The Effects of Product Popularity and Time Pressure on Consumer Responses in Social Commerce

Abstract

Shopping in social commerce websites is different from other shopping in terms of time pressure and product popularity presented on the webistes. This study investigates the effects of time pressure and product popularity on consumer responses in a context of social commerce. Time pressure is operationalized as the time remaining for consumers to sign up for a deal, and product popularity is operationalized as the number of products already sold at the moment when consumers visit the web page. The design of the study was a 2 (time pressure: high vs. low) x 2 (product popularity: high vs. low) between-subjects design, and a total of 363 people participated in an online experiment. The results suggest that product popularity significantly influences perceived risk and purchase intention. Moreover, consumers with high time pressure perceive higher risk and have lower purchase intention than consumers with low time pressure when they perceive the product as being popular. As an individual difference, this study also examines a moderating role of conformity intention and finds that consumers with high conformity intention perceive significantly less risk in a high product popularity condition than consumers with low conformity intention. The results provide practical implications for an effective strategy for retailers.