In Pr es s *Corresponding Author P-ISSN: 1412-1212 E-ISSN: 2541-2388 161 The Winners, 23(2), September 2022, 161-172 DOI: 10.21512/tw.v23i2.8140 The Role of Threshold of Free Shipping Promotion and Product Type on Impulsive Buying Behaviour in E-Commerce Platform Readdy Aria Yendola1*; Nila Armelia Windasari2 1,2School of Business and Management, Institut Teknologi Bandung Jl. Ganesa No. 10, Lb. Siliwangi, Coblong, Bandung, Jawa Barat 40132, Indonesia 1readdy_aria@sbm-itb.ac.id; 2nila.armelia@sbm-itb.ac.id Received: 29th January 2022/ Revised: 27th May 2022/ Accepted: 06th June 2022 How to Cite: Yendola, R. A. & Windasari, N. A. (2022). The role of threshold of free shipping promotion and product type on impulsive buying behaviour in e-commerce platform. The Winners, 23(2), 161-172. https://doi.org/10.21512/tw.v23i2.8140 Abstract - The research proposed new insight on how the threshold of free shipping (TFS) promotion type and product type could affect consumers to buy impulsively through emotional consumer reaction of hedonic motivation and positive affect, using the S-O-R model. The data was analyzed using 188 responses who had completed questionnaires. Data was collected using the purposive sampling method with a minimum sample size of 138 from GPower calculation. The research uses ANOVA and Regression Analysis to assess the model and utilizes SPSS. The result clearly illustrates that the maximum threshold of free shipping type with the hedonic product would lead more to consumer hedonic motivation. At the same time, the minimum threshold of free shipping type will induce too when combined with utilitarian products. Furthermore, consumer feelings of hedonic motivation and positive affect play an essential role in determining consumers’ impulsive buying behavior. The research would benefit stakeholders in using and maximizing the free shipping promotion program. Keywords: threshold of free shipping, hedonic shopping motivation, positive affect, impulsive buying behavior, experimental research I. INTRODUCTION Nowadays, e-commerce offers organizations an easier reach for customers than consumer exposure to the business, which is more achievable by reducing administrative costs, travel costs, and business process cycle times (Xing, 2018). Especially in the COVID-19 outbreak, consumer preference toward online shopping has increased since closed brick-and- mortar shops. The Asia Pacific dominated the market for e-commerce with a share of 55,3% in 2019 and is expected to witness the fastest growth compared to other regions from 2020 to 2027 (Grand View Research, 2020). E-commerce in Indonesia is growing with increasing active buyers through the Internet. It is forecasted to add 60 million new e-commerce users between 2020 and 2024, from almost 130 million users in 2020 to approximately 190 million users in 2024 (“Number of e-commerce”, 2020). There are five most popular e-commerce in Indonesia including, Tokopedia, Shopee, Lazada, Bukalapak, and OLX in 2021. Each e-commerce has a significant proportion of the market share in Indonesia (“Top sites ranking”, 2021). Specifically, Shopee is one of the e-commerce platforms of the latest development in the digital business, with an average of 137 million visitors in late 2021. This platform is one of the most popular pioneers in conducting free shipping promotions in Indonesia. Fortunately, in the competitive business environment, consumer impulse buying has become an important source of revenue for online retailers. According to Amos, Holmes, and Keneson (2014), depending on product category, a study shows that products bought on impulse could account for 40% - 80% of purchases. Moreover, research suggests that the ease of searching and buying online, along with the lack of social pressures and absence of delivery efforts, could increase consumers’ tendencies to act impulsively (Chan, Cheung, & Lee, 2017; Wu et al., 2020). In the process of impulse buying, this behavior often arises from high positive emotions. According to Chan, Cheung, and Lee (2017), consumers often experience positive emotional reactions in the process of impulse buying while reducing reactions when processing cognitive information. Research on impulsive buying has attracted much research interest over the years In Pr es s 162 The Winners, Vol. 23 No. 2 September 2022, 161-172 because of its prevalence and complexity (Chan et al., 2017). However, according to Amos et al. (2014), there is no clear theoretical framework explaining impulse buying as further research is still called for. Furthermore, in this competitive era, understanding impulsive buying behavior is particularly important for business purposes, especially for e-commerce. This is because impulsive buying on internet shoppers is relatively more inclined than in offline retailing (Wu et al., 2020). Impulse buying is often defined as an unplanned purchase and taking ownership of the product— goods or services—without any deeper thinking (Wu, Chiu, & Chen, 2020). Today, marketers must know consumers' need and want because they can change easily. Some studies found that several factors, including sales promotion, can trigger consumer impulsive buying behavior. Some sales promotion indicators can affect impulsive buying, for instance price discount and bonus pack (Xu & Huang, 2014). Meanwhile, Dawson and Kim (2010) categorizes free shipping as a promotion category. Besides, Iyer et al. (2020) reveal that promotion as the marketing stimuli affects impulsive buying behavior through the positive mood of consumer reaction. Interestingly, free shipping in e-commerce to attract consumers' online buying decisions is important. According to Saleh (2021), 9 out of 10 consumers prefer online shopping with free shipping, while the sellers reveal that the orders increased by 30% with free shipping offers. However, in general, TFS is set in e-commerce to attract and retain the consumer (Huang, Shen, & Liang, 2019). More than half, or 58% of consumers, add more items to the cart to qualify for free shipping (Saleh, 2021). In addition, the purchase decision in e-commerce is mostly affected by the free shipping policy. In France, almost three-fourths of shoppers note that free shipping considerably impacts purchase decisions, followed by the US, in which 72% of consumers feel the same in 2019 (Koch, 2019). The characteristic of customer behavior in online marketing is different from offline marketing since they search for low-cost alternatives. Hence, the issue of customer behavior in online shopping is more difficult than in offline one. Besides, the e-commerce company must set a more attractive attribute to get and maintain their consumer. Chan, Cheung, and Lee (2017) reveal that impulse buying is one of the effective ways of selling products that can be affected by both internal and external stimuli, including promotions like free shipping, etc. Therefore, offering free shipping promotions could affect consumer buying behavior in e-commerce. However, the effectiveness of threshold of free shipping (TFS) in e-commerce remains unclear. In addition, the role of hedonic motivation and positive affect could also influence impulse buying behavior through its promotion. Although adequate works of literature explain the purchase buying behavior of consumers in e-commerce. However, there is only limited research examining the relationship between threshold of free shipping promotion on e-commerce impulsive buying behavior. The research aims to explore the impact of the threshold of free shipping type and product type on consumer hedonic motivation and positive affect, which then affects consumer impulsive buying behavior by adopting the S-O-R model in the e-commerce context (Shopee Consumer). The S-O-R model is used to see consumer reactions and responses from the threshold of free shipping type and product type stimulus in the experiment. The application of the S-O-R model in consumer behavior research has become prominent. Chan, Cheung and Lee (2017) explain that the S-O-R framework is the popular theoretical approach to studying impulse buying behavior by examining the relationship between the environmental cue, consumer cognitive and affective reactions, and the resulting behavior. For example, the S-O-R model has been applied in research on impulse buying behavior by Chen and Yao (2018). The research finds that discounted price is an important precursor (stimulus) of personality factors, consisting of positive affect (organism), which in turn are the determinant of impulse buying (response) in the mobile auction. According to Dawson and Kim (2010), free shipping or shipping discount is one of the sales promotion tools in marketing tactics or external cues, while sales promotion was the main factor affecting online impulse shoppers. Promotion is considered as marketing stimuli used by marketers to attract consumers to purchase (Chan et al., 2017). Thus, many retailers use this method to increase their sales and reduce inventory respectively (Xu & Huang, 2014). One of the common methods for sales promotion used by online retailers recently is the threshold of free shipping promotion. It is an effective way to attract consumers because, for example, consumers are generally objected to paying a delivery surcharge with an extra payment with a shipping fee. In contrast, by the threshold of free shipping promotion, consumers’ sacrifice of spending money is decreased. Menon and Sigurdsson (2016) show that shipping fees, price, and guarantees are the most important stimulus for the consumer in an online shopping environment. Furthermore, Iyer et al. (2020) show that marketing stimuli of advertising and promotion positively affect consumers’ positive moods instead of negative ones. Meanwhile, in the offline environment, sales promotion becomes the factor for consumer hedonic shopping motivation (Mamuaya & Pandowo, 2018). However, the impact of specific marketing stimuli of the threshold of free shipping promotion have not been examined on consumer reaction of positive affect and hedonic shopping motivation particularly. Although consumers’ preference to buy online is higher in the digital era, they are vulnerable to being attracted to buy impulsively. Hence, the hypothesis is formulated: H1: The threshold of free shipping promotion will influence consumer hedonic motivation and positive affect. In Pr es s 163The Role of Threshold of Free .... (Readdy Aria Yendola; Nila Armelia Windasari) According to Zhu and Lin (2019), from its perspective, the product type is divided into utilitarian and hedonic. A utilitarian product stresses utility, function, and performance to assist people in achieving their objectives and completing their responsibilities. Examples of utilitarian products are computers, microwave ovens, electric fans and razors, as these products are emphasized in those criteria. Moreover, People can get emotional and sensory pleasure from hedonic items, emphasizing experience, pleasure, stimulation, and self-expression like fashion, cosmetics, and watches. Research regarding the impact of product type on consumer hedonic motivation and positive affect is considered limited. In contrast, some research have found that the product type significantly influences referral likelihood (Zhu & Lin, 2019) and purchase intention (Loebnitz & Grunert, 2018), etc. It is expected the product type of utilitarian and hedonic to influence consumer feelings. Hence, the hypothesis arises. H2: Product type will influence consumer hedonic motivation and positive affect. The research also predicts the impact of the threshold of free shipping promotion on consumer reaction of hedonic motivation and positive affect depending on product type, whether the product is hedonic or utilitarian. Zhao & Liang (2019) reveal that the product type could affect consumer impulsive buying behavior. The research shows that low involvement product would lead to a higher impulsive response than the high involvement product. In addition, to create impulsive behavior online, the promotional offer of discount price is more effective when the product type is utilitarian, while the hedonic product is more attractive using a bonus pack (Xu & Huang, 2014). Meanwhile, in this study, we expect that maximum TFS would be more effective for the utilitarian product while minimum TFS would be attractive for the hedonic product in gaining consumers’ good feeling. Thus we propose the following hypothesis: H3a: Free shipping promotion with minimum TFS will trigger a greater hedonic motivation to purchase when the product type is hedonic, whereas free shipping promotion with maximum TFS will trigger a greater hedonic motivation to purchase when the product type is utilitarian. H3b: Free shipping promotion with minimum TFS will trigger a greater positive affect while purchasing when the product type is utilitarian, whereas free shipping promotion with maximum TFS will trigger a greater positive affect while purchasing when the product type is hedonic. In the shopping environment, consumers commonly purchase products or services based on their motivation, which can be divided into two: 1) utilitarian motivation and 2) hedonic motivation. The utilitarian motivation is based on the need and benefit of the product, while hedonic shopping motivation is based on pleasure. (Mamuaya & Pandowo, 2018). Iyer et al. (2020) assert that consumers with high hedonic motivation are more likely to experience positive feelings, while consumers with utilitarian motivation feel differently. Consumers with high hedonic motivation would perceive emotional gratification, reward, and compensation when buying products or services (Iyer et al., 2020). According to Widagdo and Roz (2021), hedonic shopping motivation is a person’s urge to purchase to satisfy psychological demands such as emotion, satisfaction, prestige, and other subjective emotions. A person with this personality is more likely to seek enjoyment for himself or herself. In addition, Iyer et al. (2020) state that hedonic shopping motivation is an affective gratification derived from the sensory of a product or service and leads to consumer reaction of positive affect while shopping. Hence, the research suggests that consumer hedonic motivation would enhance their positive affect during the shopping trip, hence the hypothesis arises: H4: Consumer hedonic motivation from e-commerce platforms significantly influences consumer positive affect while purchasing. According to Mamuaya and Pandowo (2018), sales promotion is external stimulation used to offer incentives to consumers. It would encourage consumers to purchase and fulfill their feelings and satisfaction. Meanwhile, the hedonic value reflects the emotional feeling. Prior research has proved that hedonic shopping motivation is predicted by sales promotion and store atmosphere in the offline situation, while this relates to the impulsive buying behavior of supermarket consumers in Manado (Mamuaya & Pandowo, 2018). In addition, the affective reaction of hedonic browsing motivation mediates the effect of sales promotion and impulsive buying behavior in online retailers (Kimiagari, Sharifi, & Malafe, 2021). Furthermore, in the shopping website, Park et al. (2012), Lim, Lee, and Kim (2017), and Zheng et al. (2019) find that hedonic motives have considerable effects on consumer impulse buying behavior. Hence by the previous researches, the hypothesis emerges: H5: Consumer hedonic motivation from e-commerce platforms significantly influences consumers’ impulsive buying behavior. Positive affect refers to the extent to which a person feels enthusiastic, excited, and inspired (Bell- ini, Cardinali, & Grandi, 2017; Verhagen & van Do- len, 2011), happiness, excitement, pride, pleasure, arousal, joy, and glee (Iyer et al., 2020). Conversely, negative affect is defined as the extent to which a per- son feels distressed, irritated, and disturbed, including anger and guilt (Verhagen & van Dolen, 2011). The literature has proven the positive direct impact of posi- In Pr es s 164 The Winners, Vol. 23 No. 2 September 2022, 161-172 tive mood on consumers’ impulsive buying. It is found that both positive affect and negative affect influence impulse buying behavior (Amos et al., 2014), and pos- itive affect would lead to impulsive buying more than negative affect (Iyer et al., 2020). However, time pres- sure could reduce impulsive buying behavior, while time availability could enhance it (Gogoi & Shillong, 2020). In the context of mobile auction, Chen and Yao (2018) find that positive affect is a key determinant of impulse buying behavior. Meanwhile, in the offline environment, several research fhave found the effect of positive affect toward consumers’ impulsive buying behavior during cruise trip (Ahn & Kwon, 2020), and supermarket shopping (Bandyopadhyay et al., 2021). Hence, it is suggested that the positive affect of con- sumer reaction to the online shopping trip would en- hance consumer impulsive buying behavior, hence the hypothesis arises: H6: Affective reaction of positive affect from e-commerce platform significantly influences the consumer response to impulsive buying. Consumers of Shopee e-commerce media is chosen since the platform is well known for its free shipping promotion. It also provides uniqueness com- pared to its competitor in the same field. The prompted researchers aim to investigate the role of the free ship- ping threshold and product type in improving consum- er impulsive purchase behavior. Therefore, the current research aims to explore further and find the research gap in the literature by developing conceptual models of the threshold of free shipping, product type, hedon- ic motivation, positive affect, and impulsive buying behavior. The adoption of the S-O-R model in the re- search is expected to predict consumer reaction to im- pulsive buying behavior through experimentation with the threshold of free shipping type and product type, and provide deeper information about this behavior for users and regulators in the e-commerce platform. The research hypothesis is depicted in Figure 1. Figure 1 Proposed Conceptual Framework II. METHODS The unit of analysis is the customers of the top online shop markets in Indonesia based on total clicks, namely Shopee (Plecher, 2020). Consumers of this most popular marketplace may represent significantly of the entire online marketplace in Indonesia since it is the market leader and prominent for free shipping promotion program. The research used experiment technique of quantitative method for data collection. Primary data are gathered directly in the form of responses from the administration of questionnaires of experimentation (Mahmoud, Hinson, & Adika, 2018), and the secondary data comes from scientific publications such as research reports and a research journal. The research collects the data twice for pre-test and hypothesis testing using the purposive sampling method. In the pre-test for getting the threshold of free shipping promotion and particular product type, the research is required to get 30-50 respondents. Meanwhile, the criteria for the selected respondent are those who have purchased in selected e-commerce minimally once in a year. Furthermore, for the hypothesis testing, based on the calculation of GPower with the value of 0,05 and the effect size of 0,355 derived from the regression analysis, the research requires at least 138 samples in total or 35 responses for every scenario. The subjects are recruited from invitational email and social media broadcasts. The research is designed to examine the effect of threshold free shipping types – (minimum TFS vs. maximum TFS) and product types (hedonic vs. utilitarian) in between-subject design – on consumer hedonic motivation and positive affect and to test the nomological network among those two variables and impulsive buying behavior. Data are analyzed using ANOVA and Regression Analysis. To test the research model and hypothesis, four experiment scenarios with each manipulated condition are conducted. The research aims to establish how multi categorical variables of the threshold of free shipping type and product type influence consumer hedonic motivation and positive affect on consumer response to impulsive buying behavior. Firstly, the research conducts a pre-test for categorizing particular products type and whether the products are utilitarian or hedonic. Secondly, for determining the free shipping threshold, a second pre- test is conducted to predict or determine the threshold of free shipping at maximum and minimum levels concerning the specific e-commerce depicted in further studies. Thirdly, formal experiments and hypothesis testing are conducted to answer the research question. In the first pre-test, based on the previous literature, eight products are measured by its attribute and attractiveness to define product type, whether it is utilitarian or hedonic. The products are mobile phones, digital cameras, computers, USB flash disks, backpacks, stationery, chocolate, toothpaste, perfume, and watches (Zhu & Lin, 2019). The respondents are asked to assess the product type (hedonic or utilitarian) and attractiveness on a six-point scale based on their true feelings. The product with a score higher than four is regarded as a hedonic product, while the utilitarian product is categorized with a score of less than three (Zhu & Lin, 2019). This pilot is delivered to roughly 30 - 50 respondents. In Pr es s 165The Role of Threshold of Free .... (Readdy Aria Yendola; Nila Armelia Windasari) The second pre-test is conducted to measure the threshold of free shipping (TFS) level. It is the amount that consumers need to spend to obtain free shipping. Online retailers frequently have difficulty determining what the minimum level should be when it comes to TFS policies. Therefore, the pre-test is conducted to gain the appropriate amount perceived by the consumer based on their experience in online shopping. The research proposes at roughly 30-50 respondents through the online panel, via social media and email, asking their preference of free shipping amount to determine the minimum and maximum free shipping threshold for e-commerce based on total product purchased (rupiah based) for the requirement. In the formal experiment, each participant is exposed to one experimental condition from four different scenarios of between-subjects full factorial design, which are two thresholds of free shipping types (minimum TFS vs. maximum TFS) and two product types (utilitarian vs. hedonic), as seen in Table 1. The experiment also examines how the manipulations influence consumer hedonic motivation and positive affect while visiting the online shop. The research conducts an attention and manipulation check to examine whether subjects correctly pay attention to the scenario and recognize the product type on the web page. The further incorrect answer in the manipulation and attention check are not analyzed. Furthermore, participants proceed to an online questionnaire by completing 26-item for positive affect, hedonic motivation, and impulsive buying (see Table 2). The questionnaire indicators of each variable are adopted from previous literature that had proven its validity and reliability. The measurement of the constructs is based on seven-point Likert scales ranging from 1 (very unlikely/very disagree) to 7 (very likely/very agree). Table 1 Experimental Condition No Product Type Threshold Free Shipping Type 1 Utilitarian Minimum TFS 2 Utilitarian Maximum TFS 3 Hedonic Minimum TFS 4 Hedonic Maximum TFS The data are analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA). Subjects’ general characteristics and dependent variables are analyzed using descriptive statistics. Furthermore, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) is conducted by confirming its convergent and discriminant validity and composite reliability to develop and help validate the measurement of the construct, as this method is generally used for social science (Jian, Yin, & Awang, 2020). Data from the field study is used to perform the CFA procedure. The research then analyzes the effect of the threshold of free shipping promotion type and product type on hedonic motivation and positive affect by using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures. Finally, a regression analysis is conducted to examine the relationship between hedonic motivation, positive affect, and impulsive buying behavior. Table 2 Measurement Scale Variable Codes Statements Hedonic Motivation (Park et al., 2012; Salimon, bin Yusoff, & Mohd Mokhtar, 2017) HM1 When I saw this exciting free shipping promotion, I was excited to find items in this online shop. HM2 When I see this awesome free shipping promotion, I can forget of time. HM3 When I saw this exciting promotion for free shipping, I enjoyed visiting this online shop even more. HM4 When I saw this exciting free shipping promotion, I felt calmer and didn’t hesitate to shop at this online shop. HM5 When I saw this exciting free shipping promotion, I had a lot of fun using this online store application. HM6 The features of the online shop application are very entertaining. HM7 My mind is always aroused when using online store applications. HM8 I browse items on the Internet just for fun. HM9 Free shipping promotions often stimulate my curiosity on online store applications. Positive Affect (Iyer et al., 2020; Park et al., 2019) PA1 While shopping at this online shop, I feel happy on this trip. PA2 While shopping at this online shop, I feel happy with the promotions offered. PA3 While shopping at this online shop, I feel enthusiastic about the promotions offered. PA4 While shopping at this online shop, I feel happy with the promotions offered. In Pr es s 166 The Winners, Vol. 23 No. 2 September 2022, 161-172 III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS In the first pre-test, 46 people participate in the survey to categorize product types. The result showed that camera, perfume, watches and chocolate were regarded as hedonic products while toothpaste, handphone, computers, stationery, flash disk, and toothpaste were utilitarian products. Finally, pre-test 1 selects chocolate as a hedonic product (mean = 4,73, standard deviation = 1,62 ) and flashdisk as a utilitarian product (mean = 2,39, standard deviation = 1,43). A t-test, conducted in the research to measure its differentiation, shows significant difference in attractiveness between them (MChocolate = 4,73, Mflashdisk = 2,39, t = -7,339, df = 90, p < 0,05). The second pre-test is conducted to determine the free shipping threshold amounts. The total respondent in this pre-test is 46 people. They are asked specifically about their preference for appropriate free shipping threshold in minimum and maximum limits. The mean value from their answer is used to determine the minimum and maximum thresholds for free shipping promotion in Shopee. The pre-study resulted that the mean for minimum TFS is Rp 25.000 (from Rp 23.696) with a free shipping discount of Rp 15.000 (from Rp 15.109). Meanwhile, the mean for maximum TFS is Rp 100.000 (from Rp 99.348) with the free shipping discount of Rp 25.000 (from Rp 25.870). The result from the pre-tests is used to manipulate the formal experiment to test the hypothesis. In the formal experimentation, 188 data from 220 responses can be used in the collection data process for the next analysis. Table 3 shows the demographic information of the participants. Each participant is presented with one condition of scenario that includes the description of product type and threshold of free shipping type with a brief image before proceeding to the questionnaire. The research designs each scenario differently in terms of product type and threshold free shipping type as the research conducts four different scenarios in the experimentation. Table 4 describes the summary statistics of the experimental design for each scenario. Hypothesis testing begins by conducting Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to measure three dependent variables with 26 items adopted from previous studies. Initially, the CFA test result indicates some items with factor loading < 0,5 that has to be removed, including; (HM2, HM8, HM6, HM7, HM9, PA2, PA3, PA9, IBB4 and IBB8). Afterward, the result of the CFA test confirms that the items are grouped into three factors with four items for hedonic motivation and six items for each other variable (Table 5 & Table 6). The test results show that all construct has high degree of reliability and validity (all factor loading > 0,5; Cronbach’s Alpha > 0,800; Composite Reliability (CR) > 0,70; and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) > 0,50). The research continues to analyze the effect of product type and TFS type on hedonic motivation and positive affect (see Table 7). The ANOVA test was carried out and found that TFS type did not have a direct impact on both positive affect (F = 0,395, p > 0,05) and hedonic motivation (F = 0,097, p > 0,05); hence the H1 is rejected. Meanwhile, the finding contradicts with previous studies (Iyer et al., 2020; Mamuaya & Pandowo, 2018) explaining the effect of sales promotion on consumer hedonic motives and positive feelings. This is because Mamuaya and Pandowo (2018) conduct their research in the offline environment, which does not require free shipping in the transaction, while free shipping in the research is necessary for online transactions. The specific TFS promotion did not directly impact positive Variable Codes Statements PA5 While shopping at this online shop, I feel happy visiting this online shop. PA6 While shopping at this online shop, I feel comfortable. PA7 While shopping at this online shop, I feel at peace. PA8 While shopping at this online shop, I feel full of promotional surprises. PA9 While shopping at this online shop, I feel proud to shop at this online shop. Impulsive Buying Behavior (Lim et al., 2017; Verhagen & van Do- len, 2011) IB1 When I use mobile e-commerce, I buy things that I had not intended to purchase. IB2 I can’t resist buying merchandise if I really like it. IB3 If I see a free shipping promotion, I tend to buy impulsively. IB4 I buy things according to how I feel at the moment. IB5 I spent more money to buy the merchandise than I expected. IB6 I tend to buy things in online shops unconsciously. IB7 It’s okay to buy goods at the online shop even if it doesn’t go according to plan when there is this promotion. IB8 I do not hesitate to shop at this online shop. Table 2 Measurement Scale (Continued) In Pr es s 167The Role of Threshold of Free .... (Readdy Aria Yendola; Nila Armelia Windasari) Table 3 Demographic Information of Respondents Category Classification Number (n=188) Percentation Gender Male 95 50,5% Female 93 49,5% Age 16-25 157 83,5% 26-35 27 14,4% 36-45 3 1,6% 46-55 1 0,5% Education Middle School 9 4,8% High School 88 46,8% Bachelor 89 47,3% Master/ Doctor 2 1,1% Shopping Frequency Not every month 54 28,7% 1-2 times 82 43,6% > 3 times 52 27,7% Free Shipping Familiarity No. Familiar <3 11 5,9% Neutral 3 4 2,1% Familiar4-5 53 28,2% Very Familiar 6 120 63,8% Total 188 100% Table 4 Summary Statistics of Experimental Design Product Type TFS Type HM Mean PA Mean Utiliarian Product (Flashdisk) Minimum TFS (25k/15k) 4,901 4,968 Maximum TFS (100k/25k) 5,440 5,126 Hedonic Product (Chocolate) Minimum TFS (25k/15k) 5,239 5,264 Maximum TFS (100k/25k) 4,807 4,895 Table 5 Summary Statistics of Factor Analysis and Reliability Construct Items Factor loading Cronbach’s Alpha Composite Reliability (CR) Average Variance Extracted (AVE) Eigenvalue Hedonic Motivation HM1 0,708 0,858 0,813 0,524 8,370 HM3 0,808 HM4 0,762 HM5 0,603 Positive Affect PA2 0,717 0,931 0,907 0,622 2,173 PA4 0,761 PA5 0,797 PA6 0,817 PA7 0,855 PA8 0,78 Impulsive Buying Behavior Y1 0,791 0,907 0,902 0,608 1,094 Y2 0,866 Y3 0,645 Y5 0,799 Y6 0,826 Y7 0,735 In Pr es s 168 The Winners, Vol. 23 No. 2 September 2022, 161-172 consumer feelings because, by TFS promotion, the online consumers need to reach minimum purchasing requirements and wait for the delivery process, which decreases their good feelings. Table 6 Correlation Matrix Mean SD 1 2 3 HM 5,0918 1,199 1 PA 5,0612 1,147 0,710** 1 IBB 4,2456 1,497 0,564** 0,521** 1 In addition, the product type do not show a direct impact on both consumer hedonic motivation (F = 0,732, p > 0,05) and positive affect (F= 0,037, p > 0,05) confirming the rejection of H2. This is not similar to our expectation to influence consumers’ reactions, which is based on the finding by Loebnitz and Grunert (2018), and Zhu and Lin (2019), although proving the impact of product type on referral likelihood and Purchase Intention. It means that online consumers are not so motivated to shop online and feel happy based on the types of products offered at the online shop because they may already have plans to purchase these types of goods in advance. However, the research finds a significant interaction effect of the product type and TFS type simultaneously on consumer hedonic motivation (F = 7,939, p < 0,01), confirming that the effect of TFS is related to product type. For minimum TFS, the result indicates that consumers would perceive greater hedonic motivation when they buy hedonic products. Meanwhile, the maximum TFS would induce greater consumer hedonic motivation when combined with the utilitarian product, as shown in Figure 2, thus H3a is supported. The result turns out to be quite similar to findings by Mamuaya and Pandowo (2018), pointing out the impact of sales promotion on consumer hedonic motivation, which then affects impulsive buying, despite the offline environment. Moreover, Dawson and Kim (2010) specifically find the impact of free shipping promotions on impulse buying. It provides vital information regarding the importance of carefully selecting a threshold for free shipping promotions across various product types to maximize the synergy impact between them. Contrary to the expectation, the result does not indicate the effect between TFS type and product type on positive affect (F = 2,473, p > 0,05), therefore the H3b is rejected. Table 7 Test of between-subject effect Source DV SS DF MS F Sig. TFS Type HM 0,135 1 0,135 0,097 0,756 PA 0,521 1 0,521 0,395 0,530 Product Type HM 1,021 1 1,021 0,732 0,393 PA 0,049 1 0,049 0,037 0,847 TFS Type * Product Type HM 11,074 1 11,074 7,939 0,005*** PA 3,258 1 3,258 2,473 0,118 Note: *p<0,1; **p<0,05; ***p<0,01 Figure 2 Interaction effect between product type and TFS type on hedonic motivation In Pr es s 169The Role of Threshold of Free .... (Readdy Aria Yendola; Nila Armelia Windasari) Regression analysis is conducted to examine the relationship between several variables of hedonic motivation, positive affect and impulsive buying behavior. The result showed that hedonic motivation would influence consumer positive affect (β = 0,710, p < 0,01), accepting the H4. The finding strengthens the research by Verhagen and van Dolen (2011) and Iyer et al. (2020), explaining that customers with stronger hedonic motives are more likely to experience positive feelings. It proves that hedonic motivation increases the comfort of online consumers when shopping. In addition, consumer hedonic motivation directly impacts impulsive buying behavior (β = 0,391, p < 0,01) as H5 is accepted. The finding is similar to previous studies, which find the direct impact of hedonic motivation on consumer impulsive buying (Chan et al., 2017; Kimiagari et al., 2021; Park et al., 2012) and the urge to buy impulsively (Zheng et al., 2019). It means that impulsive buying behavior is directly influenced by consumer hedonic motivation. Therefore, the research believes that consumers with hedonic motivation will be more inclined to shop impulsively at online shops. Moreover, the analysis indicates the impact of positive affect on impulsive buying behavior (β = 0,243, p < 0,01), confirming the acceptance of H6, and the finding is similar to some previous research (Amos et al., 2014; Chen & Yao, 2018; Verhagen & van Dolen, 2011). It is believed that when online consumers feel comfortable during shopping online, they will also be more inclined to shop impulsively. Besides, The experimental results in the research apply to all genders since the samples are evenly distributed between men and women. Meanwhile, the age of online consumers in the experiment is dominated by young people who tend to be influenced by promotions to get the best price. IV. CONCLUSIONS Although nowadays the free shipping promotion on e-commerce has become a trend in online competitions program to compel more consumers as they use to offer threshold of free shipping, the research on how consumers react to free shipping threshold toward online impulsive buying behavior is still limited. Most studies tested the effect of the free shipping threshold toward other variables like a willingness to pay for shipping (Huang et al., 2019) and intention to shop (Huang & Cheng, 2015). The research aims to fill this gap by identifying the significant impact of the free shipping promotion threshold on consumer impulsive buying behavior in online shopping. The research tests how free shipping threshold and product type influence consumer feeling of hedonic motivation and positive affect, enhancing consumer reaction to buy impulsively. The research finds that consumer impulsive buying behavior in the online shop can be induced by certain free shipping thresholds and product types. In conclusion, the experiment results confirm the suggested model in consumer impulsive purchase behavior. The research finds how to increase consumer hedonic motivation and their perception of positive affect while purchasing and, in turn, induce consumer reaction of buying impulsively through interesting threshold of free shipping type and product type. The research explains that the threshold of free shipping could induce consumer hedonic motivation only when combined with the product type, whether utilitarian or hedonic, affecting consumer positive affect and impulsive buying behavior. Interestingly, hedonic motivation has the greatest impact on impulsive purchasing behavior, highlighting the necessity of combining the threshold of free shipping promotion and product type. Hence, integrating other sales promotions that can induce consumer hedonic motivation is necessary for creating consumer reaction to buying impulsively. Some other components of promotion that can enhance consumer hedonic motivation such as discounts, rebates, and bundling (Xu & Huang, 2014) are recommended to be tested in future research. Sales promotions are among the most powerful methods for triggering impulse purchases for online buyers (Dawson & Kim, 2010; Wiranata & Hananto, 2020). In addition, sales promotions, according to Xu and Huang (2014), have one of the most powerful effects on short-term consumption behavior, particularly impulse buying behavior. E-marketers must choose appropriate sales promotion strategies to trigger consumers’ responses to increase sales and profit. According to the research findings, threshold of free shipping promotion is one program that can Table 8 The Result of Multiple Regression Model DV Unstandardized Coefficients standardized Coefficients t-value Sig. B Std. Error Beta Hedonic Motivation Positive Affect 0,742 0,054 0,710 13,767 0,000*** Impulsive Buying Behavior 0,488 0,105 0,391 4,629 0,000*** Positive Affect Impulsive Buying Behavior 0,317 0,110 0,243 2,881 0,004*** Note: *p<0,1; **p<0,05; ***p<0,01 In Pr es s 170 The Winners, Vol. 23 No. 2 September 2022, 161-172 enhance consumer impulsive buying behavior when combined with a specific product type. The research finds a managerial implication that e-marketers like Shopee can benefit from the research by offering a maximum free shipping threshold for utilitarian products and a minimum free shipping level for hedonic products. E-retailers can set the threshold of free shipping suitable to the product type the consumer chooses and finally induce their impulsiveness to buy through consumer positive feeling. Moreover, the platform designer can benefit by displaying and giving a suitable threshold free shipping promotion according to its product type through pop up on consumers’ devices. The research has important implications for recent theories on consumer behavior. First, the research has helped broaden the theoretical scope of the S-O-R model by actually demonstrating its applicability to investigating online impulsive buying behavior in e-commerce. By examining factors impacting impulsive purchase behavior in a threshold of free shipping type and product type deal, the research has added to and verified the S-O-R framework. Secondly, the research contributes to the field of hedonic motivation research, while hedonic motivation has been shown to have a significant impact on consumer impulsive buying responses (Chan et al., 2017; Kimiagari et al., 2021; Ozen & Engizek, 2014; Park et al., 2012) In addition, only limited studies have looked into how the threshold of free shipping type and product type components interact to influence individuals’ perceived hedonic motivation and positive affect. The research has some limitations. Firstly, the research sample consists solely of e-commerce users from a single country and specific platform (Shopee), who are selected through a purposive sampling method. Therefore, the results cannot be generalized to other nations and platforms due to the sampling method. They do not represent a varied group of internet buyers around the world. Researchers in the future can invite people from different backgrounds and nations to represent a varied group of online customers. Secondly, the research involves only quantitative research. Using other approaches, such as qualitative models, could produce different outcomes. Furthermore, only two organismic variables (hedonic motivation and positive affect) are explored in our suggested model to avoid any further growth of the model. The research also reduced the number of stimuli to just a few (product type and TFS type). Future research could include more cognitive and affective reactions in the organism and additional stimuli. Besides, it is advisable to add the consumer response variable of compulsive buying in future research (Gogoi & Shillong, 2020). REFERENCES Ahn, J. & Kwon, J. (2020). The role of trait and emotion in cruise customers’ impulsive buying behavior: an empirical study. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 30(3), 320-333. https://doi.org/10.1080/096525 4X.2020.1810743 Amos, C., Holmes, G. R., & Keneson, W. C. (2014). A meta-analysis of consumer impulse buying. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 21(2), 86-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jretconser.2013.11.004 Bandyopadhyay, N., Sivakumaran, B., Patro, S., & Kumar, R. S. (2021). Immediate or delayed! Whether various types of consumer sales promotions drive impulse buying?: An empirical investigation. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 61. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102532 Bellini, S., Cardinali, M. G., & Grandi, B. (2017). A structural equation model of impulse buying behaviour in grocery retailing. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 36, 164-171. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2017.02.001 Chan, T. K. H., Cheung, C. M. K., & Lee, Z. W. Y. (2017). The state of online impulse-buying research: A literature analysis. Information and Management, 54(2), 204-217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. im.2016.06.001 Chen, C. C. & Yao, J. Y. (2018). What drives impulse buying behaviors in a mobile auction? The perspective of the Stimulus-Organism-Response model. Telematics and Informatics, 35(5), 1249-1262. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.02.007 Dawson, S. & Kim, M. (2010). Cues on apparel web sites that trigger impulse purchases. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 14(2), 230-246. https:// doi.org/10.1108/13612021011046084 Gogoi, B. J. & Shillong, I. I. M. (2020). Do impulsive buying influence compulsive buying. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 24(4). Grand View Research. (2020). E-commerce Market size, share & trends analysis report by model type (B2B, B2C), by region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa), and segment forecasts. https://www.grandviewresearch. com/industry-analysis/e-commerce-market Huang, W. H. & Cheng, Y. C. (2015). Threshold free shipping policies for internet shoppers. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 82, 193-203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2015.09.015 Huang, W. H., Shen, G. C., & Liang, C. L. (2019). The effect of threshold free shipping policies on online shoppers’ willingness to pay for shipping. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 48(December 2018), 105-112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jretconser.2019.01.015 Iyer, G. R., Blut, M., Xiao, S. H., & Grewal, D. (2020). Impulse buying: A meta-analytic review. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48, 384-404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00670-w Jian, O. Z., Yin, K. Y., & Awang, M. (2020). Developing In Pr es s 171The Role of Threshold of Free .... (Readdy Aria Yendola; Nila Armelia Windasari) and validating the measurement model for employee engagement construct using confirmatory factor analysis. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 10(8), 413-422. https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v10-i8/7662 Kimiagari, S., Sharifi, N., & Malafe, A. (2021). The role of cognitive and affective responses in the relationship between internal and external stimuli on online impulse buying behavior. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jretconser.2021.102567 Koch, L. (2019, September 18). Etsy’s ad campaign promotes new free shipping strategy—a must have for holiday shoppers. Inside Intelligence. https:// www.emarketer.com/content/etsy-ad-campaign- promotes-new-free-shipping-strategy-a-must-have- for-holiday-shoppers Lim, S. H., Lee, S., & Kim, D. J. (2017). Is online consumers’ impulsive buying beneficial for e-commerce companies? an empirical investigation of online consumers’ past impulsive buying behaviors. Information Systems Management, 34(1), 85-100. https://doi.org/10.1080/10580530.2017.125 4458 Loebnitz, N. & Grunert, K. G. (2018). Impact of self- health awareness and perceived product benefits on purchase intentions for hedonic and utilitarian foods with nutrition claims. Food Quality and Preference, 64, 221-231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. foodqual.2017.09.005 Mahmoud, M. A., Hinson, R. E., & Adika, M. K. (2018). The effect of trust, commitment, and conflict handling on customer retention: The mediating role of customer satisfaction. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 17(4), 257-276. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332667.2 018.1440146 Mamuaya, N. C. I. & Pandowo, A. (2018). The effect of the situational factor, store atmosphere, and sales promotion on hedonic shopping motivation and its implication on supermarket consumer impulsive buying in Manado city. Journal of Business & Retail Management Research, 13(2), 1-12. https://doi. org/10.24052/jbrmr/v13is02/art-01 Menon, R. G. V. & Sigurdsson, V. (2016). Conjoint analysis for social media marketing experimentation: choice, utility estimates and preference ranking. Managerial and Decision Economics, 37(4-5), 345-359. https:// doi.org/10.1002/mde.2721 Number of e-commerce users in Indonesia from 2017 to 2024. (2020). Statista. https://www.statista. c o m / f o r e c a s t s / 2 5 1 6 3 5 / e - c o m m e r c e - u s e r s - i n - indonesia Ozen, H. & Engizek, N. (2014). Shopping online without thinking: Being emotional or rational? Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 26(1), 78-93. https://doi.org/10.1108/ APJML-06-2013-0066 Park, E. J., Kim, E. Y., Funches, V. M., & Foxx, W. (2012). Apparel product attributes, web browsing, and e-impulse buying on shopping websites. Journal of Business Research, 65(11), 1583-1589. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.02.043 Park, J. Y., Back, R. M., Bufquin, D., & Shapoval, V. (2019). Servicescape, positive affect, satisfaction and behavioral intentions: The moderating role of familiarity. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 78, 102-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ijhm.2018.11.003 Salimon, M. G., bin Yusoff, R. Z., & Mohd Mokhtar, S. S. (2017). The mediating role of hedonic motivation on the relationship between adoption of e-banking and its determinants. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 35(4), 558-582. https://doi.org/10.1108/ IJBM-05-2016-0060 Saleh, K. (2021, May 10). How free shipping influence online buying decisions. Invesp. https://www. invespcro.com/blog/free-shipping/ Top sites ranking for e-commerce and shopping in Indonesia. (2021). Similarweb. https://www.similarweb.com/ top-websites/indonesia/category/e-commerce-and- shopping/ Verhagen, T. & van Dolen, W. (2011). The influence of online store beliefs on consumer online impulse buying: A model and empirical application. Information and Management, 48(8), 320-327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2011.08.001 Widagdo, B. & Roz, K. (2021). Hedonic shopping motivation and impulse buying: The effect of website quality on customer satisfaction. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 8(1), 395-405. https://doi. org/10.13106/jafeb.2021.vol8.no1.395 Wiranata, A. T. & Hananto, A. (2020). Do website quality, fashion consciousness, and sales promotion increase impulse buying behavior of e-commerce buyers? Indonesian Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship, 6(1), 74-85. https://doi. org/10.17358/ijbe.6.1.74 Wu, I. L., Chiu, M. L., & Chen, K. W. (2020). Defining the determinants of online impulse buying through a shopping process of integrating perceived risk, expectation-confirmation model, and flow theory issues. International Journal of Information Management, 52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ijinfomgt.2020.102099 Xing, Z. (2018). The impacts of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and E-commerce on bilateral trade flows. International Economics and Economic Policy, 15(3), 565-586. https://doi. org/10.1007/s10368-017-0375-5 Xu, Y. & Huang, J. S. (2014). Effects of price discounts and bonus packs on online impulse buying. Social Behavior and Personality, 42(8), 1293-1302. https:// doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2014.42.8.1293 Zhao, Z. & Liang, F. (2019). Effect of product type and time pressure on consumers ’ online impulse buying intention, 2(2), 137-154. https://doi.org/10.1108/ JCMARS-01-2019-0012 Zheng, X., Men, J., Yang, F., & Gong, X. (2019). Understanding impulse buying in mobile commerce: An investigation into hedonic and utilitarian browsing. International Journal of Information Management, 48(February), 151-160. https://doi. In Pr es s 172 The Winners, Vol. 23 No. 2 September 2022, 161-172 org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.02.010 Zhu, Y. & Lin, P. (2019). Hedonic or utilitarian, The influences of product type and reward type on consumer referral likelihood. Journal of Contemporary Marketing Science, 2(2), 120-136. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcmars-01-2019-0008