To buy or not to buy, that is the question: understanding the determinants of the urge to buy impulsively on Instagram Commerce

Abstract

Purpose Throughout 2020, especially under the lockdown measures, there was a significant surge in e-commerce and social commerce (s-commerce), with numerous people all over the world adopting and using commerce platforms on social media and other websites to buy desired products and services quickly and easily. Instagram Commerce is a new, cutting-edge social commerce platform. This research aims to explore the positive influence of the measures adopted during summer 2020 on Spanish s-commerce users' urge to buy impulsively.

Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) theoretical framework, this study postulates and tests a model to help understand the behaviour of Spanish users towards social commerce, specifically Instagram Commerce. To accomplish this purpose, an SEM analysis is performed using a sample of 251 respondents.

Findings Generally speaking, the findings obtained in the present study serve to expand and enhance the scientific literature on one of the latest determinants affecting social networks and online commerce.

Originality/value This research is innovative due to the research background study that is carried out to analyse the urge to buy impulsively.