Revisiting a Popular Retailing Strategy in a New Retail Context: The Backfiring Effects of Creating a Perception of Scarcity

Purpose: This study aims to (1) conduct a comprehensive investigation into the relationships among pre-purchase motivation (i.e., perceived scarcity), ongoing purchase behavior (i.e., unplanned buying), and post-purchase outcomes (i.e., regret), and (2) examine the moderating effects of product involvement on the relationships between perceived scarcity and post-purchase regret, as well as unplanned buying and post-purchase regret in the e-tailing environment. Research design, data and methodology: Data were collected through an online survey administered to 300 respondents aged 20 or older residing in Korea. The data were analyzed using PROCESS Model 1 and Model 4 to test five hypotheses. Results: The findings confirmed all five proposed hypotheses as significant, highlighting significant roles of perceived scarcity and unplanned buying in generating post-purchase regret. Product involvement was found to moderate the relationships between perceived scarcity and post-purchase regret, and between unplanned buying and post-purchase regret. Conclusions: This study provides critical insights into the interactive dynamics of perceived scarcity, unplanned buying, and postpurchase regret in the retail context, with a specific focus on live streaming commerce. These findings have significant implications for e-tailers, enabling them to devise effective retail management and optimize marketing campaigns in this emerging retail format.