The Impact of Marketing Stimuli and Consumer Personality on Impulse Buying in Digital Shopping Environment : An Analysis of the Moderating Effect of Referrer Trustworthiness

According to the consumer lifestyle indicators released in South Korea in 2024, 7 out of 10 consumers have experienced digital consumption. In a digital shopping environment characterized by social media, short-form content, and one-click shopping, impulsive purchases have become a common consumer practice. This underscores the need for new research on digital impulse buying. This study aims to empirically analyze the effects of marketing stimuli, consumer personality, and recommender credibility on impulse buying in a digital shopping environment. For the research, we conducted frequency analysis, exploratory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis using SPSS Win Ver2 8.0 on a valid sample of 308 general consumers. The empirical analysis results are as follows: First, among the sub-variables of marketing stimuli, aesthetics was found to have a positive effect on impulse buying. Second, among the sub-variables of consumer personality, neuroticism, conformity, and hedonism were found to have a positive effect on impulse buying. Third, the credibility of the recommender was found to have a positive effect on impulse buying through the interactions of openness to experience × recommender credibility and conformity × recommender credibility, confirming a pure moderating effect. Based on the results of this study, the academic and practical implications are as follows: Academically, the study demonstrates that aesthetics positively influences impulse buying as a stimulating factor in a digital shopping environment, and it proves the importance of social relationships by verifying the interaction between conformity and recommender credibility. Practically, it highlights the importance of enhancing the visual appeal of health foods, developing customized promotions tailored to the target consumers' personalities, and selecting credible and influential product recommenders to drive impulse purchases.