“You Only Buy What You Love”: Understanding Impulse Buying Among College Students Through Values, Emotion, and Digital Immersion

Abstract

Impulsive purchasing behavior among university students has gained increased attention in the context of digital consumption settings; however, much of the existing research is product-specific and quantitative, leaving the subjective nuances of this phenomenon underexplored. This study investigates how college students perceive and explain their impulsive purchase behavior across various product categories and platforms, using qualitative data from focus groups (n = 72). By revealing the prevalence of key patterns—interest-aligned, emotional relief, hedonistic lifestyle, social influence, inquisitive reviewer, presentation appeal, and controlled purchase—this research uncovers the underlying identity-affirming practices, internal emotional negotiations, and external sociotechnical cues that shape such behavior. Ultimately, it reframes impulsive buying as a socially embedded, identity-driven act rather than an act of irrationality. These findings advance our understanding of consumer psychology by emphasizing the lived experiences and self-construction processes of young consumers navigating media-saturated, algorithmically curated purchasing environments.

1. Introduction

University students’ online impulsive purchase habits and occurrences are becoming more widespread [1,2]. According to recent estimates, around 76.5% of college students engage in online shopping at least once per week, among which 40% to 80% are identified as impulsive online buying [3,4]. This trend reflects basic generational changes in consumer psychology, which are fueled by smartphone use, algorithmic suggestions, immersive interfaces, and social media’s widespread effect [1,5]. Digital platforms are meant to promote quick gratification and emotional involvement, blurring the distinction between browsing and purchasing, desire and decision-making. These changing purchasing habits for young people are inextricably linked to emotions, interests, identities, and digital behaviors [6,7].

Yet, these subjective motivations and the nuanced lived experiences behind impulse buying behaviors remain scholarly scarce. Existing studies on impulsive buying behavior among college students have predominantly focused on product categories, such as apparel [8,9], fashion goods [10], sports merchandise [11], and perfumes [12]. Many studies emphasize individual predictors such as financial status and attitudes [13], self-identity [2], and materialism [14], often relying on quantitative, variable-driven approaches. More recent studies have expanded the online context into their analytical scope [15,16], but continue to neglect the qualitative, subjective accounts of how student experiences can be interpreted and explained within impulsive buying behavior. There remains a lack of attention to heterogeneous motivations, subjective interpretations, and the influence of immersive digital platforms.

This study addresses this gap by providing a qualitative exploratory study regarding how students explain their online impulsive buying behaviors, revealing neglected emotional, hedonic, value-driven, and technology-mediated themes. This study aims to provide a qualitative interpretative account of how college students explain and make sense of their impulsive buying behaviors. It focuses on the subjective experience, attempting to understand the diverse motivations and value orientations that underpin impulse buying in contemporary digital contexts. Specifically, the research addresses the following questions:

• How do young consumers explain their tendencies toward impulse buying in relation to their personal interests and motivations?
• In what ways do Chinese immersive digital media platforms shape or amplify impulse buying decisions among young adults?
• What value orientations and lifestyle preferences highlight the heterogeneity of impulse buying behaviors among young consumers?

Unlike experimental or survey-based quantitative techniques, this research does not seek to quantify actions or anticipate buying habits; rather, it seeks to give voice to consumers by foregrounding their subjective narratives and lived experiences, using a qualitative interpretive methodology to explore how identity, emotion, and evolving cultural norms shape impulsive consumption in digitally immersive environments. The structure of this paper is as follows: first, it reviews relevant studies contextualizing the study within broader scholarly debates on consumer behavior and key conceptual gaps. Second, the methodology section explains the research design, participants, demographics, and data collection process via focus groups, and how it is carried out to examine the data qualitatively. Third, the results section presents a thematic overview of the prevalence, showing the distribution of the identified themes that play crucial roles in this phenomenon. Finally, the discussion section offers a detailed interpretation of the most significant findings from this research, relating them to existing scholarship and highlighting their contribution to the understanding of impulse buying behaviors.

This research makes distinct contributions to existing knowledge. First, it illustrates the subjective motivations, emotional triggers, and lifestyle values that drive impulse buying behaviors among young consumers [17]. Second, it underlines the active role of immersive digital platforms in influencing these purchasing behaviors [14,15]. Third, it highlights the heterogeneity and diversity of value orientations that inform and shape the purchasing behaviors and decisions of younger generations, moving beyond simplistic generalizations and focusing on the priorities of the decision-making process. Moreover, it complements the predominantly quantitative body of consumer behavior research by providing a nuanced qualitative perspective on consumer psychology [18]. Finally, it opens up new trajectories for future studies on the intersections of digital design, emotional experience, and consumption in technologically mediated environments.

2. Literature Review

A substantial portion of the existing literature on impulse buying among university students has largely concentrated on defined product categories or specific consumption contexts, particularly those related to fashion, sports, or branded goods. For instance, Han et al. explored the distinction between planned and impulse purchases within the context of women’s clothing [8]. Kim directed attention toward virtual merchandise [10], while Kwon and Armstrong examined college students’ proclivity for acquiring sports team–branded merchandise, emphasizing the influence of brand affiliation [11]. In a related study, Forney and Park constructed a structural model centered on fashion-related consumer behavior, incorporating advertising exposure and fashion orientation [9]. George and Yaoyuneyong focused on spring break as a seasonal consumption event, offering insight into product-specific impulse purchasing behaviors [12]. Although these studies provide meaningful contributions within their respective domains, they are primarily constrained to particular product types and contexts, thus limiting their generalizability across broader or cross-category consumer behavior.

A second key tendency in the literature lies in its methodological uniformity, with many investigations employing structural equation modeling or regression-based quantitative analyses to operationalize and measure impulse buying behavior. For example, Lai employed regression to assess the predictive capacity of financial attitudes toward students’ impulsive purchasing tendencies [13]. Wu and Huan similarly applied survey data to examine the roles of time and financial pressure [19]. Xu addressed environmental influences on the shopping behaviors of Generation Y in commercial spaces [15]. Guo et al. adopted structured questionnaires to investigate self-esteem and impulse buying, grounded in compensatory consumption theory [2]. Park and Forney, as well as Dameyasani and Abraham, applied quantitative models to explore cultural values and financial behavior, respectively [9,20]. Mowen and Spears, though employing a hierarchical trait model, remain situated within a positivist paradigm [21]. While these approaches offer valuable statistical insights and support generalizability, they do not capture the rich, subjective meanings, internal narratives, and identity constructions that shape students’ real-life decision-making processes. Notably absent is a body of interpretive or phenomenological research that investigates how students themselves understand, justify, and experience their impulse buying behavior in regular contexts.

An emerging stream of research has sought to examine impulse buying through the lenses of identity, emotional state, and social context, particularly within the realm of digital and social media platforms. Chen, Zhi, and Chen analyzed how emotional reactions and materialistic values mediate the relationship between social media usage and impulse purchasing among Chinese students [14]. Luo et al. proposed a moderated mediation model that linked social exclusion, self-esteem, and risk preferences to impulse behavior [16]. Guo et al. further explored the impact of independent versus interdependent self-construal on purchasing tendencies [2]. Harvanko et al. studied compulsive buying disorder in college student populations, relating such behaviors to underlying psychological dysfunctions [22]. Despite these efforts, the literature remains fragmented, as individual studies tend to isolate discrete psychological or social variables rather than engage with broader systemic, cultural, or life-contextual dynamics. Furthermore, although some of these studies address complex emotional states—such as enjoyment, depression, or identity threat—the reliance on self-report instruments limits deeper insight into the interpretive processes by which students construct meaning around their impulse consumption, especially within immersive or algorithm-driven media environments.

Collectively, these three tendencies—product-category specificity, methodological homogeneity, and fragmented treatment of psychosocial and digital contexts—point to a significant gap in the literature. While prior research offers important insights, it leaves underdeveloped the lived experiences and meaning-making practices of university students as they navigate impulsive consumption in a digital, media-saturated cultural environment. This study seeks to address that gap by adopting a qualitative, interpretive methodology that centers on students’ narratives. Through this lens, it generates a more contextually grounded understanding of impulse buying, attentive to identity, emotion, and evolving cultural consumption norms.

3. Materials and Methods

This study adopts a qualitative research design, employing focus group to explore impulsive buying behaviors among young consumers. Data collection took place between July and August 2024, involving 72 participants divided into seven groups of approximately 10–12 students each. To foster participant comfort and open dialog, sessions were held in campus settings familiar to students. Participants were recruited from diverse academic faculties, with the sample drawn from universities based in Shanghai—one of China’s most digitally advanced cities, known for its leadership in mobile payments, livestream commerce, and digital retail [23]. All participating institutions belong to China’s first-tier universities, where many students tend to be tech-savvy and actively engaged with immersive shopping technologies [24]. The dataset included students from various regions in China as well as international students studying in the country, thereby capturing a broad spectrum of consumption yet commonly shared experience within the Chinese digital commerce environment.

Participant inclusion was guided by two self-reported criteria: (1) active engagement with immersive digital technologies, such as livestream shopping formats, mobile payment ecosystems, virtual storefront interfaces, or algorithm-driven shopping apps; and (2) prior experience with impulsive purchasing. This ensured that participants were both familiar with the technological environment and personally reflective on impulsive consumption behaviors, providing first-hand experience in technology-mediated shopping contexts relevant for exploring impulsive behavior (See

Table 1. Demographic profile of participants.

Demographic Category	Group	N	Percentage (%)
Gender	Male	34	47.2%
	Female	38	52.8%
Age Group	18–20 years	18	25.0%
	21–23 years	42	58.3%
	24–26 years	12	16.7%
Discipline	Humanities and Social Sciences	30	41.7%
	Science and Technology	25	34.7%
	Business and Economics	17	23.6%
Nationality (By Region)	Chinese students	46	63.9%
	Northern	11	15.3%
	Southern	13	18.1%
	Eastern	15	20.8%
	Western	7	9.7%
(International Students)	Kenya	4	5.6%
	Uganda	3	4.2%
	Vietnam	5	6.9%
	Pakistan	4	5.6%
	Malaysia	4	5.6%
	South Korea	3	4.2%
	Mongolia	3	4.2%
Self-Reported Frequency	Weekly or more	29	40.3%
	Monthly	31	43.1%
	Yearly	12	16.6%

).

To ensure consistency across sessions, all focus groups were conducted to elicit reflections on participants’ experiences with digital shopping, perceptions of impulse buying, and interactions with immersive technologies. Each session lasted approximately 60 to 90 min and was moderated by a trained facilitator with prior experience in qualitative research data collection. The sessions were conducted in Mandarin and English, depending on the participants’ language preferences. Ice-breaking activities were introduced at the start of each session to foster a relaxed atmosphere, and discussion encouraged spontaneous, peer-driven interactions while adhering to the thematic scope of the study.

All focus group sessions were audio-recorded, transcribed, and anonymized to protect participant confidentiality. Thematic analysis was then conducted using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework: familiarization with the data, initial coding, theme generation, theme review, theme definition, and final reporting [25]. An inductive approach guided the analysis, allowing themes to emerge directly from participants’ narratives without being restricted by pre-existing theoretical assumptions. NVivo 14 software was used to organize the data and facilitate a systematic coding process. Initial codes were developed through careful, repeated readings of the transcripts and were continuously refined to reflect nuanced insights. A coding scheme was established to capture key thematic categories linked to the core drivers and contexts of impulsive consumption.

Each data segment underwent multi-assigned coding, meaning it could be categorized under multiple emergent themes. The dataset was then analyzed to uncover both recurring and context-specific patterns of behavior. This analytical strategy illuminated shared and divergent experiences among university students navigating impulsive consumption in immersive digital environments. To ensure coding reliability, an independent researcher applied the same framework to a subset of the data, yielding a Cohen’s Kappa coefficient of 0.84. The final coding instrument was confirmed (see

Table 2. Codebook of online impulsive buying behavior of university students.

Code	Definition	Application Criteria
Interest-Aligned (INTEREST)	The INTEREST code captures instances of impulsive purchases that are hobby-driven, identity-expressive, interest-aligned purchasing behavior centered around recurring product themes. These purchases are typically made when the item aligns with a specific thematic interest, collection habit, or symbolic attachment (e.g., perfumes, tech products, paintings, or other interest-linked items).	Apply this code when participants describe impulsive purchases that reflect an interest in a certain product category or theme, often perceived as part of a personal preferences, taste, identity, and status.
Emotional Relief (EMO_RELIEF)	The EMO_RELIEF pattern describes the behavior of making purchases to feel better when experiencing emotional distress. The immediate emotional needs of the customer take precedence over their actual material requirements.	The participant uses shopping to achieve emotional benefits by stating it helps them feel better while also reducing anxiety and finding relief. Emotional events trigger the purchase decision. The customer reveals that the purchased items serve no essential purpose.
Hedonistic Lifestyle (YOLO)	The YOLO (Hedonistic Lifestyle) pattern represents the belief that spending money is acceptable because it allows people to experience more joy and material happiness and reduces their self-control (You Only Live Once approach).	The participant demonstrates materialistic life enjoyment and budgeting disregard in their decision-making process. The participant uses phrases such as “why not live richly?” or “we only live once, why restrain ourselves?”
Investigative Reviewer (REVIEWER)	The REVIEWER pattern makes purchases after extensive review-checking across platforms. The buyer actively seeks validation through multiple opinions, but leads to frequent, high-volume purchasing.	Buyer reads and compares multiple reviews to justify the purchases, while often resulting in bulk or repeated buying based on perceived reliability.
Controlled Buyer (CONTROLLED)	CONTROLLED prevents spontaneous buying and intentionally delayed purchases. After self-imposed reflection or restraint, the buyer proceeds with high-cost purchases justified as deserved rewards, despite potential financial vulnerability.	Buyer postpones purchases to suppress impulses, but frames spending as earned indulgence after delay. Participants may acknowledge overspending risks but still proceeds.
Socially Influenced (SOCIAL_INF)	The customer replicates the purchasing patterns of their social group	Participant cites buying because “my friend recommended it” or “everyone has it.”
Attraction to Product Presentation (PRESENTATION)	The presentation style of a product determines its buying decision because customers base their choices on how a product looks in stores and advertising materials	The customer makes their purchasing decision based on the shop display alongside lighting arrangements and attractive visual content

). The distribution of themes is presented in the following section.

4. Results

The study revealed that “Interest-Aligned” behavior (38.9%) was the most prevalent among participants (refer to

Table 3. Prevalence of online impulsive buying behavior of university students.

Code	Frequency (N)	Percentage (%)
Interest-Aligned	28	38.9%
Emotional Relief	24	33.3%
Hedonistic Lifestyle	21	29.2%
Investigative Reviewer	18	25.0%
Controlled Buyer	14	19.4%
Socially Influenced	20	27.8%
Attraction to Product Presentation	15	20.8%

). Personal interests in perfumes, gadgets, and niche collections drove hasty purchases. The second and third most prevalent characteristics were “Emotional Relief” (33.3%) and “Hedonistic Lifestyle” (29.2%), indicating that students utilize impulsive shopping to decrease stress or live in the moment. “Social Influence” (27.8%) and “Investigative Reviewer” (25.0%) indicate that peer influence and reflective consuming practices are significant factors. The other characteristics “Selective Accumulation” (22.2%), “Attraction to Product Presentation” (20.8%), and “Controlled Buyer” (19.4%) are less prevalent but nonetheless prominent, showing that students make impulsive purchases in a systematic, esthetic, or calculating fashion (see Table 3).

5. Discussion

5.1. Impulse Buying as Identity-Affirming Practice

Impulse buying among young consumers is not merely spontaneous behavior—it often reflects a structured identity-forming practice shaped by imposed personal preferences and long-term self-concepts. The most prevalent pattern observed was interest-aligned impulse buying, accounting for 38.9% of the cases, followed closely by hedonistic lifestyle at 29.2%. Participants consistently made repeated, unplanned purchases in specific product categories—such as perfumes, tech products, or collectibles—that resonated with their enduring interests and expressive identities. These acts serve as symbolic affirmations of the self, highlighting how young consumers negotiate identity through material preferences, rather than random or irrational consumption. The emphasis on “living in the moment” further illustrates how indulgence is justified as aligned with personal values, not deviant behavior.

Importantly, such consumption is not standardized but deeply individualized. Products that intersect with personal interests or passions serve as triggers for impulsive purchases, reinforcing identity and social positioning [26,27]. This connection becomes particularly salient when consumption helps consolidate or elevate one’s self-image [27]. As one participant reflected, “When I do something, I do it extremely. When I decide to buy perfumes, I get several at once because I want to compare scents and have options for different settings… But you know, for me, it’s the perfumes—I could sacrifice going somewhere for vacation and just spending money on my charms.” (Participant 6, Group 4, International student from Kenya). When asked about her current collection, the participant remarked: “a couple of hundred. I did not count, but I think one thousand is not hard for me to have.”

Complementing this identity-driven pattern is the Hedonistic Lifestyle, found in 29.2% of cases. Here, impulsivity stems not from emotion but from a desire for esthetic stimulation and experiential joy. Participants shopped to feel alive, to treat themselves, and to affirm their lifestyle ideals. This reflects a broader generational tendency toward present-focused consumption—a “You Only Live Once” (YOLO) mentality—that normalizes indulgence and reduces hesitation [28,29,30]. Amidst global uncertainties, many young consumers feel justified in prioritizing immediate pleasure, adopting a future-skeptical outlook where gratification is not postponed [30,31]. As such, impulse buying becomes not a failure of discipline, but a coherent response to contemporary life conditions, framed through lifestyle, emotion, and generational ethos.

5.2. Emotional Regulation and the Internal Logic of Impulsivity

The second major theme centers on internal psychological struggles in shopping behaviors, where two distinct yet interlinked patterns emerged: Emotional Relief (33.3%) and Controlled Buyer (19.4%). Participants who fell into the emotional relief category often described shopping as a coping mechanism for academic stress, emotional exhaustion, or loneliness. These were not random impulses but deliberate responses to emotional triggers. Students repeatedly referred to shopping as “retail therapy”—a soothing ritual meant to restore a sense of calm, control, or emotional equilibrium.

• “Personally, I like clothes. I just love dressing. Sometimes I feel like getting something new for my closet even if I don’t really need it. I go and buy because it relieves me emotionally, reduces my anxiety, and makes me feel like I’m achieving something today.” (Participant 19, Group 3, Chinese student)

For these students, the act of buying served a symbolic function, marking transitions in mood or daily rhythm. It was frequently associated with decompression after intense study activity or as a break from routine. One participant even described shopping apps as “part of my life cycle,” where browsing itself became a form of emotional release and boundary setting between work and rest. The shopping act, therefore, had more to do with emotional restoration than material acquisition.

• “For me, especially emotional triggers matter a lot. If something attracted me emotionally, I would not think about the cost. Even if a friend tells me not to do so, I still buy it because it just touched me. If I decide to do so, I do it all at once.” (Participant 56, Group 7, Chinese student)

While impulsivity is typically associated with a lack of control, participants often emphasized the deliberate and negotiated nature of their actions. Controlled Buyer, the fourth most common theme, described a cognitive-emotional negotiation: Participants intentionally delayed spontaneous purchasing behavior. They might have researched products, compared reviews, and weighed pros and cons—yet ultimately proceeded with high-cost purchases they still recognized as impulsive and financially risky. These purchases were not reckless but were framed as earned indulgences, strategically delayed and internally justified. This mirrors a reviewer-type persona seen in previous studies, where impulse is filtered through thoughtful preparation [32,33,34].

This dual-code pattern reveals a nuanced understanding of student consumption: a tension between emotive need and cognitive regulation. Participants were not merely “losing control,” but instead balancing affective relief with internal rules and thresholds. In doing so, shopping became a regulated act of self-care—brief, indulgent, but not without awareness of its temporary nature. These findings align with previous research on mood regulation, self-esteem management, and consumer psychology, where emotional self-soothing intersects with identity expression and temporal control [14,16,33].

5.3. Interactive Environments and External Social Cues

Beyond personal identities and emotional states, a third domain of impulse buying behavior is shaped by interactive digital environments. The influence of techno-social cues, platform design, and algorithmic personalization is particularly prominent among younger consumers, amplifying both the frequency and intensity of impulsive purchases.

One key pattern, the Socially Influenced impulse, identified in 27.8% of participants, illustrates how peer feedback—through likes, comments, and visible purchasing behaviors—exerts subtle but continuous pressure on individuals. Many participants reported feeling socially “nudged” by group-buying trends and real-time online interactions. These networked cues foster a sense of urgency and participation, making impulsive buying a digitally reinforced social norm.

The Investigative Reviewer pattern (25.0%) presents a more cognitively engaged layer. While participants in this group often purchased impulsively, they described detailed post hoc rationalizations as a form of internal justification. This included reviewing specifications, reading user reviews, or comparing prices after the purchase decision had already been made. These rationalizations helped them maintain a sense of control, even when the initial behavior was driven by spontaneity.

Adding further complexity, the Attraction to Product Presentation (20.8%) highlights how digital platforms stimulate impulse buying through immersive visual and temporal cues. Participants frequently referenced esthetic design, dynamic layouts, and limited-time offers as triggers. These features not only enhance product appeal but also reduce friction in the decision-making process, making impulsive purchases feel “natural” within the flow of digital engagement.

Participants vividly articulated how algorithmic personalization and immersive design influence their shopping behaviors. One participant explained:

• “I think it helps if I am going to search for a dress, it is going to give me different kinds of dresses, dinner dresses, casual dresses, OMG too much! I check the shop and the recommendation just leads me to another beautiful shop. I just scroll, keep scrolling, adding to my basket without realizing I am buying so much. You talk about a topic with your friend if your phone is nearby—the next day your apps are showing ads about the product. It is like my mobile is listening to me.” (Participant 14, Group 5, Chinese student)

This quote reflects a broader sentiment among participants: that platforms are not merely tools for discovery, but emotionally responsive ecosystems. Students described them as “sticky,” with features that seem to “learn their moods,” offering comforting suggestions when stressed or excitement-inducing content when energized. This simulated empathy enhances engagement, lowers resistance to buying, and blurs the boundary between entertainment and consumption.

Moreover, live-stream commerce, particularly on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, emerged as a major contributor to impulsive buying [35,36]. Real-time interactions, limited-time discounts, and influencer endorsements create a compelling sense of urgency and fear of missing out (FOMO) [37]. The immediacy of flash sales and one-click purchasing within live broadcasts encourages fast consumption decisions [35].

This digital environment—characterized by algorithmic feedback loops, esthetic immersion, and constant connectivity—reshapes traditional notions of impulsivity [38,39]. Rather than being random or irrational, impulse buying in these contexts is highly structured by platform logic [38]. As participants noted, recommendation systems, dynamic interfaces, and curated feeds present a constant stream of temptations, turning everyday browsing into a seamless consumer journey.

Together, these findings reveal how immersive digital ecosystems, by embedding social validation, personalized esthetics, and behavioral nudges, play a powerful role in shaping the impulse buying patterns of young consumers. This domain moves beyond internal motivations, spotlighting the external, technologically mediated architectures of persuasion that define contemporary consumer culture.

6. Conclusions

This study examined how impulsive buying behavior unfolds among university students in digitally immersive shopping environments, focusing on emotional, identity-driven, and lifestyle-related factors. Using focus group discussions with participants from diverse backgrounds, the research captured lived experiences of impulsivity in relation to digital stimuli, such as algorithmic recommendations and social feedback cues. The analysis revealed that impulsive buying is not a uniform act, but manifests in three distinct patterns—interest-oriented collecting, emotion-driven relief, and calculated indulgence—each deeply tied to personal passions, emotional needs, and social context. These behaviors are shaped and amplified by the interactive and personalized nature of digital platforms. The study shows that impulsive consumption is both situational and identity-expressive, rather than merely irrational. These findings challenge conventional models that treat impulsivity as a single construct and underscore the need for a more segmented, socio-culturally informed understanding of youth consumption [40,41]. Practically, the research highlights the importance of designing consumer interventions, educational messaging, and platform policies that account for the varied motivations and contextual triggers underlying impulsive digital purchases.

Taken together, these findings challenge the dominant framing of impulse buying as a symptom of lack of financial planning or irrationality [42,43]. Instead, they reveal a complex, subjective landscape where buying behavior reflects participants’ emotional states, social environments, and identity needs. The diversity across behavioral types underscores that there is hardly uniformed impulse—it is rather individualized, culturally embedded acts of expression and response. In this context, impulsive consumption among university students might be seen as a socio-cultural performance—a way of engaging with identity, community, and emotional regulation in a digital age. Recognition of this dynamic is essential for educators, policymakers, and even platform designers seeking to better understand the real meaning behind the “impulse.”

This study has several limitations that future research could address. First, its qualitative design and focus on Chinese university students may limit the generalizability of the findings to broader youth populations or cross-national contexts. Second, data derived from focus group discussions may be influenced by social desirability bias, potentially shaping how participants present their experiences. Additionally, the study did not explore how impulsive buying behaviors evolve over time, and the absence of quantitative measures restricts opportunities for broader statistical comparisons. To overcome these constraints, future studies could adopt mixed-methods approaches that combine qualitative depth with quantitative breadth to validate and extend these findings. Longitudinal research may help track changes in impulsive purchasing behaviors across time and through different phases of digital platform engagement. Cross-cultural and institutional comparisons could also illuminate how cultural norms and economic environments shape consumer impulsivity. Finally, experimental designs may be useful in testing how specific platform features and persuasive design elements influence impulsive behaviors under controlled conditions.

Nevertheless, this study offers timely and necessary contributions to the literature on online impulsive buying by contextualizing it within China’s immersive digital environment—a setting shaped by livestream shopping, mobile payments, and personalized algorithmic feeds [38]. While much existing research focuses on general e-commerce contexts and static predictors [8,9,44], this study captures how compulsive behaviors emerge within fast-evolving, platform-mediated experiences. By incorporating a regionally diverse and internationally mixed sample, it foregrounds the socio-cultural dimensions of digital consumption that remain underdeveloped in the current literature. Moreover, the use of qualitative focus group data adds methodological diversity to a field largely dominated by survey-based studies, enabling an in-depth understanding of emotional dynamics, peer influence, and real-time decision-making [45,46]. These insights demonstrate that impulsive digital consumption is not merely a psychological or individual trait, but a socially embedded and technologically shaped behavior—a perspective that remains underdeveloped in most contemporary models. As such, this research calls for further inquiry that integrates immersive digital contexts with more nuanced socio-cultural perspective.