Social presence, entertainment, sale promotion and impulse buying behavior: The mediating role of flow experience

Abstract

The study investigated the stimulating factors such as social presence, entertainment, impulsive buying behavior, and flow experience when watching live streaming on social commerce based on the S - O - R model in Ho Chi Minh City. The study used quantitative methods with survey data collected in person and online, including 277 respondents who made purchases while watching live streaming, and evaluated the structural model with Smart - PLS software version 4. Research results show that the flow experience plays an important mediating role in promoting consumers’ impulsive shopping behavior because it is a state, a feeling of immersion that makes users excited, engrossed, focused, and actively engaged in interacting with those activities and content to the point that they are willing to do anything when stimulated by external factors such as social presence, entertainment, and sale promotions. Based on the analysis results, managerial implications are proposed to enhance impulsive buying behavior when watching live streaming on social commerce.