From business-to-consumer interactions to brand equity: driving social commerce purchase intentions

This study integrates the stimuli organism response (SOR) model with the consumer brand-based equity (CBBE) model to research the impact of B2C interaction on consumers’ retailer brand equity and its subsequent influence on purchase intention in social commerce platforms. The study employed a survey design to collect data from 421 respondents with purchase experiences in social commerce platforms in Tanzania. The collected data were analysed by using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that B2C interaction positively and significantly affects retailers’ brand awareness and image. Consequently, both retailer-brand awareness and image affect consumers’ loyalty to retailers. Besides, the established loyalty to retailers impacts consumers’ purchasing intention on social commerce platforms. While most studies explain consumer product brand equity, this study cross-fertilises the SOR model with the CBBE model to explain how social media interactions between retailers and consumers impact retailers’ brand equity, particularly brand awareness, image, and loyalty. It further explains the subsequent effect of loyalty on purchase intentions.