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COVID-19 has influenced various global trends, one of which is the rapid expansion of online shopping via social networking sites (SNS) (Shoheib & Abu-Shanab, 2022). All transactions before, during, and after purchase on an SNS are included in social commerce (s-commerce) activities, including decisions about purchasing, purchasing preferences, and customer service (Esmaeili & Hashemi, 2019). Research and Markets (2020) claimed that the worldwide reach of s-commerce would reach US$ 604.5 billion by 2027. S-commerce plays a significant role in the future of online retail for marketers and customers.
A visit to an e-commerce platform is often premeditated, whereas companies can use SNS to streamline product discovery using personalization to present customers with the most appropriate products. In an environment where customers are highly engaged in activities other than shopping, touchpoints play a crucial role for firms competing for customers' attention. To enrich the customer experience (CX) throughout the customer journey, tracking and understanding CX at all touchpoints is critical (Kranzbühler et al., 2018). Previous studies have investigated the impact of touchpoints in traditional brick-and-mortar retail and e-commerce contexts (e.g., Wagner et al., 2020). However, more research is needed in s-commerce because it differs from traditional retail and e-commerce contexts (Lăzăroiu et al., 2020). According to Tang and Zhang (2020), only a few studies have investigated an answer to why customers choose to purchase from on an s-commerce page. According to them, further research is required into the design aspects of an s-commerce page that provides its users with a positive experience.
Elliot (2006) mentioned that an examination of approach and avoidance mechanisms is necessary for successful adaptation to a particular environment. Customers’ approach or avoidance intentions could be triggered by a stimulus in an environment (Carver, 2006). To address these gaps and understand the impact of stimuli on customer’s purchase intentions on an s-commerce page, the authors propose a research model that evaluates the influence of s-commerce touchpoints such as page aesthetics, page interactivity, and the perceived influence of digital influencers on a customer's intent to purchase while browsing an s-commerce page. Page aesthetics and page interactivity represent categories of design cues (Tang & Zhang, 2020) critical to an online environment. Digital influencers play a pivotal role in influencing customer behavior on s-commerce pages (Wang & Huang, 2022). However, investigations assessing their perceived influence on customers’ purchase intentions on s-commerce pages have been limited (Wang et al., 2020). Investigating perceived influence as a touchpoint adds breadth to the categories of design cues in an s-commerce environment. This study further investigates the impact of perceived risk on s-commerce customers (Ashoer & Said, 2016) as the customers interact with the touchpoints. The study proposes the following research questions:
RQ1: Do s-commerce touchpoints (page aesthetics, page interactivity, and digital influencer's perceived influence) impact customers' purchase intentions in s-commerce?
RQ2: Does customer experience (emotional and cognition) during the interaction with the s-commerce touchpoints influence the customer's purchase intention?
The study uses structural equation modeling using AMOS software on 428 responses to investigate the above questions empirically. The approach-avoidance theory (AAT) provides a foundation to the study and its inferences. For two reasons, the use of AAT as an overarching theory for this investigation was deemed appropriate. To begin with, humans automatically evaluate a stimulus on a positive and negative scale, and these assessments elicit approach and avoidance behavioral predispositions on the spot (Lewin, 1935). Second, as shown in the following sections, the theory has been widely used to better understand retail and website design in consumer behavior.