From encounter to action: understanding consumer information encountering behavior on short video platforms using the AIDA model

Purpose The advent of social commerce has precipitated a paradigm shift in consumers' acquisition of product information. This shift has particularly impacted short-video platforms, which have become one of the most convenient and important sources for consumers to encounter promotional videos. Information encounter (IE) is an important trigger for short video users' unanticipated consumption behavior. This study aims to explore the formation mechanism and influence factors of consumer information encountering behavior (CIEB) in short video platforms. Design/methodology/approach Twenty-three short video users were selected as participants using semi-structured interviews, and the interview data were analyzed by three-level coding with the help of grounded theory, identifying a total of 55 concepts, 22 subcategories and 8 main categories. Findings Combined with the Attention-Interest-Desire-Action (AIDA) model and the IE episodes provided by Erdelez, this study finally constructs a process model of users' CIEB in short video platforms, including four stages: information attention, interest attraction, desire activation and action implementation. In addition, the influencing factors of users' CIEB in short video platforms can be categorized into four aspects: first is the individual factors including consumption level, consumer decision-making patterns, information literacy and user real-time status; second is the information-related factors including information credibility and information quality, among which information credibility is particularly critical in CIEB in short video platforms, and information credibility includes uploader, store and brand credibility; third is the platform-related factors mainly include algorithmic recommendations and quality of platform services, and finally the environmental factors include previous activities. Originality/value The findings of the study not only deepen users' recognition of their consumption process but also provide a theoretical basis and practical implications for short video commerce to further optimize and enhance the consumption experience.