Proceedings of the International Conference on Business, Management and Finance
Year: 2019
DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/icbmf.2019.03.60
The effect of online consumer socialization on buying intentions
Zaryab Sheikha, Liu YeZhenga, Tahir Islam, Ikram Ullah Khan and Zahid Hameed
ABSTRACT:
Social media has become very popular nowadays and it is considered a suitable online platform for consumer socialization through peer communication. Social media is a fastest and effective way to share information with others. Presently, two billion social media accounts are active globally. Online consumer socialization plays a vital role in determining the purchase intentions of consumers in the era of digital natives. Peer consumers communicate with each other using social media websites which allow consumers to socialize and share the market information and their experiences related to products and services which affect consumer purchase intentions. This research study empirically investigates the impact of peer communication using social media websites with two important antecedents,i.e., tie strength with peers and identification with the peer group on purchase intentions with the moderating role of need for uniqueness between peer communication and purchase intentions. The findings reveal that the two antecedents have a positive impact on peer communication and online consumer socialization through peer communication has a significant impact on purchase intentions. The study has theoretical and practical implications.
Keywords: social media, consumer socialization, peer communication, purchase intentions.