Advances in Consumer Research
Issue 4 : 765-772
Original Article
Social Media Sharing, Fear of Missing Out, and Impulse Purchase: A Conceptual Study
1
Ph.D., Associate Professor of Marketing, Department of Marketing, College of Business and Economics, California State University, East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee Boulevard, Hayward, CA 94542
Abstract

Given the popularity of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok among consumers, FOMO (fear of missing out) is receiving increasing attention in academia. While research has extensively examined the relationship between FOMO and impulse purchase, how social media sharing can heighten FOMO and further lead to consumers’ impulse purchase is still underexplored in marketing. In this research, we propose a conceptual framework to provide insights into what kind of content shared on social media drives FOMO, leading to increased impulse purchase among consumers. We also examine the type of product, the category of platform, the source, and the cultural background to which social media sharing is targeted. This research not only contributes to a growing body of research on the role of FOMO in digital marketing practice, but also offers several actional recommendations to social media marketers on what to share, for what products, with whom, and on which platform to elicit FOMO and, in turn, drive impulse purchase among consumers.

Keywords
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