Consumer purchase behavior is the tendency of a customer to buy goods and services with or without planning in advance. When a customer makes such buying decisions on the spur of the moment, it is usually triggered by emotions and feelings. Consumer purchase behavior can't be categorized for one specific product category. Buying can be seen in products such as chocolates, clothes, mobile phones, and in big-ticket items such as cars, jewellery, etc. Consumer purchase behavior means making an unplanned purchase. It is based on irrational thinking. Marketers try to tap into this behavior of customers to boost sales. There is a great likelihood that customers end up making a purchase of products after entering the hypermarket without any actual intent of doing so. Many mobile phone makers tend to exploit this trait in customers by introducing products which can be add-on gadgets for their mobiles, such as fitness bands, watches, etc. (The Economic Times, 2023).

Consumers engage in e-buying when they experience a sudden but powerful, persistent urge to buy product offers immediately without due regard to the consequences of buying the offering. Buying is not only associated with low-value but also with low-involvement purchases. It could also be associated with high-value and high-involvement products. One would also imagine that buying is linked to hedonic shopping experiences, whereby a sense of adventure and thrill, feelings of excitement, and escapism can all lead to a reduction of self-control. Consumer purchase behaviour is relatively extraordinary and exciting, emotional rather than rational, and is likely to be perceived as bad rather than good. It might also be assumed that no pre-purchase stages would be relevant in this. The process is rather widespread and may have significant implications for marketers. Marketers could take a number of steps to increase the possibility that customers will buy in specific environments. (Berger, 2014; Aruna, 2016). 

Digital Advertising

The customer experiences are prejudiced by the virtual environment. The buying behaviour is primarily affected by consumer digital culture, response to digital advertising, mobile environment, and online grapevine. The purpose of advertising is to secure market share and brand loyalty. Investments in social media promotions can be a great way to achieve company goals and acquire market share in other countries. In order to secure the purpose of the business, social media has become a necessary requirement. Social media marketing is economical from the business standpoint and may not cost a thing for consumers to like, share, and subscribe. It also amounts to increased awareness among the consumers (Jin, 2019). There are two important and novel contributions made by our research. First, several studies have been done to look at how social media advertising affects consumer behaviour. However, few studies have taken cultural variations into account. The findings of this study demonstrate that Saudi culture has a significant impact on influencing or altering the impact of social media advertising on consumer buying habits (Aldawish, 2024).

Online-WOM

The literature on consumer behavior in digital/social media is growing rapidly and largely focuses on phenomena of practical and theoretical interest. Researchers have primarily examined how consumers use the information (e.g., online WOM, reviews) available to them in digital/social media environments. Future research should continue this approach, albeit in a broader style. Consumer behaviors other than those related to WOM/online reviews and other types of information found (and learned) in online environments should be considered. An avenue of future research with great potential is to examine how different types of digital environments (including social media and mobile phones) affect a variety of consumer outcomes, including psychological and economic constructs (Baber, 2016).

The research work adds to the body of knowledge in various ways. First and foremost, it provides an essential theoretical foundation for the function of Mobile AR apps in promoting online and offline purchase behavior in the retail industry in general, and the tourism industry in particular. Second, this study addresses the necessity to merge technology and psychological models in the tourism industry. On the one hand, it contributes to the SOR framework literature by being one of the first studies to use this framework to explain the phenomenon of buying behavior in the tourism area. On the other hand, it improves TAM literature by introducing a supplementary feature, such as interaction, into visitor adoption of this new technology (Do, 2020).

Consumer Purchase Behavior

Purchases are frequently the result of both external and internal impulses. Both retailers and product makers can benefit from external stimuli to boost purchases. Because stores have little influence over how the items are manufactured, the emphasis should instead be on the store layout and consumer awareness. The most essential thing is to adapt to the consumer and find ways to stimulate a purchase. This means that employees should be well-versed in the items supplied in the shop in order to stress the benefits to the consumer in a way that makes it appealing to them. Generation Y is more prone to impulsive consumer behaviour. (Chakraborty, 2017).

Pleasure and arousal were substantially associated with purchasing behavior, but consumers saw dominance as an inconsequential determinant of their purchasing intention. There was convincing evidence that arousal, enjoyment, and dominance were important predictors of both buying behavior and buying intention. According to the findings, arousal (the degree to which one feels stimulated, agitated, and frenetic) and pleasure (the degree to which one feels joyful, pleased, and satisfied) are the most significantly connected to purchasing behavior. Furthermore, shopping feelings of pleasure and arousal were shown to be highly related to purchasing intention (Liu, 2020).

The Objectives of the study were (1) To analyse the mediating effect of purchase intention between the Facebook Marketplace and consumer buying behaviour. (2) To examine the mediating effect of purchase intention between online WOM and consumer purchasing behaviour. (3) To evaluate the mediating effect of purchase intention between the Instagram Marketplace and consumer purchasing behaviour.

Consumer purchase behavior has a significant impact on the success or failure of a brand in the marketplace. There are many social media platforms that are used to spread awareness and boost sales in the online market space. Therefore, it becomes imperative to understand the level of impact of popular social media platforms on consumer purchase behavior. Online WOM, Facebook, and Instagram are the most popular social media platforms that impact consumer purchase behavior. Hence, it is important to conduct a study.

Research Design

The samples used for this paper are students from an MBA college in Bangalore City. Data were collected from university students using the questionnaire method. The questionnaire, with 28 questions including demographic variables, was distributed for data collection. A total of 254 university students were selected, but 207 questionnaires were retained for the study. The questions include a constraint based on a 5-point Likert scale. A non-probability sampling technique was used to collect data from respondents.

Data analysis and Interpretation

Structural equation modelling (SEM) was performed using AMOS software to obtain the mediating effect of purchase intention on the relationship between Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Marketplace, online WOM, and consumer buying behaviour. Regression analysis was conducted to analyse whether the independent variables represent the dependent variable or not. Regression analysis was tested to determine whether predictive variables (Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Marketplace, Online WOM) influence consumer buying behaviour. Analysis was performed using structural equation modelling in AMOS software. The mediation method was developed by Judd and Kenny (1981). The bootstrapping method with SEM was used to find the direct and indirect effects of the mediation variable (purchase intention) on the relationship between Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Marketplace, online WOM, and consumer shopping behaviour.

RESULTS

To test the results, a hypothesis is drawn (Figure 1) between the Facebook Marketplace and consumer buying behavior, online WOM and consumer purchasing behavior, with purchase intention as a mediating variable between Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Marketplace, and online WOM. Purchase intention also serves as an intermediate variable between the Facebook Marketplace and consumer buying behavior. The conjecture allows the author to analyze whether the intermediate variable has an overall mediating effect or a limited intermediate effect. The author used the bootstrapping method tested by Tibshirani (1993).

Figure 1: Model of SEM

Path Model for one Dependent variable, two independent variables and one Mediating Variable.

Figure 1 shows the path model presentation of the exogenous variables and the endogenous variable. In the above figure, the exogenous variables are Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Marketplace, and Online WOM, whereas the endogenous variable is consumer purchase behavior. The paths provide the inference and reveal the interference. The mediation variable is purchasing intention, and it signifies the hypothesis that purchase intention mediates the relationship between Facebook Marketplace and purchase behavior, as well as the mediation among Facebook Marketplace and Online WOM. The framework is derived from the S-O-R model.

Table 1 - Direct Effects - Two Tailed Significance

From Table 1, it is inferred that the path between Facebook and purchase behaviour and the path between Instagram and purchase behaviour are significant, since the p-value is less than 0.05, which is below the threshold value. In order to find the mediating result, there must be a direct effect that can be mediated, and therefore the direct effect needs to be significant so that the mediating effect is initiated. The alternative hypothesis is accepted.

Table 2 - Indirect Effects - Two Tailed Significance

Table 2 elucidates the indirect effect of the intervention from Facebook Marketplace to consumer purchase behaviour through purchase intention, and from purchase behaviour to Instagram through purchase intention. Since the p-value is less than 0.05, it is implied that there are several kinds of mediation present, and the next step is to determine whether the mediation is complete (absolute) mediation.

Table 3 - Direct Effects - Two Tailed Significance

Table 3 exemplifies the direct effects along with the mediating pathways. The study shows that the path from Facebook Marketplace to purchase behaviour through purchase intention is important, since the p-value is less than 0.05. Hence, it is implied that purchase intention has full mediation between Facebook Marketplace, Instagram, and purchase behaviour, and partial mediation with online WOM.

Table 4 – Mediating Effects

Table 4 proves that purchase intention partially mediates the relationship between online WOM and purchase behaviour, whereas purchase intention entirely mediates the relationship between Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Marketplace, and purchase behaviour. As a result, the alternative hypotheses H1 and H2 are accepted.

The study stems from the relationship between the Facebook Marketplace and shopping behaviour, as well as Instagram Marketplace and shopping behaviour. Research shows that Facebook Marketplace and Instagram Marketplace are excellent performers in influencing shopping behaviour. The main aim of the study was to determine whether there is a direct effect of Facebook, Instagram Marketplace, and purchase intention on purchasing behaviour, and whether at this stage there is a mediating effect of purchase intention in the relationship between the Facebook Marketplace and buying behaviour, as well as the relationship between Instagram Marketplace and buying behaviour. The results show that the Facebook Marketplace and Instagram Marketplace actually have a direct impact on purchasing behaviour. The findings demonstrate that purchase intent fully mediates the association between Facebook Marketplace and Instagram Marketplace and purchasing behaviour, while purchase intent partially mediates the link between online WOM and purchase behaviour. 

The results provide practical information for online retailers and manufacturers to better understand the progress of customer feedback on the web and decide on store management tactics. Electronically replicating the consumer review process through purported experiential purchases can be effective. First of all, online retailers that advertise apparel products can attest to consumers' satisfaction with their purchase behaviour and purchase intention from their e-store by implementing these features to enhance their conditional service quality and capacity. This is also important for multi-channel merchants. In addition, future research is needed to observe the impact of other aspects of purchase behaviour (e.g., community shopping motivation) on online shopping behaviour and to examine aspects of online shopping qualities that are influenced by Facebook and Instagram marketing. Overall, the results of this study statistically confirm that there are a few very important factors influencing e-WOM’s purchase intention. For example, consumers with similar values and preferences may have a deeper impact on online WOM. The results also confirm that a high level of participation in fashion activities reinforces the influence of online WOM on the intention to purchase these products.

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