Title: Masstige apparel products and FOMO in online shopping: tapping the emerging market for luxury consumption

Authors: Nupur Arora; Parul Manchanda; Aanchal Aggarwal; Vikas Arya; Vilte Auruskeviciene

Addresses: School of Business Studies, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies – Technical Campus, New Delhi, India ' Department of Management Studies, Netaji Subhas University of Technology, New Delhi, India ' School of Business Studies, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, New Delhi, India ' Paris School of Business, Paris, France ' ISM University of Management and Economics, 18, Arkliu St., Vilnius, Lithuania

Abstract: The study based on social-identity theory attempts to employ the notion of fear of missing out (FOMO) in e-commerce by exploring the impact of FOMO on the urge to buy impulsively in an online shopping context, with impulse buying tendency as a mediator. The paper also investigates the relationships described above in the presence of fashion consciousness as a moderator for masstige apparel products, which boost the economy of luxury consumption in the emerging market. Three hundred seventy-nine usable responses were collected through an online questionnaire. The moderated mediation relationship was analysed using structural equation modelling. The study confirms a partial mediating role of impulse buying tendency in the relationship between e-shopper FOMO and impulse purchases. Additionally, fashion consciousness was a significant moderator in the mediated model. The research introduces a model in the context of 'online promotional/sale events for masstige apparel products', which is specific to an emerging product category in developing countries.

Keywords: fear of missing out; FOMO; online shopping; masstige apparel; impulse buying tendency; IBT; fashion consciousness.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTMKT.2026.153423

International Journal of Technology Marketing, 2026 Vol.20 No.2, pp.131 - 149

Received: 20 Jan 2024
Accepted: 21 Oct 2024
Published online: 07 May 2026 *

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