Determinants of Online Impulse Buying Among Young Adults in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: A Study on Eco-Friendly Food and Beverage Utensils

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing, Faculty of Accounting, Finance, and Business, Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology, Malaysia.

2 Associate Professor, School of Management and Business, MILA University, Malaysia.

10.22059/jitm.2025.99923

Abstract

Eco-friendly product usage is a defining trend in consumer purchase intentions during this decade. Younger, tech-savvy consumers are often more sensitive to environmental concerns when purchasing products due to the abundance of information available on social media platforms. In the food and beverage industry, this trend has led many younger consumers to prefer purchasing eco-friendly, sustainable cutlery for food and beverage consumption. With online social commerce platforms selling eco-friendly utensils readily available, a larger group of consumers, primarily young adults, seem to purchase these products impulsively due to various factors. The four independent variables proposed in this study that seem to influence the online impulse buying behavior of young adults toward these eco-friendly products are fear, serendipity, electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and website quality. Convenience sampling was utilized to gain a greater understanding of the targeted consumer group, using a 5-item Likert scale to collect data from respondents. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire items were further confirmed using statistical methods, namely average variance extracted (AVE), composite reliability (CR), and Cronbach’s alpha. The hypotheses were tested using AMOS software (version 24) through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to tabulate the results. Based on the study conducted, it is concluded that fear and eWOM do influence the online impulse buying of eco-friendly food utensils among young adults in Kuala Lumpur. It is further suggested that elements such as fear and eWOM play a significant role in online impulse purchases of eco-friendly utensils, as young adults rely heavily on social media marketing. This reliance contributes to these consumers’ growing concern for their future, prompting them to be more environmentally conscious.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Information Technology Management
Volume 17, Issue 1
2025
Pages 58-72

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