Florida International University

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The fear of missing out (FOMO), defined as “a pervasive apprehension that others may be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent” (Przybylski et al., 2013), has been seen as a motivator for individuals to take action. This paper focuses on consumers’ experiential purchase decisions motivated by FOMO. More specifically, we explore the situational factors that can lead to higher levels of FOMO including the social group (i.e., close vs. distant) and type of experiences (i.e., ordinary vs. extraordinary). We also distinguish FOMO from anticipated regret. Given that there is little empirical consumer research on FOMO, it is important to clearly identify FOMO’s antecedents in order to further understand this phenomenon. The results of two empirical studies showed that purchase intent is higher when participants imagined that their close, rather than their distant, social group will attend an event. Findings further demonstrate that FOMO mediates the relationship between social group and purchase intent.

Reviewed by Centre Sukha ↗ · November 7, 2022