The Influence of Promotional Discounts, Perceived Scarcity, and Emotional Appeal on the Purchase Intention of College Students at a State University in Cebu City

Authors

  • Ma. Yassah R. Kangleon Center of Advanced Studies, Cebu Institute of Technology- University, Cebu City, 6000, Philippines
  • Mark Anthony N. Polinar Center of Advanced Studies, Cebu Institute of Technology- University, Cebu City, 6000, Philippines
  • Alexander Franco A. Delantar Center of Advanced Studies, Cebu Institute of Technology- University, Cebu City, 6000, Philippines

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11594/ijmaber.06.10.11

Keywords:

Promotional Discounts, Perceived Scarcity, Emotional Appeal, Purchase Intention, College Students, State University, Cebu City

Abstract

This research aimed to explore the impact of promotional discounts, perceived scarcity, and emotional appeals on the purchasing intentions of college students attending a state university in Cebu City. The study employed a quantitative method that integrated descriptive, correlational, and predictive designs. Data were gathered from 395 students through a modified survey questionnaire, yielding a Cronbach's alpha of 0.924. The study employed descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rho correlation, and multiple regression to test the gathered data. The results showed that all three factors significantly influenced students' purchasing intentions; the highest predictor among the three was emotional appeal, followed by promotional discounts and perceived scarcity. This suggests that students may be influenced by marketing strategies that invoke urgency; however, what ultimately affects them more are those that give emotional sentiments while providing value with discounts and promotions. The study, therefore, concludes that students’ purchasing intentions are probably influenced more by marketing strategies that combine emotional engagement with a reasonable price and scarcity acting as a supporting marketing strategy. Furthermore, this research offers valuable insights into how sales promotions, feelings of scarcity, and emotional appeal impact college students' purchasing intentions.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behav-ior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T

Barton, B., Zlatevska, N., & Oppewal, H. (2022). Scarcity tactics in marketing: A meta-analysis of product scarcity effects on consumer purchase intentions. Journal of Retailing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2022.06.003.

Biraglia, A., Usrey, B., & Ulqinaku, A. (2021). The downside of scarcity: Scarcity ap-peals can trigger consumer anger and brand switching intentions. Psychology & Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1002/MAR.21489.

Büyükdağ, N., Soysal, A., & Ki̇tapci, O. (2020). The effect of specific discount pattern in terms of price promotions on perceived price attractiveness and purchase inten-tion: An experimental research. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 55, 102112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102112.

Büyükdağ, N., Soysal, A., & Ki̇tapci, O. (2020). The effect of specific discount pattern in terms of price promotions on perceived price attractiveness and purchase inten-tion: An experimental research. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 55, 102112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102112.

Chandon, P., Wansink, B., & Laurent, G. (2000). A benefit congruency framework of sales promotion effectiveness. Journal of Mar-keting, 64(4), 65–81. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.64.4.65.18071

Dodds, W. B., Monroe, K. B., & Grewal, D. (1991). Effects of Price, Brand, and Store Information on Buyers' Product Evalua-tions Journal of Marketing Research, 28(3), 307–319. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224379102800305

Du, L. (2025). Marketing Strategies and Social Influence on Impulse Buying. Advances in Economics, Management, and Political Sciences. https://doi.org/10.54254/2754-1169/2024.ld19008.

Ganassali, S., & Ganassali, J. (2025). Speak to their hearts! Enhancing consumer social responsibility through emotional ap-peals. Journal of Consumer Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm-12-2023-6486.

Guro, P., Iman, J., Pendang, M., Madura, R., & Abiol, M. (2023). The Study on The Rela-tionship Between Promotional Strategies and Freshmen Students’ Perceptions and Needs in A Higher Educational Institution in Iligan City. International Journal of Multidisciplinary: Applied Business and Education Research. https://doi.org/10.11594/ijmaber.04.11.17.

Guzun, S. (2025). Elaborating marketing strat-egies for a successful busi-ness. Universitas Europaea: Towards a Knowledge-Based Society Through Euro-peanisation and Globalisation: Interna-tional Conference Proceedings, Vol 1. https://doi.org/10.54481/uekbs2024.v1.36.

Hartati, D., Nurmala, E., Siregar, M., Malau, A., & Saifudin, I. (2025). Promotion Strate-gies in Increasing the Interest of New Prospective Students in Educational Insti-tutions. SABIQ: Jurnal Sosial dan Bidang Pendidikan. https://doi.org/10.62554/bey0px12.

Holbrook, M. B., & Batra, R. (1987). Assessing the role of emotions as mediators of con-sumer responses to advertising. Journal of Consumer Research, 14(3), 404–420. https://doi.org/10.1086/209123

Kim, C., Jeon, H., & Lee, K. (2020). Discovering the Role of Emotional and Rational Ap-peals and Hidden Heterogeneity of Con-sumers in Advertising Copies for Sustain-able Marketing. Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12125189.

Kim, S., Yoon, S., Baek, T., Kim, Y., & Choi, Y. (2020). Temporal and social scarcities: effects on ad evaluations. International Journal of Advertising, 40, 1115–1134. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2020.1837486.

Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed.). Pearson Educa-tion Limited. https://books.google.com.ph/books/about/Marketing_Management.html?id=PDUOrgEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

Kumar, M., & Venkadasalapathy, G. (2024). Impulse vs Intent: A Behavioural Study on Online Shopping Triggers Among College Students. ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts. https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i6.2024.2487

Lv, J., Wang, Z., Huang, Y., Wang, T., & Wang, Y. (2020). How Can E-Commerce Businesses Implement Discount Strategies through Social Media?. Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187459.

Lynn, M. (1991). Scarcity effects on value: A quantitative review of the commodity theory literature. Psychology & Market-ing, 8(1), 43–57. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.4220080105

Maharani, N., Helmi, A., Mulyana, A., & Hasan, M. (2020). In-store promotion and cus-tomer value on private label product pur-chase intention. Innovative Marketing. https://doi.org/10.21511/im.16(4).2020.09.

Morris, J. D., Woo, C., Geason, J. A., & Kim, J. (2002). The Power of Affect: Predicting Intention. Journal of Advertising Research, 42(3), 7–17. https://doi.org/10.2501/JAR-42-3-7-17

Raibukha, O. (2024). Problems of Choosing and Managing the Strategy of Marketing Activities of A Business Entity. Економіка розвитку систем. https://doi.org/10.32782/2707-8019/2024-1-4.

Song, Q. (2024). Analysis of Contemporary Col-lege Students’ Preference for Online Promotion Activities — Youth Choice Un-der the Online Shopping Trend. Journal of Research in Social Science and Humani-ties. https://doi.org/10.56397/jrssh.2024.07.03.

Wu, W. Y., Lu, H. Y., Wu, Y. Y., & Fu, C. S. (2012). The Effects of Product Scarcity and Consumers' Need for Uniqueness on Purchase Intention. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 36(3), 263–274. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2011.01000.x

Wu, Y., Xin, L., Li, D., Yu, J., & Guo, J. (2021). How does scarcity promotion lead to im-pulse purchase in the online market? A field experiment. Inf. Manag., 58, 103283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2020.103283.

Zhong, Y., Zhang, Y., Luo, M., Wei, J., Liao, S., Tan, K., & Yap, S. (2022). I give discounts, I share information, I interact with view-ers: a predictive analysis on factors en-hancing college students' purchase inten-tion in a live-streaming shopping envi-ronment. Young Consum-ers. https://doi.org/10.1108/yc-08-2021-1367.

Zhou, R. (2024). The Impact of Scarcity Pro-motions in Live Streaming E-commerce on Purchase Intention: The Mediating Ef-fect of Emotional Experience. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics. https://doi.org/10.1108/apjml-04-2024-0475.

Downloads

Published

2025-10-23

How to Cite

Kangleon, M. Y. R., Polinar, M. A. N. ., & Delantar, A. F. A. (2025). The Influence of Promotional Discounts, Perceived Scarcity, and Emotional Appeal on the Purchase Intention of College Students at a State University in Cebu City. International Journal of Multidisciplinary: Applied Business and Education Research, 6(10), 4988-4995. https://doi.org/10.11594/ijmaber.06.10.11