Exposure to Social Network Services (SNS) in modern society facilitates the formation of online relationships and the experience of necessary information. This serves as a factor that enhances users' emotional immersion, informativeness, and trustwort...
Exposure to Social Network Services (SNS) in modern society facilitates the formation of online relationships and the experience of necessary information. This serves as a factor that enhances users' emotional immersion, informativeness, and trustworthiness. The development of SNS has become an influential tool that affects users' lifestyles and consumption behavior, consequently having a significant impact on promotion and marketing strategies. The aT Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation analyzed the feeling of FOMO Syndrome (Fear of Missing Out) from a consumer sentiment and marketing perspective, observing that recent consumers frequently engage in "open runs" and SNS authentication shots. This analysis suggests that consumers feel marginalized and left behind if they do not follow the latest popular places and hot trends, to the extent that places are often described as "photo-worthy restaurants" rather than simply focusing on food taste. SNS-centric authentication shots have become a trend, with users playing a powerful role in information dissemination.
This study aims to investigate the structural relationships of SNS information characteristics on users' perceived variables (usefulness, ease of use, enjoyment), continuous use intention, and online word-of-mouth intention within the bakery café industry, which has recently emerged as a key marketing channel. The research model established SNS information characteristics (vividness, consonance, recency, and playfulness) as exogenous variables. A survey was conducted targeting consumers with experience using bakery café SNS, and hypotheses were tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Multi-group Analysis.
First, among the SNS information characteristics, vividness, recency, and playfulness had a significant positive (+) effect on perceived usefulness, but consonance was not significant. Second, recency was confirmed as a core variable, significantly affecting not only perceived usefulness but also perceived enjoyment. Third, both perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment had a significant positive (+) effect on continuous use intention, which reflects the customer's intent to continue using the SNS and visiting the café. Fourth, perceived ease of use did not have a significant effect on continuous use intention, suggesting that convenience is already a basic expectation in SNS information consumption. Fifth, continuous use intention ultimately had a significant positive (+) effect on online word-of-mouth intention, which is the intention to recommend and share information with others.
This research empirically demonstrated that both the practical value (usefulness) of information and the experiential value (enjoyment) of the information consumption process are integrally important in determining customers' long-term behavioral intentions regarding the use of bakery café SNS. These results emphasize the importance for marketers of creating content that combines recency and playfulness, and propose practical directions for online word-of-mouth dissemination through strategies that induce continuous use based on a loyal customer base, rather than relying on one-time promotion.