The Influence of Emotional Attachment and Situational Factors on Consumers’ High Spending Intention Toward Pets: Evidence from Shanghai

Main Article Content

Haocheng Zhu
School of Liberal Arts and Sciences & Taylor’s Business School, Taylor’s University, Malaysia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.70267/icrafm.202617310318

Keywords

pet economy, emotional attachment, situational factors, emotional compensation, high spending intention

Abstract

This study examines the influence of emotional attachment and situational factors on consumers’ high spending intention toward pets in Shanghai, with emotional compensation serving as a mediating variable. Based on Attachment Theory and Situational Theory, the study examines how internal emotional motivation and external environmental stimuli interact to influence the premium pet consumption behavior. The quantitative research design was used and 300 owners of pets in Shanghai were surveyed using questionnaires. The results show that emotional attachment positively impacts high spending intention significantly, and situational factors are also important to stimulate premium pet consumption. Moreover, emotional compensation has a considerable partial mediating effect between emotional attachment and spending intention. The direct effect contributes 24% of the total effect and the indirect effect through emotional compensation is 76%. This implies that emotional attachment affects high spending intention not only via emotional compensation but also via a direct route. The paper adds to the theoretical synthesis of the attachment and situational behavior theories in the context of the pet economy and offers practical implications of pet-related marketing and brand strategies in high-pressure urban areas like Shanghai.

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Published
Oct 19, 2026
Conference Proceedings Volume
Vol. 17 (2026): Proceedings of the International Conference on Research in Accounting, Finance and Management (ICRAFM 2026)
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Zhu, Haocheng. “The Influence of Emotional Attachment and Situational Factors on Consumers’ High Spending Intention Toward Pets: Evidence from Shanghai”. Exploring Science Academic Conference Series, vol. 17, Oct. 2026, pp. 310-8, https://doi.org/10.70267/icrafm.202617310318.