The interplay of flash sale exposure, budget disruption, and impulsive buying in digital marketplaces.

Flash sales are widely used in digital marketplaces to stimulate purchases through urgency and scarcity cues. While these tactics effectively drive impulsive buying, their impact on consumer budget discipline remains unclear. This study investigates the interplay between flash sale exposure, impulsive buying. and budget disruption among college students—a demographic highly engaged in online shopping. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design was employed, surveying 388 students from Cebu City universities using a structured questionnaire. The instrument measured exposure to flash sale stimuli (timers, scarcity warnings, notifications, social media), impulsive buying tendencies, and budget disruption. Reliability coefficients ranged from 0.6925 to 0.7065. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression. Respondents reported high exposure to flash sale cues (M = 3.34, Strongly Agree) and moderate impulsive buying tendencies (M = 3.14, Agree), but disagreed that flash sales significantly disrupted their budgets (M = 1.95). Regression analysis revealed that exposure strongly predicted impulsive buying (β = 0.8030, p < .001, R² = .575) and negatively affected budget stability (β = -0.7810, p < .001, R² = .514). When combined, exposure increased impulsive buying, while budget disruption reduced it (R² = .755). Flash sale stimuli effectively trigger impulsive purchases without substantially undermining financial discipline, suggesting consumers maintain budgetary control despite promotional pressure. Businesses should balance profitability with ethical responsibility, while consumer education and financial literacy remain essential to mitigate risks.