Stress, FoMO, and Customer Engagement Impact on Impulsive Buying in Indonesia Gaming Industry: The Moderating Role of Money Availability

Globalization has influenced society's reliance on technology, enhancing various life aspects but also escalating stress in work and daily activities. Many individuals turn to gaming as a stress-relief mechanism, which has significantly boosted the global gaming industry. Indonesia ranks third globally in the number of gamers, driven by a strong interest in gaming and a competitive urge influenced by the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO). This study aims to investigate the relationship between stress, FoMO, customer engagement, and impulsive buying behavior toward gaming equipment moderated by money availability. Insights from this research could guide manufacturers, distributors, and marketers in devising targeted strategies to capitalize on the gaming sector's economic potential in Indonesia. The study surveyed 163 Generation Z individuals who play games and purchase gaming equipment. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed for data analysis. The results reveal that FoMO significantly enhances game engagement, which in turn into impulsive buying. Money availability moderates the engagement-impulsive buying relationship, while engagement mediates the FoMO-impulsive buying link. However, stress did not significantly impact engagement, nor did engagement mediate the stress-impulsive buying relationship.