The Effect of Price Perception and Sales Promotion on Purchase Intention Through Perceived Value on Cosmetic Products on Shopee

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the effect of price perception and sales promotion on purchase intention of cosmetic products on Shopee among Generation Z consumers in Surabaya, with perceived value as a mediating variable. A quantitative approach with an explanatory research design was employed, collecting data through an online questionnaire distributed to 184 Generation Z respondents aged 18–27 years who had purchased cosmetic products on Shopee within the past six months, using purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using PLS-SEM via SmartPLS 4. The results indicate that price perception has a positive and significant effect on perceived value (β = 0.519; p < 0.001) and on purchase intention (β = 0.330; p < 0.001), while sales promotion also has a positive and significant effect on perceived value (β = 0.304; p < 0.001) and purchase intention (β = 0.336; p < 0.001). Conversely, perceived value does not significantly affect purchase intention (β = 0.185; p = 0.053), and its mediating role on the effect of price perception (β = 0.096; p = 0.050) and sales promotion (β = 0.056; p = 0.124) on purchase intention is also not significant. The model explains 52.7% of the variance in perceived value and 52.6% in purchase intention. Price perception is the most dominant factor, showing the largest effect size on perceived value (f² = 0.414). Both price perception and sales promotion prove more effective through the direct pathway to purchase intention than through the mediating pathway. These findings suggest that Generation Z consumers make purchase decisions reactively based on concrete price and promotion stimuli, without engaging in deep value evaluation beforehand.