the impact of tiktok on young people’s online impulse buying behaviour

FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS -***** - RESEARCH REPORT Topic: THE IMPACT OF TIKTOK ON YOUNG PEOPLE’S ONLINE IMPULSE BUYING BEHAVIOUR Instructor Course Group : Ph.D Pham Thi Cam Anh : KTEE206(GĐ1-HK12223).1 : Group 12 Hanoi, September 2022 Table of Contents I ABSTRACT .3 II INTRODUCTION III LITERATURE REVIEW Impulse buying behavior: Online impulse buying: Social commerce: Research model and hypothesis: IV RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS Product-related cognitive stimulation and emotional responses (perceived speciality, perceived enjoyment) V Perception of enjoyment, confidence and emotional impulse buying impulse: METHOD Cronbach’s alpha: Exploratory factor analysis (EFA): Pearson analysis: 10 VI RESEARCH ETHICS 11 VII APPENDIX 14 VIII.REFERENCES .14 I ABSTRACT With the rapid development of technology as well as the global economy, the way humans purchase merchandise is also stimulated and gradually transferred to many new forms One of the most popular forms of shopping today is online shopping Users will perform the product information browsing and payment process through popular e-commerce sites This is the condition for the birth of a completely new e-commerce model named s-commerce Many social network founders have taken advantage of the interaction between social network users to commercialize users’ activities to increase revenue TikTok is also one of the applications that have done this very well However, not many previous studies have clarified this phenomenon Thus, our group decided to use the S-O-R model to study the product-related stimuli (visual appeal, product feasible) on the organism (perceived enjoyment and perceived usefulness), towards the urge to purchase impulsively This study collected primary data through the distribution and data of close-ended questionnaires across online channels The findings conclude that visual appeal and product feasibility have direct relationships with perceived enjoyment and perceived usefulness; and indirect impact on an urge to purchase impulsively In addition, the study emphasizes the existence of the positive effect of perceived enjoyment and perceived usefulness among TikTok users on their impulsive buying behavior II INTRODUCTION Over seventy years ago, the importance of understanding impulse purchasing in retail stores was first identified in marketing literature (Clover, 1950) Impulse buying can be interpreted as unplanned purchases that are the result of stimulus and decided on the spot (Piron, 1991), made both in-person and online by the consumer The proliferation of e-commerce and social networking sites has increased this practice Thus, in this research, we attempt to focus on online onthe-spot purchases, more precisely, on the influence of TikTok on the impulsive online buying behavior of young generation TikTok is a million-user social networking site that has been growing rapidly in the last years, especially when the social lockdown was implemented due to the outbreak of COVID-19 It is an application that allows users to make and post videos under minutes, known as TikTok in general and Douyin in China Vietnam is currently one of the Southeast Asian countries with the highest TikTok user growth (Ogechi Adeola and Olaniyi Evans, 2020) According to Nguyen Lam Thanh, TikTok's policy director in Vietnam, by the end of March 2020, the platform had 12 million regular registered users in Vietnam With the advancement of electronic commerce and the superiority of TikTok, many international and local brands have conducted their marketing campaigns on this platform, which has stimulated users’ shopping behavior as well as brand awareness As a result, in 2022, TikTok has developed its own purchasing channel, called TikTok Shop Gen Z is a topic that has received significant attention recently on social media They are considered as the generation grown up in the age of digital communication (Ogechi Adeola and Olaniyi Evans, 2020) Compared to other age groups, these audiences consume information more often, spending approximately 11 hours each day reading, liking, and sharing content across all of their devices (Adobe, 2018) Therefore, they have become the most potential customers to marketing strategies of brands This target audience’s shopping behavior is often affected through texts and images, which sometimes leads to spontaneous purchasing decisions There have been numerous studies contributing to our understanding of impulse buying, but still a lack of researchers investigating how 'vlog' content like TikTok affects unplanned purchase behaviors Thus, in this article, our purpose is to: review and analyze the literature to make more precise the concept of impulse buying; and examine the influence of TikTok on young consumers' impulse shopping behavior Our team had made a great effort to research theories and collect data from surveys to complete this report However, due to lack of research experience as well as time limitation, errors cannot be avoided We are looking forward to receiving Ph.D Pham Thi Cam Anh’s comments to improve our research qualification Sincere thanks from the research group! III LITERATURE REVIEW Impulse buying behavior: The first research on impulse purchase can be found in the "POPAI/DuPont consumer buying habits study," which took place from 1948 to 1965 and was primarily concerned with understanding how this phenomena occurred and its scope In early studies, researchers discovered that an impulse buy is similar to an unplanned purchase, which is the difference between a consumer's total purchases at the end of a shopping trip and those that were recorded as planned purchases before entering a store (Clover, 1950) Applebaum (1951) developed a concept of stimulus exposure into the concept of impulse buying, defining it as a purchase that was most likely not planned by the buyer prior to entering a store, but occurred as a result of a stimulus provided by sales promotion equipment in the store Although this was an improvement over the earlier definition, it was still a limited definition because the stimulus discussed by Applebaum (1951) is limited to sales advertising equipment at the store Several researchers have argued that describing impulse buying only on the basis of unplanned buying is rather simplistic (Stern, 1962;Kollat and Willett, R P., 1969; Rook, 1987), and that while all impulse buying is unplanned, not all unplanned purchases are necessarily decided impulsively (Iyer et al., 2020) In this way, Stern (1962) identified four types of impulsive purchasing: (i) Planned impulse buying: occurs when a customer decides to make a specific purchase based on the price discounts, coupon offers, and the like (ii) Reminded impulse buying: occurs when a shopper sees an item and recalls an advertisement or other information (iii) Suggestion impulse buying: occurs when a shopper sees a product for the first time and visualizes a need for it (iv) Pure impulse buying: is a novelty or escape purchase which breaks a regular purchasing pattern Over time, researchers started to focus more on consumer traits rather than product qualities or stimuli as it became clear that impulse buying was not restricted to any certain product or product category (Rook, 1987) In numerous research, the hedonic or affective aspects of this kind of purchasing were highlighted (Cobb and Hoyer, 1986; Piron, 1991; Rook, 1987) Rook (1987) also affirmed that consumers often felt a calling to purchase the product “Impulse buying occurs when a consumer experiences a sudden, often powerful and persistent urge to buy something immediately The impulse to buy is hedonically complex and may stimulate emotional conflict Also, impulse buying is prone to occur with diminished regard for its consequences.” (Rook, 1987) Future research will continue to concentrate on the study of customer behavior during the purchasing decision-making process with the aim of identifying internal (personal traits) and external (advertising, product characteristics) elements that influence impulse buying (Amos et al., 2014); Bhakat and Muruganantham, 2013) Based on previous definitions, an impulse buying decision has three features: First, the decision is spontaneous and unplanned Second, the consumers have little regard for the consequences of their purchasing decisions Third, the purchasing decision is triggered by some instantaneous, overpowering and persistent desire Online impulse buying: With the strong development of the Internet and potential online shopping services, studies on impulsive online shopping behavior are essential (Dawson and Kim, 2009) Dawson and Kim analyzed and evaluated the impact of internal and external factors on impulse buying behavior They studied the affective-cognitive aspects and produced a finding of a relationship between a person's affective and cognitive state and their online impulse-buying behavior (Bhakat and Muruganantham, 2013) Its implication is providing useful information for both marketers and consumers globally According to Rook and Fisher's definition, impulse buying is buying behavior that is strongly, suddenly and persistently stimulated to buy something spontaneously and immediately Therefore, with online shopping channel, impulse buying is more likely to occur than in offline counterpart (Wu et al., 2020) Online shopping applications often have a live-streaming feature This is a feature that helps increase impulse buying Sellers can describe product details and try them on for customers in real time (Abdelsalam et al., 2020) Besides, users of these social networking platforms can also interact with other customers and sellers This kind of interaction can trigger online impulse buying behavior easily Social commerce: S-commerce is a new phenomenon with four unique features including: “interactivity, collaboration, community, and social aspects.” (Abdelsalam et al., 2020) It, is defined as a new business model of E-commerce, applies Web 2.0 technology and social media to online buy and sell activities (Han et al., 2018) Zhan and Benyoucef divide S-commerce into two categories: “(1) social network-based sites that integrate commercial features to allow transactions and advertisements, (2) traditional E-commerce based sites that add social tools to facilitate social interaction and sharing” (Abdelsalam et al., 2020) Therefore, in this research we study the TikTok application as a kind of Scommerce Given the unique nature of S-commerce, this phenomenon has led to a significant increase in online IBB, and most of the sales revenue from Scommerce also come from IB Thus, businesses need to clearly identify the factors that affect IBB consumers in an interactive environment as S-commerce (Abdelsalam et al., 2020) Research model and hypothesis: The S-O-R model with the foundation of stimulus-response theory is one of the most typical theories for studying human behavior It consists of three main parts and analyzes humans' affective and cognitive states influenced by environmental stimuli In this model, the stimulus (S) is environmental factors which cause two types of behavioral responses (R)—approach or avoidance These behaviors are a result of humans' affective and cognitive intermediate states (O) to different cues in the environment Our research applies the SOR model to analyze environmental stimulus (visual appeal, product feasible), organism (perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness), and response (urge to purchase impulsively) Based on these explanations, figure summarizes the research model of this study Table 1: S-O-R model Stimulus Visual appeal Oganism H1a H1b Perceived enjoyment H3 Product feasibility H2 Perceived usefullness H4 Impulse buying behavior IV RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS Product-related cognitive stimulation and emotional responses (perceived speciality, perceived enjoyment) To analyze the potential influence of atmospheric qualities of an online store, Eroglu (2001) divided the environmental characteristics into two categories: high task-relevant environment and low task-relevant environment (Eroglu et al., 2001, p 179) The site's environmental characteristics can cause users' cognitive and affective responses (ie, perceived speciality and perceived enjoyment) (Chen et al., 2020) High task-relevant features are reflected through visual appeal Visual appeal refers to the presentation of product information through multiple visual elements and hedonistic characteristics (Chen et al., 2020, p 218) They create vivid images and visually present information to attract customers' affective responses more easily As a result, users become more interested in browsing web information So we have: H1a: The visual appeal of the product is positively associated with the perceived enjoyment When users enjoy the process of finding information on e-commerce, they will find it easier to buy merchandise online and realize the usefulness of these s-commerce platforms “The more visual elements users perceive from social commerce, the more likely they are to see social commerce as a shopping platform.” (Chen et al., 2020, p 218) H1b: The visual appeal of the TikTok application is positively associated with the perceived usefulness of the recommended Information feasibility is the level of accuracy, professionalism, and relevance to the current task of information presented on the s-commerce website (Ting-Peng Liang, 2011) Therefore, the higher the feasibility of the recommended product, the stronger the customers' sense of pleasure when surfing on the websites (Chen et al., 2020, p 218) H2: The feasibility of the recommended product is positively associated with the perceived enjoyment The relationship between cognitive and affective states has been extensively studied and it has been found that cognition has a positive impact on emotion (Chen et al., 2020, p 218) When users find the usefulness of scommerce applications, they will tend to use them with fun If online shopping applications can solve related-purchased tasks, users may form emotional relationships H3: Perceived usefulness positively affects perceived enjoyment Perception of enjoyment, confidence and emotional impulse buying impulse: With the increase of satisfaction when shopping online, customers' exploration behavior may be stimulated In virtual environments, if online consumers enjoy their shopping experience, they may conduct more exploratory browsing on the network, leading to more unplanned buying H4: Perceived enjoyment positively affects the urge to buy impulsively V METHOD The study analyzed both primary and secondary data to provide an overview of the effect of TikTok on young people's online impulse purchasing behavior Secondary information is gathered, drawn from reports of businesses and departments engaged in e-commerce and marketing as well as study conducted by earlier researchers Primary data are gathered using survey techniques in accordance with consumer survey questions The respondents who are between the ages of 18 and 35 and have experience visiting TikTok and e-commerce websites were chosen for the survey sample in accordance with the practical sampling approach The research team selected the observed variables suitable to the survey reality of the research paper through the process of researching and reviewing previous related research articles, and from there, designed a scale for the model The scale used in this study includes: the stimulus S (2 observed variables), organism O (2 observed variables) The impact of the observed variables that the research team develops will be measured using a Likert scale with a scale of 1-5 (with being the weakest impact and being the strongest) While there are a variety of techniques to conduct factor analysis like Principal Component Analysis or Independent Component Analysis, we decided to adopt the following types: Cronbach’s alpha: Cronbach’s alpha was developed by Lee Cronbach in 1951, measures reliability, or internal consistency Cronbach’s alpha tests are to see if multiplequestion Likert scale surveys are reliable These questions measure variables which are hidden or unobservable like: a person’s preference, or openness These are very challenging to measure in real life Cronbach’s alpha will show you how closely related a set of test items are as a group Exploratory factor analysis (EFA): EFA, invented by Bartholomew (1995), is a statistical technique that is used to reduce data to a smaller set of summary variables and to explore the underlying theoretical structure of the phenomena It is used to identify the relationship between the variable and the respondent EFA is often recommended when researchers have no hypotheses about the nature of the underlying factor structure in their study Pearson analysis: The Pearson coefficient, developed by Karl Pearson, is a type of correlation coefficient that represents the relationship between two variables that are measured on the same ratio scale The Pearson coefficient is a measure of the strength of the association between two continuous variables About determining sample size and collecting the data, according to Hair et al (2010), the sample size for the EFA exploratory factor analysis method analysis must be at least times greater than the total number of observed variables The main scale of this article includes observed variables, so the group's minimum sample size is 20 The minimum sample size required for multivariable regression analysis is n=50+8*m (m: number of independent variables) (Tabachnick and Fidell, 1996) So there must be at least 66 samples As a result, when deciding on the number of samples, the above two formulas must be met, and the principle of excess is preferable to a lack of samples must be followed Because this study employs both methods, the sample size should be at least 20 Rating scale: Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient, an exploratory factor analysis method (EFA), Pearson analysis and corrections (if any) were used by the research team to test the reliability and reasonableness of the variables in the scale and provide the results official scale appropriate for the research topic Data from Stata Analyze and evaluate data: EFA exploratory factor analysis and Pearson analysis are combined to examine correlation analysis, the linear relationship between independent variables and dependent variables, and to make judgments about the impact of the independent variables on the research problem Hypothesis testing: Perform regression analysis with Stata software to measure the impact of independent variables on the dependent variable and thus prove the research hypothesis that the research team set about the correlation between variables is correct The research team collected samples via an online survey with a three-part questionnaire (specifically, the first part of the questionnaire included questions related to personal information such as gender, university, major of study, and tendency to purchase online; the second part is designed to measure the impact of factors on the young people's impulsive online purchasing behavior; and the third part is analyzing young people's perceptions of online impulsive buying behavior) The survey was created on the Google Forms platform and sent to the respondents via Internet channels including email and social media (Gmail, MailChimp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Zalo) Materials of the scale were collected from previous research To leverage their study on the impact of TikTok on the promotion of online impulse purchases on the plausibility of the proposed research model, a preliminary interview with 10 consumers from 18 to 35 years old was done to ensure the validity of the content of the scales before being used as an official survey Data cleaning and encryption, average descriptive statistics, a test of the scale's dependability (Cronbach’s alpha), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Pearson analysis and a regression study of the influence of the components are all operations that are performed sequentially during the data processing and analysis processes Because our purpose is to conduct a quantitative study, we must quantify the qualitative questions we collect Weighing, measuring, surveying using structured questionnaires, watching and collecting data are some of the ways we use to acquire data The acquired results will be represented in economic and mathematical models This approach is implemented by randomly distributing or sampling the item The selection procedure and sample size will be used to gather specimens Following collection, we create a list of elements, number them in order, then choose elements at random from the list To assure unpredictability, we use computer software to make the selections The simplicity and good representativeness of this sampling approach are its advantages Because the data indicate Tiktok's effect on consumer impulsive buying behavior in a long span of time, the statistical data types are panel data, which comprises several variables gathered by time and includes both time-variant and time-invariant variables When examining correlations between variables in the data panel, it is always vital to analyze how the variables change/evolve through time in order to establish fixed effects that are time-invariant (fixed effects) and time-dependent random effects VI RESEARCH ETHICS Creating a research design on the topic of impulse buying in people in the age of 18 to 35 is quite a sensitive issue Consequently, before conducting a survey questionnaire, we have taken criteria into consideration They are:  Protect the rights of participants in research  Exalt research validity  Maintain scientific integrity Before starting the research of “impulse buying behavior” involving data related to people, we submitted our research proposal to the Ministry Of Industry And Commerce Viet Nam and got approval Moreover, we have outlined ways we’ll deal with ethical issues in our research proposal throughout the process of collecting data from participants Table 2: Ethical issue and solution Ethical issues Solutions Participants are free to choose between taking part in or opting out of the study at any point in time Voluntary participation We don’t set any pressure or coercion on participants All the participants in research design are voluntary All participants are able to withdraw from, or leave the study at any point without any reason Transmitting to participants that there are no negative results to their rejection to participate People taking part in surveys are allowed to know about the purpose, benefits, risks and funding activities behind the research before deciding whether to join in research or not We provide all potential participants with all related information regarding: Informed approval Security  Purpose and topic of study  Risks and benefits of taking part in  How long the study will takes to complete  Group contact information People in groups making research designs don’t get any personal information and identities of the participants Personally identifiable data is not collected by all means We know that the participants are mostly people from the age of 18 Confidentiality to 35, so we kept that information hidden from everyone else We kept the personally identifiable data anonymous in order that it can’t be linked to other data by any individual or organizations Mental, social, religious and all other types of potential harm are kept to an absolute minimum, to be listed that: Potential for harm  Psychological harm: Sensitive questions or tasks about topic as gender, religion, politic, etc are avoided  Social harm: Keep personal information of participants private so as to prevent social risks, public embarrassment and stigma Legal harm: Follow the HR law and personal law  To make sure that our research is valuable and reliable, we have designed a research survey based on the knowledge gained from secondary data, which involved closed questions with multiple choice answers Each of them were added with an option of “others” or “prefer not to mention” in order to avoid biased results In addition, the balance of probability when the survey was conducted again at a different time or by a different participant was ensured to produce the same results We choose “Google Forms” to conduct the survey in order to ensure a sufficient sample collection for research design Lastly, at the beginning of the survey, we have provided necessary information and explanation for the purpose of research design in order to ensure that the research design will not infringe ethical consideration VII APPENDIX Table 1: S-O-R model Table 2: Ethical issue and solution .12 VIII Task Research Design: Clarifying the research topic Search and synthesize relevant literature Prepare draft literature review Data collection: Selecting sample size Preparing secondary data Survey Interview Raw data processing Drafting final data collection Data analysis: Analyzing data Drawing conclusions Research Proposal: Writing draft Presenting research Proofreading and editing Submit TIMELINE Start Due Duration 08/04/2022 08/04/2022 25/04/2022 16/05/2022 23/05/2022 23/05/2022 30/05/2022 13/06/2022 13/06/2022 04/07/2022 18/07/2022 25/07/2022 25/07/2022 15/08/2022 22/08/2022 22/08/2022 05/09/2022 12/09/2022 10/10/2022 20/05/2022 22/04/2022 13/05/2022 20/05/2022 22/07/2022 27/05/2022 10/06/2022 08/07/2022 08/07/2022 15/07/2022 22/07/2022 19/08/2022 12/08/2022 19/08/2022 14/10/2022 02/09/2022 09/09/2022 07/10/2022 14/10/2022 43 15 19 61 12 26 26 12 26 19 54 12 26 IX REFERENCES Abdelsalam, S., Salim, N., Alias, R.A., Husain, O., 2020 Understanding Online Impulse Buying Behavior in Social Commerce: A Systematic Literature Review IEEE Access 8, 89041–89058 https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2993671 Amos, C., Holmes, G.R., Keneson, W.C., 2014 A meta-analysis of consumer impulse buying J Retail Consum Serv 21, 86–97 Applebaum, W., 1951 Studying Customer Behavior in Retail Stores J Mark 16, 172–178 https://doi.org/10.1177/002224295101600204 Bhakat, R., Muruganantham, G., 2013 A Review of Impulse Buying Behavior Int J Mark Stud https://doi.org/10.5539/ijms.v5n3p149 Chen, Y., Li, D., Zhao, Z., 2020 Research on Product Recommendation and Consumer Impulsive Purchase Under Social Commerce Platform—Based on S0-R Model Presented at the 5th International Conference on Social Sciences and Economic Development (ICSSED 2020), Atlantis Press, pp 215–223 https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200331.048 Clover, V.T., 1950 Relative Importance of Impulse-Buying in Retail Stores J Mark 15, 66–70 https://doi.org/10.1177/002224295001500110 Dawson, S., Kim, M., 2009 External and internal trigger cues of impulse buying online Direct Mark Int J 3, 20–34 https://doi.org/10.1108/17505930910945714 Han, H., Xu, H., Chen, H., 2018 Social commerce: A systematic review and data synthesis Electron Commer Res Appl 30, 38–50 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2018.05.005 Iyer, G.R., Blut, M., Xiao, S.H., Grewal, D., 2020 Impulse buying: a metaanalytic review J Acad Mark Sci 48, 384–404 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00670-w 10 Kollat, D.T., Willett, R P., 1969 Is Impulse Purchasing Really a Useful Concept for Marketing Decisions? - David T Kollat, Ronald P Willett, 1969 [WWW Document] URL https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/002224296903300113 (accessed 10.9.22) 11 Ogechi Adeola, R.E.H., Olaniyi Evans, 2020 Social Media in Marketing Communications: A Synthesis of Successful Strategies for the Digital Generation | SpringerLink [WWW Document] URL https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-08277-2_4 (accessed 10.9.22) 12 Piron, F., 1991 Defining Impulse Purchasing ACR North Am Adv NA-18 13 Rook, D.W., 1987 The Buying Impulse J Consum Res 14, 189–199 https://doi.org/10.1086/209105 14 Stern, H., 1962 The Significance of Impulse Buying Today J Mark 26, 59– 62 https://doi.org/10.1177/002224296202600212 15 Ting-Peng Liang, E.T., 2011 Introduction to the Special Issue Social Commerce: A Research Framework for Social Commerce: International Journal of Electronic Commerce: Vol 16, No [WWW Document] URL https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2753/JEC1086-4415160201 (accessed 10.10.22) 16 Wu, I.-L., Chiu, M.-L., Chen, K.-W., 2020 Defining the determinants of online impulse buying through a shopping process of integrating perceived risk, expectation-confirmation model, and flow theory issues Int J Inf Manag 52, 102099 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102099 ... To leverage their study on the impact of TikTok on the promotion of online impulse purchases on the plausibility of the proposed research model, a preliminary interview with 10 consumers from... measure the impact of factors on the young people's impulsive online purchasing behavior; and the third part is analyzing young people's perceptions of online impulsive buying behavior) The survey... Based on previous definitions, an impulse buying decision has three features: First, the decision is spontaneous and unplanned Second, the consumers have little regard for the consequences of their