The Effect of Consumer’s Loneliness on Impulse Buying in the Internet era: A Model Based on Para-social Interaction

Despite the popularity of social media, people are more socially isolated now than before. Although the proportion of lonely individuals is sizable in the Internet era, researchers have paid little attention to how loneliness affects consumers in the context. The goal of this research is to examine how different types of loneliness (social vs. emotional loneliness) shape consumers' impulsive behaviors in social media context as well as the underlying role of para-social interaction in these effects. Furthermore, we examine the moderating role of relationship importance. Results from two studies showed that either social or emotional loneliness motivates consumers to engage in para-social interaction with media personalities, which in turn leads to impulsive behaviors. However, social (vs. emotional) loneliness has a stronger effect on impulsive behaviors only when social relationships matter most to people. Conversely, emotional (vs. social) loneliness has a stronger effect on impulsive behaviors only when emotional relationships are most important. These findings help marketers further segment their target consumers and improve the effectiveness of product designs and communication with consumers in the Internet era.