Consumer Impulsive Buying Behavior During Shopee Live Streaming in Vietnam: The Role of Flash Sale Promotions and Parasocial Interactions

Live streaming has emerged as a crucial sales channel, attracting millions of viewers and generating significant revenue for brands and sellers. This study explores consumers’ impulsive buying behavior on the Shopee Live platform in Vietnam, employing the stimulus-organism-response framework. The study was conducted in two phases. First, qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions with ten active viewers who make frequent purchases on Shopee Live, providing useful insights into consumer experiences and perspectives. Subsequently, a quantitative study was conducted with 509 eligible participants who were carefully selected to ensure a representative sample of a broader customer base. The collected data were analyzed using SmartPLS 3 software. The study emphasizes the impact of factors such as flash sales and parasocial interaction on emotional arousal, perceived enjoyment, impulsive buying tendencies, and actual impulsive buying behavior. The findings illustrate how the live stream shopping environment can drive consumers’ impulsive buying behavior. We conclude that factors such as flash sales and the degree of parasocial interaction not only enhance perceived enjoyment, but also generate strong emotional arousal, leading to unplanned purchase decisions by customers.