Document Type
Article
Abstract
The proliferation of the Internet, and the recent hype/massive popularity of social media for socialization and interactions have created a new landscape of social commerce. While social commerce via websites and marketplaces is accustomed in the Western market, the recent development indicates that millennials in the Southeast Asia are taking riskier buying decisions by embarking on business transactions with individual sellers on the social networking (SNS) platforms; known as customer to customer social commerce (C2C-SC). Taking into consideration of the rapid growth and potential security issues of this type of social commerce, it is therefore pivotal to understand why shoppers tend to shop on SNS platforms although they have options to shop on a more secured platform. This qualitative study was conducted, in a developing country of the Southeast Asia, to gain in depth understanding of buyers’ engagement in the rapidly growing social commerce. Based on the thematic analysis from the interviews data, findings highlighted that buyers’ interest for shopping on SNS platforms was instigated from the two motivational perspectives – intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivations consist of feelings of convenience, sense of comfort and sense of satisfaction. Extrinsic motivations are formed by inputs of other buyers, sellers’ characterization and products distinct. This study is amongst the first to explore online buyers’ experiences that justify their interest to purchase on SNS platforms, which emerged from the interplay of internal and external factors. Findings offer insightful explanations on the phenomenon and contribute to further development in the body of knowledge of social commerce, specifically related to C2CSC.
Recommended Citation
Abdul Talib, Yurita Yakimin and Rusly, Fariza Hanim, "Social Commerce: Chanting the Experience of Shoppers in a Developing Country" (2019). ICEB 2019 Proceedings (Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK). 36.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/iceb2019/36