From scrolling to buying: Role of beauty influencers on impulse buying a stimulus-organism-response perspective

Impulse buying has garnered significant attention in the marketing field; however, there remains a gap in understanding this behavior on digital platforms. This study explores how beauty influencer’s personal characteristics on digital platforms contribute to impulse buying behavior in beauty industry. Grounded in the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model, it examines how specific influencer characteristics act as external stimuli that influence perceived trust as a key psychological mechanism (organism), ultimately driving impulse buying behavior. A sample of 296 respondents was collected using a structured questionnaire. Consequently, Smart PLS 4 was employed to test the structural and measurement relationships between the constructs.The empirical findings show that the stimuli, namely, influencers’ trustworthiness and informativeness, have a positive influence on an organism’s perceived trust and lead to impulse buying behavior. Other factors such as influencers’ trendiness, attractiveness, and expertise have a negative influence on an organism’s perceived trust and do not lead to impulse buying.The findings provide beauty industry professionals with deeper insights into how beauty influencers can drive impulse buying behavior. This knowledge can be utilized to develop more effective influencer marketing strategies that capitalize on trust and trendiness to boost sales.