Urge to Buy as Mediator in Lawson Consumers’ Impulse Buying

Abstract

This study examines how store environment and shopping enjoyment tendency influence Impulse buying behaviour at Lawson convenience stores in Jakarta, using urge to buy as a mediating variable. Guided by the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework, this research explores the drivers behind unplanned retail purchases. Methodologically, primary data were collected through online questionnaires from 200 consumers who had transacted at Lawson at least twice in the past three months. The data were then analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The structural analysis shows that both store environment and shopping enjoyment tendency have positive and statistically significant direct impacts on the urge to buy. In turn, the urge to buy has a highly significant direct effect on Impulse buying behaviour. In contrast, the direct paths from store environment and shopping enjoyment tendency to Impulse buying behaviour are statistically non-significant. These results confirm that the urge to buy functions as a full mediator in this model. Therefore, external store environment and personal traits do not directly cause unplanned purchases; they depend entirely on triggering an immediate emotional urge to buy.