The moderating effect of social media use in impulsive buying of personal protective equipments during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The global economy, public health, and markets are now being greatly affected by the spread of COVID-19. Indonesia is one of the countries affected. These effects cause fear, panic, and anxiety for many people. When the lockdown was applied, panic buying becomes common during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is essential to investigate consumer purchasing behavior during COVID-19 to understand the phenomenon better and provide management insights to policymakers and marketers. This research utilized the scarcity model theory and the Stimuli-Organism-Response (SOR) model. We investigated how creating external stimuli such as scarcity affects perceived value among people in panic situations, which in turn affects impulsive buying behavior. Finally, 320 valid data points were collected using online surveys, and SmartPLS was used for data analysis. Our results show that scarcity significantly increases impulse buying. In addition, our results show that social media use moderates the relationship between scarcity messages and impulsive buying, while perceived value mediates the relationship between scarcity and impulsive buying in Indonesia. The study provides more information about consumers’ impulsive buying, considering the scarcity of health supplement products during pandemics. Marketers and the Indonesian government can take action to mitigate their impact and help maintain security during pandemics.