Effects of FOMO marketing appeals on the likelihood of impulse buying
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Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
School of Business |
Master's thesis
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Author
Date
2023
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Marketing
Language
en
Pages
58
Series
Abstract
FOMO (fear of missing out) has been successfully utilized in marketing for years, and it has been found to be an effective tool to increase purchase likelihood. Yet, there is limited academic research on consumers’ responses to marketer-initiated FOMO appeals. This thesis adopts the definition of FOMO as an emotional response to missing out on an experience that an individual finds relevant and aims to fill a research gap by studying how FOMO-laden marketing appeals influence the likelihood of impulse buying. More specifically, FOMO is assumed to consist of two components, personal FOMO and social FOMO, and thus two different kinds of FOMO marketing appeals, personal and social, are examined as generators of impulse purchases. The thesis addresses the research questions ‘Does FOMO increase the likelihood of impulse buying?’ and ‘Do different kinds of FOMO marketing appeals (personal vs. social) lead to different effects on impulse buying?’ A research model was built based on the self-concept theory and the conceptualization of FOMO as an emotion stemming from a threat to an individual’s self-concept. An online experiment was conducted to collect data (n=96). The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings indicate no link between personal FOMO or social FOMO and the likelihood of impulse buying. Thus, based on this study, FOMO marketing appeals cannot be recommended as means to induce impulse buying. However, the limitations of the study affect the results and more research is needed to examine the relationship between FOMO marketing appeals and impulse buying. Yet, the findings provide evidence of FOMO as an emotion that, resulting from a threat to an individual’s well-being, is similar to fear in general. This finding advances understanding of the nature of FOMO.Description
Thesis advisor
Wittkowski, KristinaEtz, Miriam
Keywords
FOMO, fear of missing out, impulse buying, marketing appeals, consumer behavior
