<![CDATA[The increasingly competitive culinary industry requires businesses to understand the factors influencing purchasing decisions in order to maintain business sustainability. This study aims to analyze the effects of promotion and service quality on purchasing decisions, with trust serving as a mediating variable at Ayam Geprek Romansa, Penfui, Kupang. A quantitative approach with a survey method was employed, involving 100 female university students living in boarding houses as respondents, who were selected using purposive sampling. The selection of respondents was based on the characteristics of female boarding-house students as consumers with limited budgets, making them more likely to adopt rational and selective approaches when making spending decisions. The data were analyzed using path analysis to examine the direct and indirect effects among the variables. The results indicate that promotion has no significant effect on either trust or purchasing decisions. In contrast, service quality has a positive and significant direct effect on purchasing decisions but does not significantly affect trust. Trust also has no significant effect on purchasing decisions and does not mediate the relationship between promotion or service quality and purchasing decisions. These findings indicate that respondents’ purchasing decisions are influenced more strongly by their direct service experiences than by promotional activities or trust. This condition is further supported by respondents’ financial prudence and limited flexibility in digital payment methods, which may hinder the conversion of trust into actual purchasing decisions.]]>
