Digital Payments, Social Media, and Mental Accounting: Determinants of Generation Z’s Consumption Behavior

Asnawir Asnawir; Nurhaedah Nurhaedah; Baso Sardjan; A. Muh. Anzhari; Revoldai Agusta; Andi Fajriansyah

Authors

Asnawir Asnawir Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi LPI Makassar
Nurhaedah Nurhaedah Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi LPI Makassar
Baso Sardjan Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi LPI Makassar
A. Muh. Anzhari Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi LPI Makassar
Revoldai Agusta Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi LPI Makassar
Andi Fajriansyah Institut Bisnis dan Keuangan Nitro, Makassar

Keywords:

Digital Payments; Mental Accounting; Social Media Lifestyle Exposure; Consumer Behavior; Financial Self-Efficacy.

Abstract

Advances in financial technology and the penetration of social media have transformed the consumption patterns of Generation Z, a group of digital natives in Indonesia. This study aims to analyze the influence of payment digitization, mental accounting, and social media lifestyle exposure on the consumption behavior of Generation Z, as well as to examine the role of financial self-efficacy as a moderating variable in these three relationships. The study employed a quantitative approach using a survey of 109 Generation Z respondents aged 17–28 in Makassar, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected via an online questionnaire using a five-point Likert scale and analyzed using Partial Least Squares-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM-PLS) with the assistance of SmartPLS. The results indicate that payment digitalization, mental accounting, and exposure to social media lifestyles have a positive and significant effect on Generation Z’s consumer behavior. Financial self-efficacy was found to significantly weaken the influence of payment digitalization and mental accounting on consumer behavior; however, it failed to weaken the influence of exposure to social media lifestyles, as lifestyle factors proved to be more dominant than an individual’s capacity to manage finances. These findings have important implications for the development of digital financial literacy strategies that target psychological and social aspects not merely the improvement of financial knowledge in order to protect the younger generation from the risks of excessive digital consumerism.

References

P. Hasugian PM, Barita, N. Simangunsong, and S. P. Sipayung, "Development of a Local Density Approach for Structure Improvement and Cluster Separation in Water," vol. 4, pp. 18–30, 2025, doi: 10.15587/1729-4061.2025.337049.

M. S. Rosli, N. S. Saleh, A. Md. Ali, and S. Abu Bakar, "Factors Determining the Acceptance of E-wallet among Gen Z from the Lens of the Extended Technology Acceptance Model," Sustainability, vol. 15, no. 7, p. 5752, 2023, doi: 10.3390/su15075752.

H. M. Aji and W. R. Adawiyah, "How E-wallets Encourage Excessive Spending Behavior among Young Adult Consumers?," J. Asia Bus. Stud., vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 868–884, 2022, doi: 10.1108/JABS-01-2021-0025.

T. N. Aulia, E. Suryadi, and H. Safitri, "Pengaruh Penggunaan E-wallet dan Literasi Keuangan terhadap Perilaku Pembelian Impulsif," Owner, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 2010–2020, 2023, doi: 10.33395/owner.v7i3.1601.

R. H. Thaler, "Mental Accounting Matters," J. Behav. Decis. Mak., vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 183–206, 1999, doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0771(199909)12:3<183::AID-BDM318>3.0.CO;2-F.

E. M. Silva, R. de L. Moreira, and P. M. Bortolon, "Mental Accounting and Decision Making: A Systematic Literature Review," J. Behav. Exp. Econ., vol. 107, p. 102092, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.socec.2023.102092.

İ. B. Tükel Paker, "The Effect of Social Media Phenomena on Consumption Habits of Generation Z," Turk Turizm Arast. Derg., 2022, doi: 10.26677/TR1010.2022.971.

E. Erwin, S. J. Saununu, and A. Y. Rukmana, "The Influence of Social Media Influencers on Generation Z Consumer Behavior in Indonesia," West Sci. Interdiscip. Stud., vol. 1, no. 10, pp. 1028–1038, 2023, doi: 10.58812/wsis.v1i10.317.

A. Surwanti, M. Maulidah, Wihandaru, R. Kusumawati, and F. Santi, "Financial Management Behavior Z Generation," E3S Web Conf., vol. 571, p. 03003, 2024, doi: 10.1051/e3sconf/202457103003.

A. Gulati and S. Singh, "Financial Self-Efficacy of Consumers: A Review and Research Agenda," Int. J. Consum. Stud., vol. 48, no. 2, 2024, doi: 10.1111/ijcs.13024.

A. Bandura, Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York, NY, USA: W. H. Freeman, 1997.

M.-C. Broekhoff and C. van der Cruijsen, "Paying in a Blink of an Eye: It Hurts Less, but You Spend More," J. Econ. Behav. Organ., vol. 221, pp. 110–133, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.jebo.2024.03.017.

M. U. D. Shah, I. U. Khan, and N. U. Khan, "The Role of Digital Payments in Overspending Behavior: A Mental Accounting Perspective," Int. J. Emerg. Mark., 2024, doi: 10.1108/IJOEM-08-2023-1313.

L. Hou, S.-C. Hsueh, and S. Zhang, "Digital Payments and Households' Consumption: A Mental Accounting Interpretation," Emerg. Mark. Finance Trade, vol. 57, no. 7, pp. 2079–2093, 2021, doi: 10.1080/1540496X.2021.1887727.

M. Gelman and N. Roussanov, "Managing Mental Accounts: Payment Cards and Consumption Expenditures," Rev. Financ. Stud., vol. 37, no. 8, pp. 2586–2624, 2024, doi: 10.1093/rfs/hhae013.

D. Chakrabarti, "A Study on How Social Media FOMO Impacts the Gen Z Audience," Indian J. Mass Commun. Journal., vol. 4, no. 1, p. 1, 2024, doi: 10.54105/ijmcj.e1083.04010924.

Moch Diki Yulianto et al., "Pengaruh Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) di Media Sosial terhadap Kesehatan Keuangan Generasi Z," J. Bisnis Kreat. Inov., vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 80–88, 2024, doi: 10.61132/jubikin.v1i2.99.

D. Lestiani and M. D. Bahtiar, "Pengaruh Financial Literacy dan Uang Saku terhadap Perilaku Pengelolaan Keuangan dengan Financial Self Efficacy sebagai Variabel Moderating," J. Akunt. Terap. Bisnis, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 78–87, 2024, doi: 10.25047/asersi.v4i1.4899.

W. E. D. Radianto, H. A. Purwanugraha, H. Kristanto, T. C. Efrata, and I. R. Salim, "The Role of Mental Accounting and Financial Attitudes in Shaping Financial Behavior among Entrepreneurial Students Using Fintech," Decis. Sci. Lett., vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 123–132, 2025, doi: 10.5267/j.dsl.2024.10.008.

J. F. Hair, G. T. Hult, C. Ringle, and M. Sarstedt, A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage, 2017.

D. Septian Anggaretta, Kardoyo, and Kusumantoro, "The Influence of Social Media and E-wallet Use on Consumptive Behavior through Lifestyle," J. Econ. Educ., vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 189–202, 2025, doi: 10.15294/jeec.v14i1.25724.

Y. Kurniawan, P. D. Sadjidah, F. S. Riza, and B. Sephiana, "The Influence of Using Digital Banking to Impulsive Buying Behavior," J. Sci. Technol. Policy Manag., 2025, doi: 10.1108/JSTPM-04-2024-0146.

F. Shahpasandi, A. Zarei, and M. S. Nikabadi, "Consumers' Impulse Buying Behavior on Instagram," J. Internet Commer., vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 437–465, 2020, doi: 10.1080/15332861.2020.1816324.

Y. Y. Lee, C. L. Gan, and T. W. Liew, "Do E-wallets Trigger Impulse Purchases? An Analysis of Malaysian Gen-Y and Gen-Z Consumers," J. Mark. Anal., vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 244–261, 2023, doi: 10.1057/s41270-022-00164-9.

A. Rodiyah and S. Pradikto, "Ekonomi Muda, Konsumsi Bijak: Pengaruh Literasi Ekonomi, Lifestyle, dan Faktor Sosial Ekonomi terhadap Tren Consumptive Behavior," J. Sci. Educ. Res., vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 86–91, 2025, doi: 10.62759/jser.v4i1.171.