The Effect of SPayLater and Hedonic Shopping Motivation on Impulsive Buying through Digital FOMO with Self-Control as a Moderator among Farmers/Plantation Workers in Sarolangun Regency

Abstract

The Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) feature, such as SPayLater on Shopee, has reshaped consumption patterns among seasonal-income communities, including farmers/plantation workers. This study examines the effect of SPayLater usage and hedonic shopping motivation on impulsive buying, with digital fear of missing out (FOMO) as a mediator and self-control as a moderator, grounded in the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework. A quantitative causal-associative approach was applied to 150 farmer/plantation-worker respondents who actively use SPayLater in Sarolangun Regency, Jambi, selected through purposive sampling and analyzed using variance-based Structural Equation Modeling (WarpPLS). Results indicate that SPayLater (β=0.351, p<0.001) and hedonic shopping motivation (β=0.306, p<0.001) significantly and positively affect digital FOMO, and FOMO significantly affects impulsive buying (β=0.168, p=0.017). However, the direct effects of SPayLater (p=0.300) and hedonic shopping motivation (p=0.057) on impulsive buying were not significant, and FOMO did not significantly mediate either relationship (p=0.151; p=0.185). Self-control significantly and negatively moderates the FOMO–impulsive buying relationship (β=-0.187, p=0.009), consistent with the Strength Model of Self-Control. This study contributes theoretically by revealing the psychological pattern of digital FOMO in an underexplored seasonal-income agrarian population, and practically by underscoring the importance of digital financial literacy and self-control capacity-building programs.