Abstract: By situational experiment, the effects of gaining face on impulse buying, the mediating role of emotion on this relationship, and the moderating roles of face consciousness and self-esteem are investigated The results show that when people gain face, they generate positive emotions, which, in turn, leads to impulse buying Consumers with high face consciousness exhibit more positive emotions than those with low face consciousness, and consumers with low self-esteem have a greater tendency to engage in impulse buying These results reveal the importance of gaining face on impulse buying The implications of these findings for future research are discussed

Key words: face, face consciousness, impulse buying;consumer