The Mediating Role of Visual Appeal in the Influence of Emotional Appeal and FOMO on Impulsive Buying

Indonesia’s cosmetics industry grew by 21.9%, with companies increasing from 913 in 2022 to 1,010 in mid-2023. Skintific, a rising skincare brand, capitalized on this growth through TikTok flash sales and emotionally driven marketing. This study examines the influence of emotional appeal and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) on impulsive buying, with visual appeal as a mediating variable. A quantitative survey involving 385 TikTok users who purchased Skintific products was conducted and analyzed using SMART PLS 3.1. All seven hypotheses (H1-H7) were statistically supported. Emotional appeal significantly influenced impulsive buying (β = 0.352, t = 5.504, p = 0.000) and visual appeal (β = 0.455, t = 6.892, p = 0.000). FOMO also had significant effects on impulsive buying (β = 0.158, t = 2.062, p = 0.004) and visual appeal (β = 0.511, t = 7.840, p = 0.000). Visual appeal strongly impacted impulsive buying (β = 0.463, t = 7.049, p = 0.000) and mediated the effects of both emotional appeal (β = 0.211, t = 5.236, p = 0.000) and FOMO (β = 0.237, t = 4.962, p = 0.000) on impulsive buying. The findings underscore the strategic importance of emotional and visual marketing in digital commerce.