Facebook Second-Hand Marketplace Browsing Influence on Impulse Buying: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

Growing evidence underscores the influence of several interactive factors on impulse buying in social commerce. However, the potential impact of situational and cognitive factors, such as immersion, serendipity, perceived scarcity, and deal proneness, is rarely studied within the emerging context of the Facebook second-hand marketplace. Hence, this study explores the effect of Facebook second-hand marketplace browsing on impulse buying with the incorporation of immersive experience. Additionally, following latent state–trait theory, the boundary role of serendipity, perceived scarcity, and deal proneness in influencing impulse buying is examined. Employing a mixed-methods design, 684 respondents from the Facebook second-hand marketplace communities were surveyed and structural equation modeling was applied for data analysis. Interviews with 23 consumers were conducted and analyzed using NVivo 8.0, and it was found that user immersive experience mediates the relationship between browsing and impulse buying. Results confirm the proposed interactive effects of serendipity, perceived scarcity, and deal proneness on impulse buying. This pioneering study enriches the social commerce literature by uncovering new areas and situational factors that influence impulse purchases of second-hand goods and highlights the paradox that consumers' efforts to buy sustainably can be undermined by excessive impulsive behaviors. Practical insights are provided for promoting second-hand consumption in social commerce.