"Seeing The Real Presence Of Products From Kocs Video, I Often Trust And Buy Immediately”: The Rising Of Tiktok Shop And Kocs - Factors Affecting Customers’ Smart Purchase Intentions And Satisfaction On Platform

Abstract

The role of influencers in consumer purchasing decisions has become increasingly important as social media continues to grow and online shopping behavFior rises. Alongside Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), Key Opinion Consumers (KOCs) have recently gained popularity for their characteristics of sharing real, expert, and objective experiences from the consumer's standpoint. KOCs appear on various social media platforms, with TikTok being the most prominent. With the recent emergence of TikTok Shop – an online shopping channel, the influence of KOCs on purchase intentions and satisfaction has become more evident. Based on qualitative research, the provision of information and rhetoric of KOCs are identified as the most significant factors impacting consumer decisions. Combining the characteristic traits of KOCs with the media usefulness of the TikTok platform, we constructed a model revolving around these two factors to measure their impact on consumer purchase intentions and satisfaction. We collected data and employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to test hypotheses based on the StimulusOrganism-Response (SOR) framework. In the constructed variables, the characteristics of KOCs along with the traits of the TikTok platform were positively correlated with consumer intention and satisfaction. Moderating variables such as brand familiarity and economic crises were also considered to evaluate their impact on the model. Consequently, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of how the features of KOCs combined with platform factors influence consumers and proposes practical implications, identifying the factors that KOCs and the TikTok Shop platform should focus on to attract more consumers.