270 © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. Factors influencing customer behavior in impulse buying of cosmetics on live shopping platforms in Malaysia Wong Chee Hoo1,5+ Shovinee Kumar2 Suriana Ramli3 Sudhakar Madhavedi4 1,2Faculty of Business and Communications, INTI International University, Malaysia. 1Email: cheehoo.wong@newinti.edu.my 2Email: i22022374@student.newinti.edu.my 3Arshad Ayub Graduate Business School, University Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. 3Email: surianaramli@uitm.edu.my 4Kshatriya College of Engineering, Hyderabad, India. 4Email: reachfirst@gmail.com 5Faculty of Management, Shinawatra University, Thailand. (+ Corresponding author) ABSTRACT Article History Received: 22 January 2024 Revised: 25 November 2024 Accepted: 10 January 2025 Published: 18 February 2025 Keywords Consumer behaviour Cosmetics Impulse buying Malaysia Shopping platforms. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the emergence of a livestream purchasing site that facilitates instantaneous purchases. The purpose of this study is to analyze the key determinants that contribute to the impulsive purchasing behavior of cosmetic products on live shopping platforms. There are four variables namely website quality, sales promotion, customer trust and financial availability are examined. This study used a quantitative research design to determine the relationship between the identified variables. Data collected from 200 respondents was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential analysis to establish the correlation. The research findings validate that the quality of a website, sales promotion, customer trust and financial availability exert a substantial impact on customers' impulsive purchasing behavior. The practical implications of the study offer valuable insights into the development of effective strategies for cosmetic businesses to enhance impulse buying behavior among customers on live commerce platforms. Contribution/Originality: The novelty of this study is in examining the factors that influence impulse buying of cosmetics on live shopping platforms in Malaysia, a growing e-commerce market with distinct cultural and consumer behavior patterns. 1. INTRODUCTION Effective development in e-commerce enables businesses to continuously improve their marketing methods and techniques. Live commerce is now a viable option for the long-term and wholesome growth of e-commerce because of the recent rapid advancements in network technology (Zhang, Zhang, & Wang, 2022). Traditionally, impulse behavior was often triggered by in-store displays, advertisements and discounts. However, customers can observe products in use, have a better understanding of their features and advantages and receive real-time feedback from hosts and planned live events that persuade them to make immediate purchases (Lu, Xia, Heo, & Wigdor, 2018). Thus, this new business practice has had a profound impact on the impulse buying behavior of consumers. The growing popularity of live commerce in skincare as well as personal care products is one of the primary drivers driving market expansion throughout the forecast time frame and contributes to market growth Humanities and Social Sciences Letters 2025 Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 270-284 ISSN(e): 2312-4318 ISSN(p): 2312-5659 DOI: 10.18488/73.v13i1.4094 © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. mailto:cheehoo.wong@newinti.edu.my mailto:i22022374@student.newinti.edu.my mailto:surianaramli@uitm.edu.my mailto:reachfirst@gmail.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/73.v13i1.4094 Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2025, 13(1): 270-284 271 © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. (Wongkitrungrueng & Assarut, 2020). The potential of live stream commerce in Malaysia is expanding and should not be ignored. The trend of real-time spending on live commerce in Malaysia is considered new in comparison to other nations which lead to applications such as Shopee and Lazada participating in live streaming through their own channels. Social media plays a more significant role in persuading consumers to purchase products and in helping businesses market them (Parajuli, Thapa, Devkota, Raj, & Paudel, 2021). However, sellers generally face difficulties in adjusting to customer’s preferences and changing behavior and in precisely and completely comprehending their decision-making processes and variables (Khalilah & Khairul, 2018). The reason for this is that most of the time, consumers want to see real results from the products being advertised and expect the same results from their purchases. Thus, businesses must grasp many aspects of the digital industry and customers' purchasing patterns which will help in boosting targeted customer’s impulse spending behavior to satisfy customer’s needs in an online live stream (Aliyar & Mutambala, 2015). Although there is existing research on global online shopping consumer behaviour, there is a scarcity of studies specifically examining impulse buying of cosmetics on live shopping platforms in Malaysia. There is limited knowledge about the factors that impact customer behaviour in impulse purchasing of cosmetics on live shopping platforms particularly in Malaysia. Previous research has primarily concentrated on general online shopping behaviour neglecting the distinctive features of live shopping platforms and the cosmetic industry. Furthermore, there is insufficient research on the impact of social influence and peer pressure on impulse purchasing of cosmetics on live shopping platforms in Malaysia. Moreover, research is required to investigate how product presentations and online marketing strategies influence impulse buying behaviour on live shopping platforms in Malaysia. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify and analyze the factors that influence the impulse buying behavior of consumers in live commerce towards cosmetic products in Malaysia. This study attempts to examine the relationship between website quality, sales and promotion, trust basis and financial availability in relation to the impulse buying behavior of working adults in live commerce towards cosmetic products in Penang. The hypotheses tested were as below: 1.1. Hypothesis H1: There is a significant relationship between website quality and the impulse buying behavior of consumers. H2: There is a significant relationship between sales promotion and the impulse buying behavior of consumers. H3: There is a significant relationship between trust basis and the impulse buying behavior of consumers. H4: There is a significant relationship between financial availability and the impulse buying behavior of consumers. The next steps involved in doing this research include a literature review, problem solving, design experiments, collecting and analyzing data and the findings. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Impulse Buying Behaviors Impulse buying, similar to unplanned buying is defined as a consumer’s spontaneous, intense and unexpected desire to purchase without having made any earlier planning or considerations (Ankita & Priya, 2019). Moreover, there is a need for research on impulse buying behavior through online purchases given the growing significance of the internet as a sales channel. One could contend that consumer behavior while making purchases online is generally rational because they prefer to research products and compare prices before deciding. Impulsive shopping has a place in modern media as well especially during live commerce and thoughtful judgments are not always made (Aragoncillo & Orus, 2018). According to research, an impulsive purchase is made quickly on the spot and without much thought after being exposed to a stimulus and experiencing an overwhelming urge to make a purchase (Redine, Deshpande, Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2025, 13(1): 270-284 272 © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. Jebarajakirthy, & Surachartkumtonkun, 2022). Since impulse purchases make up a significant proportion of sales followed with increasing of revenue, retailers and sellers consider them to be important. Thus, online sellers and retailers generally use external factors like in-store incentives, promotion and advertising to encourage more impulse buying behavior. In this perspective, it would seem that the promotional material has the potential to have an impact on people's psychology in a way that makes them want and ultimately decide to purchase a particular good or service (Rodrigues, Lopes, & Varela, 2021). Additionally, according to a research study consumers are more impulsive in social commerce such as live streams in comparison to traditional e-commerce (Huang & Suo, 2021). Impulse buyers are unreasonable in their decisions about goods and are less likely to instinctively seek out information or professional guidance due to their lack of cognitive control and emotional overstimulation (Lee & Chen, 2021). Therefore, the study's definition of impulse buying is defined as a consumer's immediate purchase behavior in response to a trigger. This review offers strategies for advertisers, marketing executives and online retailers on how to effectively tempt impulsive purchases among consumers and adjust to contemporary changes and advancements in the online retail sector (Redine et al., 2022). 2.2. Website Quality Website quality is important in the e-commerce sector since customers' perceptions of it have a direct impact on their purchasing decisions. Since the company's or online retailer’s website serves as the primary means of communication with customers, its layout and design are just as important as those of physical stores (Aliyar & Mutambala, 2015). Consumers adhere to several website design qualities such as a website's appeal, the usefulness of its material, the accuracy of the information and its simplicity of use. Another study also indicated that security, satisfaction, information quality, usability and service quality are also some significant categories for website quality (Hasanov & Khalid, 2015). Customers are more likely to be satisfied and be more likely to make an online purchase when e-commerce websites have appealing and engaging effects and provide informative knowledge that makes it possible for customers to make comparisons and evaluate product alternatives. There is a major significant impact on the satisfaction of customers is the integrity of the information that a company provides on online retail websites. The researchers concluded that a high website rating indicates that a website's features are subjective and fulfil a user's needs (Amponsah & Samuel, 2021). Another study indicates that the quality of a website is crucial since it serves as the customer's sole point of contact when they are on it. The website must be unique, attractive and filled with comprehensive and reliable information. It makes sense to include filters and share buttons on each web page and all goods to make it simple to share and easy to access as customers use online shopping websites to save time (Singh, 2022). Many different industries have studied the quality of websites. It is advised to strengthen website security in terms of customers' privacy and safety transactions, website visual appeal and convenience of use because these factors are significant to customers who are making buying decisions. Studies also have shown that the quality of a website will also have an impact on customer's intent to book an appointment, a flight ticket or a hotel room in addition to their purchasing decisions (LiLi, Jiang, & Law, 2017). Thus, it is important to improve website quality because it influences customer satisfaction which builds loyalty and the intention to repurchase (Giao, Vuong, & Quan, 2020). There are multiple methods to evaluate the quality of websites which are web design, customer service, fulfillment and reliability, security and privacy based on another researcher’s literature study. The four dimensions are included in this instrument. Navigation, comprehensive information and order processing are all included in the website design. Customer service is defined as prompt response, helpful assistance and willingness to address queries from customers. The capacity to provide correct product details and deliver the right goods within the time limit provided is known as fulfillment or reliability. Security or privacy refers to the confidentiality of customer information and the safeguarding of card payments (Giao et al., 2020). Therefore, in this study, the quality of the Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2025, 13(1): 270-284 273 © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. website about visual appeal, personal safety, usability and other important factors will affect consumers' decisions on purchasing live stream products. 2.3. Sales Promotion Sales promotion is a typical method for promoting in daily life primarily consisting of two types of promotional materials: the first is direct price discounting which involves directly lowering the sales price of goods to grant consumers price adjustments such as discounts, rebates, coupons, vouchers, full cutbacks, etc. The second is indirect price preference which involves providing supplementary revenue that varies compared to the initial cost of the product which means additional gifts, lottery prizes and guarantees of quality (Huang & Suo, 2021). In other words, since incentives for promotions have an impact on consumers' impulse buying decisions, sales promotion serves as a direct attraction to increase short-term product demand. Another study shows that live commerce is one of the strategic marketing tactic that encourages customers to buy products right away based on a set of discounted prices that are only accessible for a short time. The deadline effect states that consumers' sense of urgency to purchase increases as the campaign gets near to its termination which is the cause of impulse buying behavior among consumers (Zhang et al., 2022). The statement above is emphasized in another research study that consumers are more likely to decide to make a purchase when online retailers promote products under limited time promotion and intense time constraints (Lee & Chen, 2021). The majority of live stream buyers feel they can take advantage of exclusive promotions like larger discounts or additional presents that are not obtainable from other shopping platforms. Therefore, it is clear that perceived discounts or promotions have a significant impact on consumers' purchasing decisions in live e-commerce streams as well as repeat purchases by consumers (Chen, Lu, & Zheng, 2020). Thus, sales promotion has an impact or influence on impulse buying behavior based on the analysis. One of the primary motivations for consumers to engage in online purchasing is sales promotion. A promotional strategy for products is a marketing tactic used by businesses to grab the attention of customers by reducing the retail price of specific goods based on a research study. Customers are more inclined to make an impulsive buy especially on live stream when the discount is larger or the online seller sounds more persuasive (Lee & Chen, 2021). Since consumers' buying decisions are impacted by promotional incentives, sales promotion serves as a direct inducement to increase short-term product demand (Weerathunga & Pathmini, 2015). Thus, since consumers believe live streaming commerce offers a lower price, they quickly place orders while watching a live stream which leads to impulse buying behavior. Therefore, the effectiveness of sales promotion about discounts, vouchers, gifts, guarantees, cash-back etc. are other factors that will have an impact on consumers' purchase decisions during live commerce in this study. 2.4. Trust Trust plays a crucial role in the e-commerce sector because consumers believe there is more risk involved than compared with traditional methods of shopping since they are unable to personally view the stores, handle the goods or otherwise evaluate them before making purchases (Le & Hoang, 2020). It is an essential part of online shopping. Sellers need to place great importance on it because it can impact customers' purchasing decisions (Mahliza, 2020). It is a state in which customers have faith in the dependability and honesty of suppliers which also reduces their perceived risk (Iriani, Nuswantara, Kartika, & Purwohandoko, 2021). Another study also has a similar review that online sellers with a high level of credibility can affect consumers' attitudes towards the brand's trustworthiness and their purchasing intentions (Lee & Chen, 2021). Active interaction and positive engagement between both sellers and buyers, promote the growth of trust assisting customers in overcoming their fear of uncertainty (Rahayu, Saparudin, & Hurriyati, 2020). Interaction can help people understand one another more deeply and reduce transactional distance. Therefore, interpersonal interaction in this context refers to the process of sharing information online between consumers, live streamers, Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2025, 13(1): 270-284 274 © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. and other consumers that will increase consumer trust in the product (Huang & Suo, 2021). In such circumstances, consumers will purchase the product through a live stream if they feel the vendor is reliable. Otherwise, they won't shop. Trust consequently gives customers an impression of security when making purchases from online businesses they are confident in. When making decisions to buy from sellers in online e-commerce, trust plays a vital role for customers as they are unable to physically inspect and check the product on a virtue platform. In order to minimize perceived risk for consumers, build long-lasting relationships through live commerce which ultimately will develop customer loyalty to the seller and in return will be advantageous to preserve consumer confidence towards the seller for repurchase intention (Le & Hoang, 2020). Furthermore, consumers also experience major uncertainty and anxiety about defective products, duplicated products and other concerns while shopping online. Therefore, buyers must have faith in the products they are purchasing in addition to trusting sellers. The product quality should also be increasing to increase consumer confidence and satisfaction (Ming, Jianqiu, Bilal, Akram, & Fan, 2021). Therefore, trust is defined in this study as a consumer's faith in the seller and also in the products which may increase the consumer’s level of confidence when making a purchase through online shopping or live commerce. A recent study by Nur, Abdul Rahman, and Rasheedul (2023) showed a significant relationship between trust and consumer loyalty. 2.5. Financial Availability Financial availability is a consumer's financial capabilities that can be thought of as how much money is available for them to spend on that given day or related to this study for online purchases. It also plays a vital role in impulse buying behavior among consumers (Adnan & Osman, 2022). People are more likely to make online impulse purchases when they have extra money in their wallets (Iftikhar & Iqbal, 2020). Thus, we can see that the availability of budget or excess money has a favorable and situational impact on impulsive buying. Since finance is a facilitator in obtaining the desired object, its availability leads to impulsive buying which is positively related. Conversely, customers who are strapped for cash will refrain from visiting shopping websites. There are certain studies that states that consumers with excess cash may experience contentment and positive feelings since they have extra cash to spend on online shopping. Consumers with a larger budget will have greater access to online shopping alternatives and a higher desire to make purchases (Azizi, Arfani, Agustina, & Sanjaya, 2020). However, another researcher sees from another point of view, that some consumers might disregard the effects of less money being available during the holiday seasons such as the "Double 11" or festive offer. They typically engage in rash actions to get their favorite things which clearly is impulse buying behavior (Liu & Zhang, 2019). In addition, it has been noted that customers' awareness of their available funds has diminished due to easy access to credit cards which has resulted in overspending. In this study, the term "financial available" refers to a person's immediately accessible cash for online purchases. 2.6. Proposed Research Framework Figure 1. Proposed conceptual framework developed for research. Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2025, 13(1): 270-284 275 © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of the study. A conceptual framework illustrates how the study will be carried out using the theory that has been gathered from the research of Bansal and Kumar (2019) and Tran (2019). This research study was conducted to better illustrate the effect of consumer’s impulse buying behavior in live commerce on related factors. The four main factors that will be tested are website quality, sales promotion, trust basis and financial availability. 3. METHOD 3.1. Research Design A quantitative research method will be conducted for this study to analyze the factors influencing impulse buying behavior within consumers during the live stream. Survey questionnaires will be used in quantitative research to gather data for this study's investigation into the relationships between the variables. 3.2. Participants The targeted population for this research is made up of individuals who are adults. This group is then further divided into customers who bought cosmetic products from live streaming platforms. According to Roscoe (1975) the ideal sample size for most research projects ought to be a minimum of 30 and no more than 500 to avoid unacceptable sampling errors. A sample size of equal or more than 200 is an adequate amount that is sufficient to produce relevant findings. 3.3. Data Collection Tool The survey was carried out using Google Links and shared with friends and families. A snowball sampling technique was employed in this study. There are a total of 212 sets of questionnaires collected and after analyzing, only 200 sets of questionnaires are compatible to use for data analysis. The targeted respondents are Penang network users who watched a live broadcast regarding a good or service which received a total of 209 questionnaires. Table 1. Summary of the demographic profile. Items N % Items N % Gender Race Male 151 76 Indian 70 35 Female 49 25 Chinese 62 31 Age Malay 68 34 18 – 25 years old 56 28 Employment status 26 – 35 years old 88 44 Full-time employed 152 76 36 – 45 years old 30 15 Part-time employed 34 17 46 – 55 years old 19 9.5 Self-employed 5 2.5 56 years and above 7 3.5 Unemployed 9 4.5 Income level Frequency of watching live streaming Below RM1000 32 16 Daily 16 8 RM1001 – RM3000 79 40 Weekly 41 21 RM3001 – RM5000 53 27 Monthly 41 21 RM5001 – RM7000 25 13 Occasionally 47 24 More than RM7001 11 5.5 Rarely 55 28 Amount spent on cosmetic products in live stream Preferable live stream platform Less than or equals to RM99 50 25 Facebook live 43 22 RM100 – RM150 69 35 Instagram live 51 26 RM151 – RM200 46 23 Tiktok live 106 53 RM201 – RM250 27 14 Total 200 100 More than or equals to RM251 8 4 Recommendation to use live commerce for cosmetic product purchases Respondents’ experience in watching live streams Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2025, 13(1): 270-284 276 © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. Items N % Items N % Yes 187 94 No (Thank you for your participation). 3 1.4 No 13 6.5 Yes 206 99 Respondents’ experience in purchasing through live stream No (Thank you for your participation). 6 2.9 Yes 200 97 Out of the 209 sets of questionnaires collected, only 206 sets of surveys are valid. The other 3 sets were incompatible as target respondents because the respondents had no experience watching live stream. The targeted respondents are Penang network users who purchased cosmetic products through live broadcast which has a total of 206 sets of completed questionnaires. Out of the 206 sets of questionnaires collected, only 200 sets of surveys are valid. The other six sets were incompatible as target respondents because the respondents had no experience purchasing cosmetic products through live stream. A total of 200 questionnaires were collected in the study with a significant majority of female respondents accounting for 75.5% (151 individuals) while males accounted for just 24.5% (49 individuals). The highest groups of responses were in the age ranges of 26 to 35 (44%) and 18 to 25 years (28%) as anticipated. The remaining participants fall into the age categories of 36 to 45 years (15%), 46 to 55 years (9.5%) and 56 years and over (3.5%). The study included 70 Indian respondents (35%), 68 Malay respondents (34%) and 62 Chinese respondents (31%) about ethnicity. Table 1 presents the breakdown of respondents' employment status based on the analysis of the 200 gathered questionnaires. Full-time employment was the prevailing employment status among respondents, comprising 76% (152) people. In contrast, 34 respondents (17%) were working a part-time job, 5 respondents (2.5%) were self- employed and 9 respondents (4.5%) were unemployed. Furthermore, with regards to income levels, the majority of participants were in the RM1001 to RM3000 bracket with 79 participants (26.5%). Following that, 53 participants (26.5%), 32 participants (16%) and 25 participants (9.55%) indicated income levels below RM1000, RM3001 to RM5000, and RM5001 to RM7000 correspondingly. The cohort with the lowest number of responses 11 individuals (5.5%) reported incomes surpassing RM7001. Significantly, 34.5% (69 participants) set aside a budget of RM100 to RM150 for buying cosmetics. 25% (50 respondents), 23% (46 respondents) and 13.5% (27 respondents) respectively, spent less than RM99 between RM151 and RM200 and between RM201 and RM250. Only 4% (8 participants) exceeded the RM251 threshold in their expenditure. Moreover, the data clearly shows the preferred platforms for engaging in live streaming among the participants. Tiktok was the preferred choice for the majority with 53% (106 respondents) using it. Facebook was chosen by 21.5% (43 respondents) and Instagram by 25.5% (51 respondents). The results revealed a strong preference among participants to support live commerce as a means of purchasing cosmetic products. Out of the total number of 200 respondents, a significant majority of 93.5% (187 respondents) voiced a positive recommendation for using live commerce in cosmetic purchases while just a small minority of 6.5% (13 respondents) disagreed with this perspective. 3.4. Data Analysis Table 2 displays the mean and standard deviation of each variable. The results show that each of the variables has a similar degree of agreement with each variable's mean score tending towards "agree". Moreover, of all the factors, the trust basis variable had the highest mean (= 4.1333) indicating that the majority of respondents agreed with the trust basis statement. Contrarily, the lowest mean of any variable belongs to impulse buying behavior. Furthermore, the data's dispersion from the mean can also be seen by studying the standard deviation. The variable impulse buying behaviour has the highest standard deviation of 0.96872 as seen by the statistics above in Table 2. Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2025, 13(1): 270-284 277 © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. This illustrates that the data were widely skewed away from the mean. The trust basis variable has the lowest standard deviation which suggests that the data are near the mean. Table 2. Central tendency measurement of constructs. Variables Mean Standard deviation Impulse buying behavior 3.295 0.969 Website quality 3.873 0.833 Sales promotion 3.832 0.824 Trust basis 4.133 0.719 Financial availability 3.970 0.717 The findings in Table 2 indicate that all the factors exhibit a comparable level of acceptance as reflected by the mean scores of each variable towards the "agree" category. Furthermore, of all the components, the trust basis variable had the highest mean value of 4.1333 suggesting that the majority of respondents concurred with the trust basis statement. On the contrary, impulse purchase behavior has the lowest mean value across all variables. In addition, the extent to which the data deviates from the mean can be observed by analyzing the standard deviation. The variable "impulse buying behaviour" exhibits the highest standard deviation of 0.96872 as indicated by the statistics presented in Table 2. This demonstrates that the data exhibited a significant deviation from the mean. The trust basis variable exhibits the lowest standard deviation indicating that the data is closely clustered around the mean. 3.5. Scale Measurement Reliability tests that exhibit greater internal consistency provide a more accurate and exact assessment of the intended measurement. Table 3 displays the Cronbach's alpha values for all variables which ranged from 0.763 to 0.809. The total Cronbach's alpha value was 0.879. Among all the variables considered, sales promotion exhibits the highest Cronbach's alpha value of 0.809 indicating a commendable level of reliability. In contrast, the financial availability variable has the lowest Cronbach's alpha value of 0.763. However, it still falls within the acceptable range for reliability. The additional information is that the Cronbach's alpha value for the entire variables including both dependent and independent variables is 0.878. This number falls within the region of very good reliability. Therefore, since each value surpasses 0.6, all of them are deemed dependable and suitable for utilization in this research investigation. Table 3. Internal reliability test. Variables Number of items Cronbach’s alpha Reliability range Impulse buying behavior 3 0.771 Good Website quality 3 0.782 Good Sales promotion 3 0.809 Very good Trust basis 3 0.792 Good Financial availability 3 0.763 Good Overall variable 5 0.879 Very good 3.6. Inferential Analysis Table 4 shows that the correlation coefficient between website quality and impulse buying behaviour is 0.623 demonstrating a strong positive correlation. The correlation coefficient between sales promotion and impulse buying behaviour is 0.580 suggesting a somewhat positive correlation. Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2025, 13(1): 270-284 278 © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. Table 4. Pearson correlation coefficient analysis. Pearson correlation Website quality Sales promotion Trust basis Financial availability Impulse buying behaviour Website quality 1 Sales promotion 0.527** 1 Trust basis 0.633** 0.632** 1 Financial availability 0.577** 0.628** 0.818** 1 Impulse buying behaviour 0.623** 0.580** 0.545** 0.468** 1 Note: **. The correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). The correlation coefficient between trust basis and impulse buying behaviour is 0.545 showing a moderate positive correlation. The correlation coefficient between financial availability and impulse buying behaviour is 0.468 suggesting a somewhat positive relationship. Moreover, the independent factors, namely website quality, sales promotion, trust base and financial availability exhibit a p-value of <0.001 which is less than the significance level of 0.05 indicating a statistically significant impact on the dependent variable, impulse buying behavior. The correlation analysis was conducted using a sample size of 200. Consequently, all the independent variables exhibit significant correlations with impulsive buying behavior indicating that a rise in the independent variables corresponds to an increase in impulse buying behavior. 3.7. Multiple Linear Regression The multiple regression analysis in Table 5 shows a correlation coefficient value (R-value) of 0.696. It indicates a robust correlation between the dependent variable and the independent factors. Table 5. Model summary. Model R R square Adjusted R square Std. error of the estimate 1 0.696a 0.485 0.474 1.767 Note: a. Predictors: constant, financial availability, website quality, sales promotion and trust basis. In addition, the R square value in the model summary provided in Table 5 is 0.485. This value indicates that the four independent variables, namely website quality, sales promotion, trust basis and financial availability, collectively explain 48.5% of the variability observed in the dependent variable which is impulse buying behavior. To put it more plainly, the collective independent variables explain 48.5% of the impulse buying behavior of working people for cosmetic products during live streaming. Table 6 shows that the f value is 44.662 and the p value is 0.000, both of which are lower than the significance level of 0.05. This demonstrates that the data fit the model of impulse buying behaviour; the dependent variable is influenced by the independent variable namely website quality, sales promotion, trust basis and financial availability. The variability in customers' impulsive purchase behavior may be accurately explained by the independent variables given. Table 6. ANOVA. Model Sum of squares Df Mean square F Sig. 1 Regression 557.790 4 139.447 44.662 <0.001b Residual 593.239 190 3.122 Total 1151.029 194 Note: Dependent variable: Impulse buying behaviour. b. Predictors: Constant, financial availability, website quality, sales promotion and trust basis. Table 7 shows that the p-values for website quality, sales promotion and trust basis are all below 0.05. Specifically, the p-values are 0.001, 0.001 and 0.047 respectively. Therefore, these three variables exert a statistically significant influence on the impulse purchase behavior of working people when purchasing cosmetic Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2025, 13(1): 270-284 279 © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. products through live commerce. Conversely, the p-value for financial availability is greater than 0.05 specifically 0.177. Therefore, this characteristic is deemed to have a minimal effect on impulse buying behavior. Table 7. Coefficients. Model Unstandardized coefficients Standardized coefficients t Sig. B Std. error Beta 1 (Constant) -1.011 0.691 -1.464 0.145 Website quality 0.526 0.091 0.401 5.768 <0.001 Sales promotion 0.355 0.075 0.331 4.714 <0.001 Trust basis 0.217 0.113 0.187 1.917 0.047 Financial availability -0.153 0.113 -0.127 -1.355 0.177 Note: Dependent variable: Impulse buying behaviour. Based on Table 7, the multiple regression equation can be developed as below: 𝐼𝐵𝐵 = −1.011 + 0.401 (𝑊𝑄) + 0.331 (𝑆𝑃) + 0.187 (𝑇𝐵) + (−0.127) (𝐹𝐴) Whereas IBB = Impulse Buying Behavior. WQ = Website Quality. SP = Sales Promotion. TB = Trust Basis. FA = Financial Availability. From the result above in Table 7, website quality has the greatest impact on consumer impulse buying behavior towards cosmetic products on live commerce with the highest value of beta = 0.401 among all the independent variables followed by sales promotion (beta = 0.331) and trust basis (beta = 0.187). However, financial availability has a beta value of -0.127 which suggests that as the financial availability variable increases, the dependent variable, impulse buying behavior tends to decrease. 4. DISCUSSION The study aimed to examine the relationships between various attributes and impulsive purchasing behavior among employed individuals participating in live commerce for cosmetic products in Penang. Four discrete study objectives (R1 to R4) were established, each linked to a particular hypothesis (H1 to H4) concerning the connections between various variables and impulse buying behavior. The research objectives, hypotheses and results are effectively summarized in Table 8. All hypotheses have been confirmed resulting in the acquisition of new knowledge in the field of consumer purchasing behavior based on the completed analysis. Table 8. Summary of findings. Research objectives (RO) Hypotheses Pearson correlation coefficient analysis r Result RO1: To examine the relationship between website quality and the impulse buying behaviour of adults in live commerce towards cosmetics products. H1: There is a significant relationship between website quality and the impulse buying behaviour of consumers. 0.623 Supported RO2: To examine the relationship between sales promotion and the impulse buying behaviour of adults in live commerce towards cosmetics H2: There is a significant relationship between sales promotion and the impulse buying behaviour of 0.580 Supported Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2025, 13(1): 270-284 280 © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. Research objectives (RO) Hypotheses Pearson correlation coefficient analysis r Result products. consumers. RO3: To examine the relationship between trust basis and the impulse buying behaviour of adults in live commerce towards cosmetics products. H3: There is a significant relationship between trust basis and the impulse buying behaviour of consumers. 0.545 Supported RO4: To examine the relationship between financial availability and the impulse buying behaviour of adults in live commerce towards cosmetics. H4: There is a significant relationship between financial availability and the impulse buying behaviour of consumers. 0.468 Not supported First, the correlation between the quality of a website and the impulsive purchasing behavior of consumers is investigated. The study using the Pearson association coefficient resulted in a coefficient of 0.623 indicating a moderate to high positive association. Therefore, research confirmed the hypothesis establishing a significant correlation between the quality of a website and the likelihood of consumers engaging in impulsive buying behavior in live commerce environments for cosmetic products. This result was in line with the study carried out by Rahman and Hossain (2023). Next, the relationship between sales promotion and impulse buying behavior is investigated. The second objective aimed to investigate the correlation between sales promotion tactics and consumers' inclination towards impulsive purchasing. The hypothesis postulated a substantial link between these factors. The investigation yielded a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.580 signifying a significant positive correlation. The hypothesis was supported indicating a significant correlation between sales promotion initiatives and customers' tendency to engage in impulse purchase behaviour in the setting of live commerce for cosmetic products. This finding was also aligned with the study by Mandolfo, Bettiga, Lamberti, and Noci (2022). The third objective is to ascertain the relationship between trust based interactions and consumers' impulsive purchasing behavior. The hypothesis predicted a substantial correlation between these variables. Upon conducting the analysis, a Pearson association coefficient of 0.545 was derived signifying a significant positive association. Therefore, this finding provided evidence in favor of the hypothesis indicating a significant correlation between trust based interactions and customers' inclination towards impulsive purchasing behavior in the domain of live commerce for cosmetic products. The findings were in line with the study by Zhang et al. (2022). The fourth objective is to examine the correlation between the accessibility of funds and customers' tendencies to engage in impulsive purchases. The hypothesis proposed a substantial link between all of these factors. The investigation resulted in a Pearson association coefficient of 0.468 indicating a modest positive association. The findings of this study confirm the hypothesis indicating a clear correlation between the availability of funds and the probability of customers participating in impulsive purchasing behavior in the field of live commerce for cosmetic products. The study by Huo, Wang, Sadiq, and Pang (2023) has the same findings where impulse buying was significantly influenced by the availability of money. In a nutshell, the results of the Pearson correlation coefficient analysis support the expected relationship between website qualities, sales promotion strategies, trust-based interactions, financial availability and consumers' impulse buying behavior in live commerce settings for cosmetic products among adults in Penang. These results enhance our comprehension of the crucial aspects that motivate impulsive buying in the ever-changing area of live commerce for cosmetics. This study provides an overview of the correlations examined highlighting important connections between the indicated factors and impulsive purchasing tendencies among customers in the live commerce industry for cosmetic products. Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2025, 13(1): 270-284 281 © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 5. CONCLUSION 5.1. Implication This study highlights the substantial impact of the identified independent variables specifically website quality, sales promotion and trust based on customer impulse buying behavior in the live commerce sector for cosmetic products. Interestingly, it was noted that there was no significant correlation between the availability of funds and customer impulsive purchasing behavior. This highlights a significant discovery that provides a greater explanation of human behavior in relation to purchasing behavior. It also identified that website quality is one of the significant factors that affects consumer impulsive buying behavior in live stream commerce. An evaluation of website quality in the field of live commerce for cosmetics demonstrated that factors such as reliability, ease of use, comprehensive product details and user-friendly interfaces had a notable impact on the inclination of employed individuals to make impulsive purchases. It is crucial to design visually attractive and easy-to-use websites to attract and keep customers promoting a smooth purchasing experience. The improved design and usability of the platform promote extended participation in live streams while comprehensive product information and customer reviews enhance consumer trust and stimulate spontaneous buying decisions. Efficiently enhancing website performance is crucial to avoid customer dissatisfaction and abandonment of their shopping carts underscoring the importance of authorities prioritizing tactics for optimizing websites. Moreover, sales promotion strategies are crucial in inciting consumer impulsive purchasing behavior in live commerce. Live streaming with limited-time discounts, coupons and exclusive deals generates a feeling of urgency and exclusivity, motivating impulsive buying. Using data to tailor promotions based on consumer preferences and purchase history increases the probability of impulsive buying. Effectively using social media and email marketing channels significantly enhances the reach of promotional offerings. Businesses can improve their consumers' propensity to make impulsive purchases and develop customer loyalty by introducing loyalty programmes that offer additional incentives for frequent purchases. Trust plays a fundamental role in shaping impulsive purchasing behavior on live commerce platforms. It is crucial to provide a dependable and safe online platform that incorporates strong security measures, transparent payment channels and clear privacy rules to cultivate consumer trust in live stream buying. Demonstrating favorable client experiences and ratings enhances credibility while prompt customer service cultivates trust and provides reassurance to purchasers. Responding swiftly to customer inquiries demonstrates a strong dedication to ensuring customer happiness which is essential for building and maintaining trust in the platform, seller and products. The financial accessibility of working adults in live commerce influences their impulse purchase behavior. A wide array of payment options, including as internet banking, credit cards, e-wallets and Cash on Delivery (COD), accommodate various financial situations enabling spontaneous purchases even when consumers have limited available funds. Understanding the variables that drive impulsive buying is crucial for businesses to enhance their marketing tactics, website design and sales promotions to increase sales and customer happiness. Consumers who are aware of these key elements can make informed decisions when engaging in live commerce for cosmetic products leading to more intentional purchase choices. 5.2. Limitation There are time limitations and geographical limitations in this study. Due to the short time allotted for this research completion, the researcher was unable to conduct a survey with a wider geographic scope or gather more data to increase the sample size. If more time was given to gather data from a larger sample size, it could improve the validity and reliability of the findings. If the samples consist of a specific group of adults from a particular geographical area, the findings may not apply to different demographics or regions. Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2025, 13(1): 270-284 282 © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 5.3. Recommendation for Future Research It is advised that future researchers have a longer time to conduct the study and distribute the questionnaire earlier to get a larger sample size. In addition, as the current study mainly focused on Penang, future studies must assess this framework in a global context because other states may have different perceptions of consumer impulse buying behavior. Thus, to enhance the validity of the findings, consider increasing the sample size and ensuring a diverse representation of working adults across the country which will provide a more reliable result for the study. The correlation between website quality, sales promotions, trust and financial factors has a profound impact on customer impulse buying behavior in the live commerce industry for cosmetic products. These insights enable organizations to optimize strategy, improve platforms and customize offers while empowering consumers to make educated decisions in this changing market environment. Funding: This research is supported by INTI International University, Malaysia (Grant number: T&E4267). Institutional Review Board Statement: The Ethical Committee of the INTI International University Malaysia, Malaysia has granted approval for this study on 7 June 2023 (Ref. No. INTI/UEC/2023/032). 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