Examining the Role of Viral Effect, Shopping Enjoyment and Trust on Purchase Intention of Social Commerce Sites in Malaysia

Social media has greatly changed the game in e-commerce. The convergence of social media and e-commerce means that online users can now influence purchase intention on social commerce sites via user-generated contents and viral effect. In the setting of online purchase, customers do not get to see or visit a physical store, nor the tangible goods. Coupled with the high number of sellers offering similar products or services, the competition among sellers is intense. A unique business model is needed if a seller were to stand out profitably among the rest. Through our model that consists of shopping enjoyment, trust and viral effect, data were collected online and analyzed via structural equation modeling. The result allows social commerce vendors to fine tune their business model to achieve higher purchase intention on their commerce sites. Shopping enjoyment includes quality and accessibility of websites, value of products and services offered, most importantly, the integration of user feedback, review and rating system. Online trust, on the other hand can be determined by the trustworthiness of seller. High level determinants like integrity, concern, aligned values and communication predicts trustworthiness and trust; while low level determinants like consistency and competence predicts trustworthiness. Viral effect subsequently amplifies the reach of social commerce sites via user’s word of mouth, leading to higher purchase intention