Using Instagram as Online Shopping Channel: Key Predictors of Consumers’ Purchase Involvement on Instagram in Saudi Arabia
Keywords:
Instagram, Online Shopping Channel, Purchase Involvement, Materialism, Self-Esteem, Website Credibility, Saudi ConsumerAbstract
This study examined key predictors of Saudi consumers’ purchase involvement on Instagram. An online snowball sampling approach was used to reach Saudis via social media, with 1,671 Saudis recruited as valid samples. Results suggested Saudis’ frequency of Instagram shopping, Instagram credibility, and Instagram seller credibility as three major factors toward Saudis’ purchase involvement. Saudis who reported higher Instagram credibility and Instagram seller credibility would be more likely to involve with online shopping on Instagram. As two personality variables (materialism and self-esteem) were not found as powerful as other experiential variables to impact Saudis’ purchase involvement on Instagram, marketing channel planners who intend to use Instagram as a key online shopping tool should attempt to secure shopping privacy and payment safety on Instagram. Moreover, as Saudis’ positive attitudes were activated toward seller credibility, privacy security, and payment security on Instagram, Instagram becomes an effective shopping tool for Saudi consumers.
References
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Greer, J., & Pan, P.-L. (2015). The role of website format, blog use, and information-gathering acquaintance in online message assessment. Telematics and Informatics, 32(4), 594-602.
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Pan, P. L., & Xu, J. (2009). Online strategic communication: A cross-cultural analysis of US and Chinese corporate websites. Public Relations Review, 35, 251-253.
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Richins, M. L., & Dawson, S. (1992). A consumer values orientation for materialism and its measurement: Scale development and validation. Journal of Consumer Research, 19, 303–316.
Rosenberg, M., Schooler, C. & Schoenbach, C. (1989). Self-esteem and Adolescent problems: Modeling reciprocal effects. American Sociological Review, 1004–1018.
Saudi Embassy (2015). About Saudi Arabia. Retrieved from http://saudiembassy.net/about/
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Schulze, C. & Baumgartner, J. (2001). Don’t panic! Do e-commerce. European Commission’s Electronic Commerce Team (Information Society Directorate General).
Scott, K., Martin, D. M. & Schouten, J. W. (2014). Marketing and the new materialism. Journal of Macromarketing, 34(3), 282–290.
Silva, T. H., de Melo, P. O. S. V., Almeida, J. M., Salles, J. & Loureiro, A.A.F. (2013). A picture of Instagram is worth more than a thousand words. Workload Characterization and Application, 123–133.
Singleton, R. A. & Straits, B. C. (2018). Approaches to Social Research (6th edition). New York: Oxford University Press.
Slama, M. E. & Tashchian, A. (1985). Selected socioeconomic and demographic characteristics associated with purchasing involvement. Journal of Marketing, 72-82.
Schwarz, J. & Morris, M. (2011). Augmenting web pages and search results to support credibility assessment. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM, 1245-1254.
The US Energy Information Administration. (2015, February 26). Country analysis brief overview. Retrieved from: http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=SA
Tseng, S., & Fogg, B. J. (1999). Credibility and computing technology. Communications of the ACM, 42(5), 39–44.
Valkenburg, P. M., Peter, J. & Schouten, A. P. (2006). Friend networking sites and their relationship to adolescents' well-being and social self-esteem. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 9(5), 584–590.
Wilcox, K. & Stephen, A. T. (2013). Are close friends the enemy? Online social networks, self-esteem, and self-control. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(1), 90–103.
Xie, W. & Zhao, Y. (2014). Is seeing believing? Comparing media credibility of traditional and online media in China. China Media Research, 10(3), 64-73.
Yavas, U. & Babakus, E. (1995). Purchasing involvement in Saudi Arabia: Measure development and validation. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 8(1), 23-42.
Al-Jenaibi, B. (2011). The use of social media in the United Arab Emirates: An initial study. European Journal of Social Sciences, 23(1), 87–100.
Al-maghrabi, T. & Dennis, C. (2010). Driving online shopping: Spending and behavioral differences among women in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Business Science and Applied Management, 5(1), 30–47.
Bayt.com (2012, May 29). Companies in the Middle East are not using social media effectively, according to bayt.com survey majority. Bayt. Retrieved from http://www.bayt.com/en/pressrelease-article-13502/
Belk, R. W. & Pollay, R. W. (1985). Materialism and status appeals in Japanese and US print advertising. International Marketing Review, 2(4), 38–47.
Buechel, E. & Berger, J. (2012). Facebook therapy? Why do people share self-relevant content online? In presentation at Association for Consumer Research Conference, Vancouver, BC.
Burgoon, J. K. (1976). The unwillingness to communicate scale: Development and validation. Communications Monographs, 43(1), 60–69.
Burroughs, J. E. & Rindfleisch, A. (2002). Materialism and well-being: A conflicting values perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 29(3), 348–370.
Cao, B. L. (2011). Social media: Definition, history of development, features and future: The ambiguous cognition of social media. Journal of Hunan Radio & Television University, 47(3), 65–69.
Castillo, C., Mendoza, M. & Poblete, B. (2011). Information credibility on Twitter. In Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on World Wide Web (pp. 675–684).
Central Department of Statistics (2015). Statistical Library. Retrieved from http://www.stats.gov.sa/ar/node
Dong, Q. & Cao, X. (2006). The impact of American media exposure and self-esteem on Chinese urban adolescent purchasing involvement. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 27(4), 664–674.
Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends:” Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1143–1168.
Engel, J. F., Blackwell, R. D., & Miniard, P. W. (1993). Consumer behavior (7th edition). Orlando, FL: The Dryden Press.
Faraj, A. (2014). Designing a social media plan for food business in Saudi Arabia (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Muncie, IN: Ball State University.
Goldberg, M. E., Gorn, G. J., Peracchio, L. A., & Bamossy, G. (2003). Understanding materialism among youth. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 13, 278–288.
Goldsmith, R. E., Flynn, L. R., & Clark, R. A. (2011). Materialism and brand engagement as shopping motivations. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 18(4), 278–284.
Greer, J., & Pan, P.-L. (2015). The role of website format, blog use, and information-gathering acquaintance in online message assessment. Telematics and Informatics, 32(4), 594-602.
Herman, J. (2014, April 28). How to use Instagram to improve your marketing. Retrieved from http://maximizesocialbusiness.com/use-instagram-improve-marketing-13043/
Hill, C. E., Loch, K. D., Straub, D., & El-Sheshai, K. (1998). A qualitative assessment of Arab culture and information technology transfer. Journal of Global Information Management, 6(3), 29–38.
James, W. (1980). The principles of psychology. New York: Holt.
Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business horizons, 53(1), 59-68.
Karaatli, G. (2015). The purchasing involvement scale. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 9. Retrieved from: https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=cba_fac_pub
Kaynak, E., Tatoglu, E., & Kula, V. (2005). An analysis of the factors affecting the adoption of electronic commerce by SME’s. International Marketing Review, 22(6), 623–640.
Keisidou, E., Sarigiannidis, L. & Maditinos, D. (2011). Consumer characteristics and their effect on accepting online shopping, in the context of different product types. International Journal of Business Science & Applied Management, 6(2), 31–51.
Koshy, S. (2013). Factors that affect the use of Facebook and Twitter as marketing tools in the UAE. UK Academy for Information Systems Conference Proceedings (pp. 1–7).
Lee, G. G. & Lin, H. F. (2005). Customer perceptions of e-service quality in online shopping. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 33(2), 161–176.
Long, D. E. (2005). Culture and customs of Saudi Arabia. Westport, CT: Penn State Press.
McCroskey, J. C. & Teven, J. J. (1999).Goodwill: A reexamination of the construct and its measurement. Communication Monographs, 66, 90-103.
McQuarrie, E. F. & Munson, M. (1986). The Zaichkowsky Personal Involvement Inventory: Modification and extension. In P. Anderson & M. Wallendorf (Eds.), Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 14 (pp. 36-40). Prove, UT: Association for Consumer Research
Metzger, M. J., Flanagin, A. J., Eyal, K., Lemus, D. R. & McCann, R. M. (2003). Credibility for the 21st century: Integrating perspectives on source, message, and media credibility in the contemporary media environment. Communication Yearbook, 27, 293–336.
Moore, J. J., & Rodgers, S. L. (2005). An examination of advertising credibility and skepticism in five different media using the persuasion knowledge model. In American Academy of Advertising Conference Proceedings (p. 10).
Pan, P. L., & Xu, J. (2009). Online strategic communication: A cross-cultural analysis of US and Chinese corporate websites. Public Relations Review, 35, 251-253.
Putri, J. W. (2015). Factors affecting customers online search intention and online purchase intention using social networks: Case study of online shop on Instagram. iBuss Management, 3(2).
Rainie, L. & Horrigan, J. (2007). Election 2006 online. Pew Internet & American Life Project Report.
Richa, D. (2012). Impact of demographic factors of consumers on online shopping behavior: A study of consumers in India. International Journal of Engineering and Management Sciences, 3(1), 43–52.
Richins, M. L. (1987). Media, materialism, and human happiness. In M. Wallendorf & P. Anderson (Eds.), Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 11 (pp. 352-356). Prove, UT: Association for Consumer Research.
Richins, M. L., & Dawson, S. (1992). A consumer values orientation for materialism and its measurement: Scale development and validation. Journal of Consumer Research, 19, 303–316.
Rosenberg, M., Schooler, C. & Schoenbach, C. (1989). Self-esteem and Adolescent problems: Modeling reciprocal effects. American Sociological Review, 1004–1018.
Saudi Embassy (2015). About Saudi Arabia. Retrieved from http://saudiembassy.net/about/
Saudi Embassy (2016). Regional and geographical information. Retrieved from http://embassies.mofa.gov.sa/sites/uk/EN/AboutKingdom/RegionalAndGeographical/Pages/default.aspx
Schulze, C. & Baumgartner, J. (2001). Don’t panic! Do e-commerce. European Commission’s Electronic Commerce Team (Information Society Directorate General).
Scott, K., Martin, D. M. & Schouten, J. W. (2014). Marketing and the new materialism. Journal of Macromarketing, 34(3), 282–290.
Silva, T. H., de Melo, P. O. S. V., Almeida, J. M., Salles, J. & Loureiro, A.A.F. (2013). A picture of Instagram is worth more than a thousand words. Workload Characterization and Application, 123–133.
Singleton, R. A. & Straits, B. C. (2018). Approaches to Social Research (6th edition). New York: Oxford University Press.
Slama, M. E. & Tashchian, A. (1985). Selected socioeconomic and demographic characteristics associated with purchasing involvement. Journal of Marketing, 72-82.
Schwarz, J. & Morris, M. (2011). Augmenting web pages and search results to support credibility assessment. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM, 1245-1254.
The US Energy Information Administration. (2015, February 26). Country analysis brief overview. Retrieved from: http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=SA
Tseng, S., & Fogg, B. J. (1999). Credibility and computing technology. Communications of the ACM, 42(5), 39–44.
Valkenburg, P. M., Peter, J. & Schouten, A. P. (2006). Friend networking sites and their relationship to adolescents' well-being and social self-esteem. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 9(5), 584–590.
Wilcox, K. & Stephen, A. T. (2013). Are close friends the enemy? Online social networks, self-esteem, and self-control. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(1), 90–103.
Xie, W. & Zhao, Y. (2014). Is seeing believing? Comparing media credibility of traditional and online media in China. China Media Research, 10(3), 64-73.
Yavas, U. & Babakus, E. (1995). Purchasing involvement in Saudi Arabia: Measure development and validation. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 8(1), 23-42.
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