Impulse cues on the Facebook pages of apparel retailers

Abstract

This study examined impulse cues on the Facebook pages of apparel retailers by extending previous research by Dawson & Kim (2010), which examined impulse cues on the websites of top apparel retailers. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between impulse cues (Facebook content that entices consumers to buy) and web sales. The percentage of Facebook traffic website referrals for apparel retailers was also examined. The potentially influential role of impulse cues on web sales is highlighted in this study with distinct marketing implications for apparel retailers. When retailers use impulse cues on Facebook as part of their marketing strategy, they increase the potential for user engagement. The purpose of increasing user engagement is to increase conversion to web sales. The Facebook posts of the top apparel retailers were examined to identify the number of times impulse cues were used over a 30-day period in 2012. The top apparel retailers were extracted from InternetRetailer.com's 2012 Top 500 list. The Top 500 list ranks Internet retailers of all categories (electronics, books, apparel, beauty, etc.) using 2011 web sales data. Additional impulse cue categories were added to Dawson & Kim's original impulse cue categories. The relationship between Facebook likes, comments, and shares and web sales of the retailers' was also analyzed.