Impact of Scarcity Cues and Social Influence on Online Impulse Buying Behavior: The Mediating Role of FoMO and Emotional Arousal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70670/sra.v4i1.2331Keywords:
Scarcity Cues, Social Influence, FoMO, Emotional Arousal, Online Impulse Buying BehaviorAbstract
This study examines the effects that scarcity cues and social influence have on online impulse buying behavior in the context of digital commerce environments and how these effects are mediated by the constructs of Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and emotional arousal. A quantitative, explanatory and cross sectional research design was used. The data were gathered using a structured questionnaire, which was distributed to the active online consumers who have a involvement in ecommerce and social commerce platforms. Convenience sampling was used, and then the technique used to analyze the direct and indirect relationships between the variables in the study was the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis using SmartPLS software. The results show that scarcity cues have significant effects on emotional arousal, FoMO and online impulse buying behavior, as well as social influence on FoMO and emotional arousal. The model accounted for 70.0% variance in impulsive buying behavior, 76.4% variance in arousal in emotion and 68.9% variance in FoMO. This study further enriches the body of knowledge on consumer behavior and digital marketing by incorporating the emotional and psychological mechanisms into a combined S-O-R approach to explain online impulse buying behavior. The study also offers actionable insights for e-commerce companies and digital marketers looking to improve consumer engagement through scarcity marketing and social interactions.
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