The Continued Use of Social Commerce Platforms and Psychological Anxiety-The Roles of Influencers, Informational Incentives and FoMO.

Jinjie Li,Nan Shi,Xu Li,Lianren Wu,Yuxin Zhang,Yinyin Zheng,Jiayin Qi

doi:10.3390/ijerph182212254

Abstract

Why does the continued use of social commerce platforms fail to promote consumer wellbeing? This study explores the roles of influencers, informational incentives and fear of missing out (FoMO) in the relationships between social commerce platform use and consumer mental health. Data were obtained through questionnaires, as well as constructing a research model. Statistical analysis and path analysis of the structural equation model were performed by the software IBM SPSS and AMOS, and the following results were obtained. (1) Influencer expertise and interactivity, informational incentives and FoMO have a significant impact on consumers’ continued use of social commerce platforms. (2) Materialism has no significant effect on consumer social commerce platform use. (3) FoMO mediates the relationships between informational incentives and continued use of social commerce platforms. (4) Consumers’ continuous use of social commerce platforms has a strong relationship with mental health. (5) Continued use of social commerce platforms can lead to intense social engagement, as well as more severe outcomes such as psychological anxiety and compulsive buying. The findings of the paper have important implications for the development of social business theory and management practice.

Highlights

With the development of social networking sites (SNSs), mobile e-commerce and mobile payment technologies, social commerce has gained a new round of rapid renewal, and more emerging social commerce platforms have sprung up
Fear of missing out (FoMO) mediates the relationship between social media engagement and motivational factors
Teens with high FoMO use Facebook more intensively and are more stressed when they are unpopular on social media

Summary

Introduction

With the development of social networking sites (SNSs), mobile e-commerce and mobile payment technologies, social commerce has gained a new round of rapid renewal, and more emerging social commerce platforms have sprung up. Social commerce refers to the phenomenon of applying socialized elements such as attention, sharing, communication, discussion and interaction to the e-commerce transaction process. Social commerce platforms refer to apps and websites that support social commerce activities, such as Xiaohongshu, Mogujie, Kwaishop, Douyinec, etc., which developed in the Chinese context. There are similar social commerce platforms in other countries around the world, such as Amazon Shopping, OfferUp, Instagram, Facebook, and so on. From the perspective of consumers, social commerce is reflected in both the selection of stores and comparison of products before purchase, communication and.

Results

Discussion

Conclusion