Winter Journal: Imwi Student Research Journal e-ISSN: 2723-8709 Vol .
No.
1, 2026
Persuasive Communication.
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), and Impulse Buying in Live Shopping: A Literature Review Adinda Astari*.
Azhar Malik.
Muhammad Ibrahim LSPR Institute of Communication and Business Jakarta.
Indonesia Email: adindaastariofficial@gmail.
com*, saintgladstone@gmail.
ibrahimmuhammad515@gmail.
Keywords:
Persuasive communication.
FOMO.
impulse buying.
social commerce Abstract The development of live shopping has brought significant changes to business communication patterns and consumer behavior in the era of social commerce.
Direct interaction between hosts and audiences through digital platforms such as TikTok and Shopee creates a form of persuasive communication capable of influencing emotions and consumer purchasing decisions rapidly.
This study aims to analyze the relationship between persuasive communication.
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), and impulse buying behavior in digital live shopping The research employs a qualitative approach using a literature study method, reviewing various national and international journals published between 2020 and 2025.
Data were obtained from academic databases such as Google Scholar.
ScienceDirect.
Scopus, and ResearchGate.
The results indicate that persuasive communication by live shopping hosts plays a critical role in capturing attention, fostering emotional engagement, and building consumer trust.
Communication strategies employed include emotional appeal, urgency marketing, scarcity strategy, social proof, and real-time interaction with the audience.
Moreover, live shopping features such as countdown timers, limited stock, flash sales, and notifications of other usersAo purchase activities reinforce consumersAo sense of FOMO.
This psychological condition, in turn, encourages impulse buying, leading to spontaneous purchases without prior planning.
Applying the S-O-R (StimulusAeOrganismAeRespons.
model, these stimuli trigger FOMO as the organism and generate unplanned purchases as the Therefore, the success of live shopping depends not only on product quality but also on creating interactive, emotional, and socially engaging digital experiences.
INTRODUCTION
Digital transformation has brought significant changes to business activities and global marketing communications.
The development of information technology, social media, and e-commerce has shifted the interaction patterns between companies and consumers toward faster, more interactive, and digitally immersive experiences.
One rapidly growing phenomenon in recent years is live shopping, or live commerce, a digital marketing method that enables real-time interaction between sellers and consumers through live broadcast features on platforms such as TikTok.
Shopee, and Instagram.
Live shopping functions not only as a transactional medium but also as an interactive communication space that integrates entertainment, promotion, and social experiences within a single digital ecosystem (Elsholiha et al.
, 2.
The live shopping phenomenon is expanding quickly because it offers a more personalized and interactive shopping experience compared to conventional e-commerce (Arizka et al.
, 2.
In live shopping, the host serves as a communicator who actively fosters emotional closeness with the audience through product demonstrations, direct interactions, persuasive language, and promotional strategies that encourage real-time According to Masitoh et al.
, live streaming allows broadcasters to shape audience perceptions more naturally and transparently, as communication occurs in real time without extensive visual engineering.
This dynamic enhances consumer confidence in product information, increasing the likelihood of spontaneous purchase From a business communication perspective, live shopping reflects a shift from traditional one-way marketing communication to interactive and participatory Hosts not only convey product information but also employ persuasive communication techniques, including emotional appeal, storytelling, urgency marketing, social proof, and calls to action, to influence consumer emotions and behavior.
Strategies such as "stock is limited," "promo only tonight," or "checkout now before it runs out" are designed to create psychological pressure and a sense of urgency in consumersAo decisionmaking processes.
Research by Lie et al.
indicates that persuasive communication in live commerce strongly affects purchase intention and customer engagement because consumers feel directly involved in digital interactions (Jamal and Lodhi, 2.
The growth of live shopping is further supported by the increasing presence of Generation Z in the digital commerce ecosystem.
Born between 1997 and 2012.
Generation Z are digital natives with high technological adaptability and frequent social media usage.
A survey by Populix .
found that the 18Ae28-year-old age group dominates online shopping in Indonesia, contributing over 60% of digital transactions.
Their high engagement with social media exposes them to various digital promotions, including flash sales, live streaming, influencer endorsements, and social commerce, while also increasing susceptibility to consumptive behavior and impulse purchases.
A key psychological phenomenon linked to digital consumption is Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), defined as the anxiety or fear of missing experiences, trends, or opportunities that others are enjoying (Hodkinson, 2.
FOMO arises from digital social impulses, creating a perception that individuals must remain constantly connected to avoid social exclusion.
In live shopping.
FOMO is reinforced through features such as countdown timers, limited stock notifications, live viewer counts, other usersAo purchase histories, and real-time comments showing high interest in products.
This creates emotional pressure, encouraging consumers to purchase immediately before losing access to products or promotions (Hikam et al.
, 2.
FOMO is closely associated with impulse buying, which refers to spontaneous purchases made without prior planning, often driven by emotional stimuli.
Chaudhary et .
note that impulse buying commonly occurs when consumers experience strong emotional stimulation during digital consumption.
In live shopping, the combination of persuasive host communication, time-limited promotions, and digital social pressure motivates consumers to make unplanned purchases.
Cengiz and Senel .
emphasized that FOMO is a dominant factor influencing Generation ZAos impulse buying, particularly on TikTok and Instagram.
Moreover, live streaming creates an emotionally engaging and entertaining atmosphere, further increasing the tendency for spontaneous purchases (Andika et al.
, 2.
The relationship between persuasive communication.
FOMO, and impulse buying can be explained using the StimulusAeOrganismAeResponse (S-O-R) framework.
This model posits that external stimuli influence an individualAos psychological state .
, leading to specific behavioral responses.
In live shopping, hostsAo persuasive communication, time-limited promotions, and interactive live streaming features act as stimuli that trigger FOMO as the organism, resulting in impulse buying as the behavioral Adyantary et al.
found that scarcity marketing and discount offers in live streaming significantly increase consumer FOMO and drive spontaneous purchases.
Although much research exists on impulse buying in e-commerce, most studies have focused on conventional e-commerce and traditional retail in countries such as the United States.
China, and Taiwan (Chen et al.
, 2.
Research on impulse buying in social commerce and live shopping, particularly in developing countries such as Indonesia, remains limited.
Additionally, prior studies have generally focused on oneway promotional factors, such as discounts or flash sales, without examining the dynamics of interactive communication in live shopping (Rasyiddin et al.
, 2.
For example.
Chandra et al.
studied FOMO within the S-O-R framework in e-commerce flash sales, but their research was limited to non-interactive stimuli.
In live shopping, consumers not only receive promotional stimuli but also engage in real-time digital social interaction through host communication, other user comments, and virtual social pressures.
Therefore, examining the relationship between persuasive communication.
FOMO, and impulse buying in live shopping is essential for understanding modern digital consumer behavior.
Based on this discussion, the present study aims to analyze the relationship between persuasive communication.
FOMO, and impulse buying in live shopping using a literature review approach.
This research is expected to contribute theoretically to digital business communication and consumer behavior studies in social commerce and provide practical guidance for digital marketers in designing effective live commerce strategies.
RESEARCH METHODS
This research employs a qualitative approach using the literature review method to analyze the relationship between persuasive communication.
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), and impulse buying behavior in live shopping activities on digital platforms.
The literature study method was chosen for its ability to provide an in-depth theoretical understanding by studying, comparing, and synthesizing various previous studies relevant to the research topic.
Creswell .
explains that literature studies serve to integrate the findings of prior research to construct a conceptual foundation for understanding specific In this study, a literature review is utilized to trace the development of research on persuasive communication in live shopping and its impact on consumer behavior in the digital era.
Research data were obtained through secondary sources, including national and international journal articles, conference proceedings, and other scientific publications pertinent to the research theme.
Literature collection was conducted via academic databases such as Google Scholar.
ScienceDirect.
Scopus, and ResearchGate, using keywords including "persuasive communication," "live shopping," "Fear of Missing Out," "FOMO," "impulse buying," and "social commerce.
" Selected literature was limited to articles published between 2020 and 2025 to reflect the latest developments in live commerce and digital consumer behavior.
Articles were further screened based on topic relevance, source credibility, and alignment with the research focus.
Data analysis was conducted using thematic analysis, which involves identifying, grouping, and synthesizing the primary themes across the reviewed studies.
The analysis process included in-depth reading of the literature, identification of key concepts, comparison of research findings, and compilation of a synthesis to explain the relationship between persuasive communication.
FOMO, and impulse buying in live shopping.
Additionally, this study applies the StimulusAeOrganismAeResponse (S-O-R) framework as a theoretical basis to explain how stimuli, in the form of persuasive communication and live shopping features, influence consumersAo psychological states (FOMO) and consequently produce behavioral responses .
mpulse buyin.
To ensure data validity, source triangulation was employed by comparing results from multiple relevant national and international journals.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of the literature study indicate that the development of live shopping has transformed digital marketing communication patterns to be more interactive, personalized, and emotionally engaging.
Within the social commerce ecosystem, live shopping functions not only as a transactional medium but also as a digital communication space that enables real-time interaction between hosts and consumers.
Unlike conventional e-commerce, which tends to be static, live shopping facilitates twoway communication through live product demonstrations, comment sections, spontaneous host responses, and the use of various digital persuasion strategies (Asyifa et al.
, 2.
The success of live shopping is highly influenced by the hostAos ability to create interactive and persuasive communication during broadcasts.
Host-driven communication not only conveys product information but also builds emotional closeness, enhances audience engagement, and fosters consumer trust in the promoted Li et al.
explain that hosts in live commerce act as digital social stimuli capable of influencing consumersAo emotional responses through direct interpersonal Practically, hosts employ strategies such as emotional language, storytelling, humor, recommendations, and promotional tactics based on time constraints and product scarcity to motivate audiences psychologically.
Phrases such as "the deal ends soon," "stock is very limited," or "checkout now" are designed to heighten consumersAo sense of Additionally, research by Mutmainah and Nadlifatin .
shows that real-time interaction between hosts and audiences increases social presence and perceived trust, making consumers feel more confident and comfortable when transacting on live shopping platforms.
Beyond persuasive communication.
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) emerges as a dominant psychological factor influencing consumer behavior in live shopping.
FOMO
occurs when individuals feel anxious about missing out on experiences, trends, or opportunities that others are enjoying digitally.
In live shopping.
FOMO is reinforced by platform features such as countdown timers, flash sales, limited stock, live viewer counts, transaction histories of other buyers, and real-time comments reflecting high audience This creates virtual social pressure, motivating consumers to purchase immediately to avoid being Auleft behind.
Ay Widiatmo and Wu .
note that social media and social commerce foster a digital consumption culture based on social connectivity, increasing individualsAo susceptibility to FOMO.
This effect is particularly pronounced among Generation Z, who exhibit high social media engagement and integrate digital experiences into their social identities.
Cengiz and Senel .
confirm that Generation Z is especially vulnerable to FOMO in social commerce due to a strong need for social validation and digital trend participation.
Consequently, in live shopping, consumer purchases are driven not only by functional needs but also by the fear of missing out on promotions, viral trends, or collective real-time experiences.
FOMO in this context is both an individual psychological phenomenon and a product of digital social dynamics created through user interactions on live commerce platforms.
The interaction between persuasive communication and FOMO further contributes to impulse buying behavior in live shopping.
According to the StimulusAeOrganismAe Response (S-O-R) framework, the hostAos persuasive communication, interactive live streaming features, and time-limited promotions act as external stimuli, influencing consumersAo psychological states through excitement, urgency, and FOMO.
These psychological responses then generate behavioral outcomes in the form of impulse Adyantary et al.
found that scarcity marketing and time-limited discounts in live shopping significantly enhance consumersAo tendencies toward impulse buying, often resulting in unplanned purchases driven by emotional urges.
Furthermore, the entertainment element in live shopping, or shoppertainment, is a crucial factor affecting impulsive consumer behavior.
Consumers enjoy live shopping not only for the products offered but also for the entertainment, social interaction, and engaging digital Andika et al.
observed that live streaming features on digital platforms create emotional stimulation that accelerates spontaneous purchase decisions, particularly among younger consumers.
Therefore, impulse buying in live shopping is influenced not solely by rational needs but also by emotional experiences and digital social pressures formed through persuasive communication and FOMO.
Table 1.
Synthesis of Previous Research Results related to Persuasive Communication.
FOMO, and Impulse Buying in Live Shopping Researcher Li et al.
Mutmainah & Nadlifatin Zhang & Rosli Sofiana Hayu .
Adyantary .
Diego Hidayat .
Research Focus
Key Findings Relevance to Research
Impulse buying on Real-time interaction and Demonstrating streaming host
communication importance of persuasive improve impulse purchase communication in live
Trust
and Social presence and host Strengthening the role of increase digital intention in live consumer trust
FOMO in digital Social media increases Explaining social anxiety and fear of psychological being left behind
mechanisms of FOMO
FOMO
in FOMO has a significant Showing the vulnerability Generation Z
effect on Gen Z's impulse of Generation Z in social
Scarcity Limited-time promos Explain the relationship
marketing dalam trigger
FOMO
and between stimulus and live shopping impulse purchases consumer response Live streaming Live streaming feature Strengthening consumer enhances consumers' influence emotional stimulation impulse buying Source: Processed by researchers Based on the synthesis of previous research in Table 1, it is evident that persuasive communication.
FOMO, and impulse buying are closely integrated within the digital live shopping ecosystem.
Most studies indicate that host communication in live shopping serves as a key stimulus capable of fostering consumer emotional engagement through real-time interactions, social presence, and digital interpersonal approaches.
Additionally, platform features such as limited stock, flash sales, and countdown timers reinforce FOMO, which subsequently encourages impulse buying behavior.
These findings demonstrate that consumersAo purchasing decisions in live shopping are no longer entirely rational, but are influenced by emotional factors and digital social pressures.
The literature also highlights that the rise of live shopping has transformed the paradigm of digital business communication from merely delivering product information to creating immersive and participatory communication experiences.
In live commerce, hosts act not only as sellers but also as entertainers, influencers, and opinion leaders who establish emotional connections with the audience.
This underscores the importance of digital interpersonal communication skills in determining the success of modern digital Spontaneous interactions, authentic communication styles, and the ability to cultivate emotional closeness are critical factors in enhancing consumer engagement.
Research by Li et al.
indicates that consumers tend to trust product recommendations delivered interactively and directly, compared to conventional digital These insights show that live shopping has introduced a novel form of marketing communication that integrates entertainment, social interaction, and economic transactions within a single digital space.
Table 2.
Persuasive forms of communication in live shopping Forms of Communication Emotional Appeal Scarcity Strategy Urgency Marketing Social Proof Call to Action Real-Time Interaction Examples of Practices in Live Impact on Consumers Shopping "This product makes the skin Build glow in a week" "Stock left 10 pcs" Giving rise to fear of loss "Promo is only valid tonight" Accelerate purchasing decisions "5,000 products sold today" Increase consumer confidence "Checkout now before it runs Drive direct purchase actions Answer audience comments Increase emotional closeness Source : processed by researcher Table 2 shows that persuasive communication in live shopping is implemented through various digital communication strategies designed to influence consumer emotions and behavior.
Emotional appeal strategies are used to foster emotional attachment to products, while scarcity strategies and urgency marketing create psychological pressure that encourages consumers to make immediate purchases.
Additionally, social proof and real-time interaction enhance trust and social closeness between the host and the audience.
The combination of these strategies demonstrates that the success of live shopping relies not only on product quality but also on the hostAos ability to deliver a persuasive and interactive communication experience.
However, the study also highlights potential negative effects of intensive persuasive communication and FOMO in live shopping.
Continuous digital social pressure can increase consumptive behavior, lead to compulsive purchases, and diminish consumer self-control in decision-making.
Consumers often make purchases not out of necessity but due to temporary emotional impulses triggered by time-limited promotions and virtual social influences (Soleha and Sagir, 2.
This situation illustrates that live shopping affects not only consumersAo economic behavior but also their psychological state and consumption patterns in modern digital Therefore, it is crucial for consumers to develop digital literacy and self-control skills to navigate the various persuasive strategies employed in social commerce.
Simultaneously, digital business practitioners must consider the ethical aspects of marketing communication, ensuring that live shopping strategies are not solely salesoriented but also account for consumersAo psychological well-being (Ariska et al.
, 2.
Based on the above, the results of this study indicate that persuasive communication.
FOMO, and impulse buying are three interrelated elements within the digital live shopping ecosystem.
HostsAo persuasive communication acts as a key stimulus, fostering emotional engagement and digital social pressure on consumers.
FOMO
functions as a psychological mechanism that reinforces spontaneous buying impulses, while impulse buying emerges as a behavioral response resulting from the combination of these factors.
These findings demonstrate that live shopping represents a transformative shift in digital business communication, where marketing success depends not only on product quality but also on the ability to create interactive, emotional, and socially engaging digital communication experiences.
CONCLUSION
The development of live shopping within the social commerce ecosystem has brought significant changes to digital business communication practices and consumer Based on the results of this literature study, persuasive communication by live shopping hosts plays a critical role in capturing attention, fostering emotional engagement, and building consumer trust during transactions.
Communication strategies such as emotional appeal, urgency marketing, scarcity tactics, social proof, and real-time interaction have been shown to provide a more interactive shopping experience compared to conventional e-commerce.
Additionally.
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) acts as a psychological mechanism that reinforces impulse buying among live shopping Features such as flash sales, countdown timers, limited stock, and notifications of other usersAo purchasing activities create digital social pressure, prompting consumers to make spontaneous purchases without prior planning.
This study has several limitations.
First, the data are not supported by direct empirical evidence from live shopping consumers, as the study relies solely on literature Second, the literature is predominantly focused on specific platforms, such as TikTok and Shopee, and primarily examines Generation Z, which may not fully represent the behavior of all consumers in the digital live commerce ecosystem.
To address these limitations, future research is encouraged to employ diverse methods, such as case studies, surveys, and mixed-method approaches.
Further studies could also expand the scope to include additional digital platforms, compare consumer behavior across generations and countries, and explore other relevant variables, such as trust, parasocial interaction, customer engagement, digital addiction, and shoppertainment.
These approaches would contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of digital business communication and consumer behavior in the era of live commerce.
REFERENCES