türkiye who reported using luxury consumption products. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS software. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and post hoc Tukey tests were employed to determine group differences. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to identify relationships among scale variables. The validity and reliability of the scales were assessed through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). PROCESS Macro Model 4 and Model 1 were used to analyze the mediating and moderating effects among the variables. The findings revealed statistically significant (p < 0.05) and positive relationships between the variables. Materialism, narcissism, hedonism, status, and prestige were found to have significant and positive effects (β > 0, p < 0.05) on impulsive buying intention, while the effect of self-concept was positive but not statistically significant. Moreover, significant differences (p < 0.05) in impulsive buying behavior were observed based on demographic variables such as age, gender, income level, marital status, occupation, and educational background. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that understanding the psychological and social tendencies that influence luxury consumption provides a strong foundation for businesses, researchers, and academics to better define target audiences and to develop marketing strategies based on demographic segmentation and consumer tendencies toward Luxury.