Consumer Emotional Experience and Psychological Pressure in Facing Time-Limited Discount Programs

Abstrak

This literature study examines consumer experiences in facing flash sales, focusing on emotional dynamics, psychological pressure, and coping strategies developed during participation in time-limited discount events. Through a qualitative literature review approach, this study synthesizes findings from various disciplines including consumer psychology, behavioral economics, and digital marketing. The analysis reveals that flash sales create intense psychological pressure through the combination of time constraints, quantity scarcity, and social influence, triggering acute stress responses and shifting decision-making from analytical to intuitive processing. Consumers experience ambivalent emotional dynamics, simultaneously or alternately feeling positive and negative emotions throughout the participation process. Individual differences in self-control, sensation seeking, and emotional tendencies significantly influence how consumers experience and respond to flash sale pressure. Consumers develop diverse coping strategies ranging from complete avoidance to active participation with various self-protection mechanisms, including limit setting, emotion regulation, cognitive restructuring, behavioral strategies, social support, and technology utilization. The effectiveness of coping strategies depends heavily on individual characteristics and situational factors. Repeated participation in flash sales can shape shopping habits and have long-term implications for psychological and financial well-being. This study contributes to theoretical understanding of consumer decision-making under time pressure and provides practical implications for consumer education, ethical interface design, and consumer protection policy development in the digital retail environment.