Digital Twin Environments and Impulse Buying: The Mediating Role of Spendception and the Moderating Role of Control

Despite the growing popularity of digital payment methods and online shopping environments, little is known about the psychological mechanisms through which they affect consumer buying patterns. Drawing on the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) framework, this study introduces the concept of spendception and examines its dual dimensions: perceived spendception ease (PSE) and perceived spendception control (PSC). These dimensions serve as mechanisms linking digital twin environments (DTEs) to impulse buying. Data were collected from 571 Generation Z consumers engaged in social commerce in Shanghai, China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and machine learning techniques were employed to test the proposed relationships and evaluate predictive validity. The results reveal that DTE significantly increases impulse buying behavior both directly and indirectly through PSE. Specifically, PSE serves as a significant mediator by reducing the psychological friction associated with spending, thereby encouraging impulse buying decisions. In contrast, PSC acts as a significant moderator that weakens the positive relationship between DTE and impulse buying by enhancing consumers’ perceived ability to regulate their spending behavior. These findings demonstrate that spendception operates through two opposing psychological mechanisms: spending facilitation and spending control. This study contributes to the literature by conceptualizing spendception as a distinct transaction-centered construct and by extending the SOR framework through a dual-mechanism explanation of how digital commerce environments simultaneously encourage and restrain impulsive consumption.