This study develops a comprehensive conceptual framework to examine the impact of social commerce on consumers’ purchase intention within Pakistan’s restaurant industry. Drawing on Trust Transfer Theory and Social Exchange Theory, the research investigates how key factors—source credibility, brand trust, and sociability—influence customer engagement and, ultimately, purchase intention. The study further incorporates customer engagement as a mediating variable and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) as a moderating variable to provide a deeper understanding of consumer behavior in digital environments. With the rapid growth of internet penetration and social media usage in Pakistan, social commerce has emerged as a critical platform for interaction, information sharing, and transactional activities. This shift has transformed traditional e-commerce into a more interactive and relationship-driven ecosystem, where consumer decisions are influenced by peer interactions, reviews, and perceived credibility of information sources. The proposed model highlights the interconnected roles of trust, social interaction, and psychological triggers in shaping purchase intentions. It contributes to existing literature by integrating emerging digital constructs such as customer engagement and FOMO into the social commerce framework. From a practical perspective, the study offers valuable insights for marketers to design effective digital strategies that enhance engagement, build trust, and drive consumer decisions. However, the framework remains conceptual and requires empirical validation. Future research should employ quantitative methods to test the proposed relationships and expand applicability across industries and regions.
Akram, U. (2021). "Online purchase intention in Chinese social commerce platforms: Being emotional or rational?" Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 63: 102669.
Ap, J. (1992). "Residents' perceptions on tourism impacts." Annals of Tourism Research 19(4): 665-690.
Bianchi, C. (2017). "Consumer intentions to engage in s-commerce: a cross-national study." Journal of marketing management 33(5-6): 464-494.
Blais, J. J. (2008). "Adolescents online: The importance of Internet activity choices to salient relationships." Journal of youth and adolescence 37(5): 522-536.
Blau, P. M. (1964). "Justice in social exchange." Sociological inquiry 34(2).
Bonaparte, Y. (2025). "Catching the FoMO Fever: A Look at Fear in Finance." Journal of Portfolio Management 51(4).
Cheek, J. M. and A. H. Buss (1981). "Shyness and sociability." Journal of personality and social psychology 41(2): 330.
Faraoni, M. (2019). "Exploring e-Loyalty Antecedents in B2C e-Commerce: Empirical results from Italian grocery retailers." British Food Journal 121(2): 574-589.
Hollebeek, L. D. (2011). "Demystifying customer brand engagement: Exploring the loyalty nexus." Journal of marketing management 27(7-8): 785-807.
Hollebeek, L. D. (2019). "Developing business customer engagement through social media engagement-platforms: An integrative SD logic/RBV-informed model." Industrial Marketing Management 81: 89-98.
Jacobsen, S. (2018). "Why did I buy this? The effect of WOM and online reviews on post purchase attribution for product outcomes." Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing.
Lambe, C. J. (2001). "Social exchange theory and research on business-to-business relational exchange." Journal of business-to-business marketing 8(3): 1-36.
Mainardes, E. W. (2020). "Antecedents and consequents of consumers not adopting e-commerce." Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 55: 102138.
Mayer, R. C. (1995). "An integrative model of organizational trust." Academy of management review 20(3): 709-734.
Meilatinova, N. (2021). "Social commerce: Factors affecting customer repurchase and word-of-mouth intentions." International Journal of Information Management 57: 102300.
Mumuni, A. G. (2019). "Antecedents of consumers’ reliance on online product reviews." Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing 13(1): 26-46.
Ngo, H. M. (2020). "Effects of industry-level factors, brand credibility and brand reputation on brand trust in safe food: evidence from the safe vegetable sector in Vietnam." British Food Journal 122(9): 2993-3007.
Oh, H. J. (2023). "Social benefits of living in the metaverse: The relationships among social presence, supportive interaction, social self-efficacy, and feelings of loneliness." Computers in human behavior 139: 107498.
Rahmawati, U. (2024). "The Influence of Herding, Loss Aversion, And Availability on Investment Decision-Making with Fear of Missing Out as a Mediating Variable Among Generation Z Investors." Indonesian Interdisciplinary Journal of Sharia Economics (IIJSE) 7(3): 8461-8482.
Schlosser, A. E. (2006). "Converting web site visitors into buyers: how web site investment increases consumer trusting beliefs and online purchase intentions." Journal of Marketing 70(2): 133-148.
Simmel, G. (1949). "The sociology of sociability." American journal of sociology 55(3): 254-261.
Stewart, K. J. (2003). "Trust transfer on the world wide web." Organization science 14(1): 5-17.
Visentin, M. (2019). "Fake news, real problems for brands: The impact of content truthfulness and source credibility on consumers’ behavioral intentions toward the advertised brands." Journal of interactive marketing 45(1): 99-112.
Zhang, Y. (2019). "Antecedents and role of individual sociability on participation in mobile collaborative consumption." Internet Research 29(5): 1064-1089.
Zhao, J.-D. (2019). "The effects of trust on consumers’ continuous purchase intentions in C2C social commerce: A trust transfer perspective." Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 50: 42-49.
Chohan, B. A., & Sulaiman, Z. (2026). Social Commerce in the Restaurant Industry: Exploring the Influence of Trust, Sociability, Customer Engagement, and FOMO on Purchase Intention. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 16(6), 287–296.
Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s)
Published by Knowledge Words Publications (www.kwpublications.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
