THE EFFECT OF GOLD PRICE FLUCTUATIONS ON INTEREST IN GOLD SAVINGS AT SHARIAH PAWNSHOP UPS SOFIFI

Abstract Gold price movements are widely assumed to shape the public's willingness to buy gold, yet evidence from Indonesian sharia pawnshops remains inconsistent and rarely covers small, remote service units. This study examines whether customers' perception of gold price fluctuations affects their interest in saving through the Gold Savings (Gold Savings) product of Pegadaian Syariah UPS Sofifi, Tidore Islands, North Maluku. A quantitative, cross-sectional field survey was conducted. Fifty randomly selected customers, drawn from 334 customers registered between 2021 and 2024, completed a four-point Likert questionnaire with eight items per variable. All items were valid (item-total correlations of 0.338 to 0.781 against a critical value of 0.279). The price-fluctuation scale was reliable (Cronbach's alpha = 0.771), whereas the savings-interest scale fell below the 0.60 criterion (alpha = 0.542). The data were analyzed using simple linear regression in SPSS. Perceived gold price fluctuation did not significantly predict saving interest (B = 0.045, 95% CI [-0.279, 0.369], beta = 0.040, t = 0.280, p = 0.781) and explained only 0.2% of its variance (R-squared = 0.002). Residuals were not normally distributed, so inference should be treated cautiously. Among existing customers, saving interest therefore appears unrelated to how they perceive gold price changes; trust, convenience, and sharia values are plausible but untested explanations. Pegadaian could emphasize product security, ease of use, and financial education rather than price-timing messages. Future studies should use larger samples, behavioral measures, and additional predictors.