Social media and consumer impulse buying: A Systematic Review of Literature

Abstract

With the growth of Web 2.0 and the use of Internet communications, social media has become a major influencer of consumer behavior. These platforms have changed significantly how consumers make purchase decisions.

Social media and Web 2.0 technologies have gained immense popularity worldwide, attracting users of all ages. Companies are now exploring these technologies as useful tools for enhancing customer interaction. To achieve this, businesses have been utilizing social media in various scenarios to connect with customers in ways including easing information search, promoting engagement, and optimizing customer purchasing behavior.

Unsurprisingly, the related challenges of social media marketing have drawn the attention of academics and researchers to further the understanding of these phenomena.

The purpose of this article is to investigate the relationship between social media usage and consumer impulse buying. Through a systematic review, we aim to present the current state of literature in this field and analyze the extent to which social media platforms can stimulate unplanned purchases.

Using systematic searches of articles published in Scopus, Web of Science, and Springer Link, 64 journal articles were selected for the review. Our findings indicate six research themes: (1) antecedents of impulsive buying on social media, (2) the role of personality traits in impulsive Buying on social media (3) the impact of COVID-19 on impulsive buying and social media use, (4) role of Social Media Influencers, (5) impulsive buying on social commerce platforms and (6) consumer cultural and generational differences. Different research gaps have been identified and future research directions are provided in terms of theory, context, and methodology.

Keywords: Impulsive buying, social media, systematic literature review, consumer behavior.

JEL Classification: M31

Paper type: Theoretical Research