Social Comparison with Influencers and the Spending Spiral: Materialism, Buying Behaviour, and Financial Stress among Malaysian Young Adults

HRMARS - Purpose: To investigate how social comparison with social media influencers relates to materialism and three buying tendencies, compulsive, impulsive, and conspicuous, and how these behaviours link to financial stress among Malaysian young adults. It integrates Social Comparison Theory and Cultivation Theory to explain the psychological and behavioural mechanisms linking influencer exposure to financial strain. Design/methodology/approach: Cross-sectional online survey of 202 Malaysian followers of social media influencers (aged 18–25) using purposive sampling. PLS-SEM in SmartPLS assessed measurement and structural models; reliability and validity met conventional thresholds. Findings: Social comparison significantly increased materialism and directly predicted compulsive, impulsive, and conspicuous buying. Materialism partially mediated the effects of social comparison on compulsive and impulsive buying but not on conspicuous buying. Among the three consumption behaviours, conspicuous and compulsive buying were the strongest predictors of financial stress, whereas impulsive buying showed no significant impact. Research limitations/implications: The cross-sectional design and focus on Malaysian youth limit causal inference and generalisability. Future research should adopt longitudinal or cross-cultural approaches. Practical implications: The findings highlight the need for targeted interventions promoting financial literacy and responsible consumption among young adults exposed to influencer marketing. Originality/value: This study provides an integrated model that demonstrates how social comparison and materialism jointly shape distinct consumption behaviours and financial outcomes within the influencer economy.