Exploring the Impact of Social Media Sites on Compulsive Shopping Behavior: The Mediating Role of Materialism

Introduction

Compulsive shopping behavior is a contemporary disorder gaining traction among researchers.^1,2 This problematic shopping behavior has increased quickly in recent years, especially among young adults, and has had negative psychological and economic impacts. Compulsive purchasing is a chronic aberrant type of shopping and spending depicted by an excessive, uncontrolled, and persistent need to buy regardless of the consequences.³ Several scholars defined compulsive shopping behavior as an emotional state in which a person who is lonely with low self-esteem and low impulse control looks for excitement.^4–6 Parents, adolescents, decision-makers, and advertisers all across the globe are concerned about the rising level of materialism.^7–9 This paper discusses the antecedents of compulsive purchase behavior and the potential mediation role of materialism. Swift suburbanization, parents’ higher spending power, and the importance of adolescents in the family’s buying choices can all be linked to the causes of materialistic views.^10–13 Researchers have thoroughly researched materialism’s nature,^14,15 antecedents,^16,17 and consequences^18,19 of materialism. Materialism is discussed as an adverse attribute in the marketing field that tends to negatively affect youths’ subjective happiness and fulfillment in life^20,21 and has a positive association with compulsive buying.²² Pupils with a strong sense of materialism are dissatisfied, less pleased, and have a lesser degree of “self-actualization” than pupils who are not as materialistic, according to a poll at the Singapore Business School.²³ The tremendous rise in consumerism among young people has become a societal problem in the past few years²⁴ Dittmar, Bond, Hurst, Kasser¹⁸ discovered that people pick up materialistic values through social learning from social media sites and media, which frequently support materialistic lifestyles. Youth who experience this type of social learning are more likely to be intrigued by cutting-edge items and open to commercials and promotional offers.²⁵ The present generation of kids, according to Schor,²⁶ is “the most brand-oriented, consumer-involved, and materialistic generation in history”. Such pricey object ownership is thought to give the most life happiness to overly materialistic people. The potency of materialism’s influence on young adults’ conduct grows every day. Recent high school graduates, for instance, are more materialistic than Baby Boomers who graduated from high school in the 1970s; 62% of students polled in 2005–07 believe that it is vital to “have a lot of money”, compared to just 48% of students in 1976–78.²⁷ In a similar vein, a UK poll found that youth nowadays tend to be more materialistic than youth in earlier generations.²⁸ The utilization of “social media sites” (SMSs) has significantly amplified during the last ten years.²⁹ Even though social media sites are primarily consumed for societal drives, there is a certain sign to propose that people might feel obliged to spend a lot of money on the opportunity to “maintain” their social media profiles online.²⁹ Youth are especially accountable for using social media sites since they face the danger of being addicted to them.^30,31 It is quite improbable that young people would fully stop using the Internet (and, by extension, SMSs), in contrast to other addictions, as it is an essential part of the modern professional and recreational culture.³² As a result, adolescents’ potential misapplication of social media sites is probable to be a persistent, ever-present problem. Further unfavorable effects of this phenomenon include a greater propensity to engage in both traditional compulsive buying and online compulsive buying.³³ Although the effect of social networking site usage on compulsive intention to buy has been examined by Lee, Park, and Bryan Lee,³ little is known about the relationship between the two behaviors and the underlying mechanisms that underlie it.

Researchers exploring market psychology have paid close attention to compulsive shopping behavior.^34,35 This is due to the harmful psychological effects of compulsive shopping behavior, which disturbs over fifty million United States individuals.¹⁸ The definition of compulsive shopping behavior given by Ninan, Rothbaum, Marsteller, Knight, Eccard³⁶ is “impulsive and compulsive buying of unneeded objects”. Scholars have linked young people’s materialistic beliefs and obsessive shopping behavior to major constructions like TV ads and social media sites (SMSs).^15,37 On the other hand, Yurchisin, Johnson³⁸ discovered that materialism is the primary cause of compulsive shopping intention and consequently influences all consumer purchasing decisions. 5.8% of United States consumers were compulsive shoppers who felt that material possessions are essential for pleasure, success, and self-identity.³⁹ The research environment for this study was Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has experienced a noteworthy demographic transition as a rising economy, with the middle-class income rising and the population’s median age dropping to under.³⁰ The social structure of Saudi Arabia is changing quickly.⁴⁰ Today’s youth value freedom and uniqueness.⁴¹ The prevalence of young people’s psychiatric illnesses and distinctive spending patterns has increased as a result.³¹ Young folks’ increasing propensity for excessive consumption may drive materialism and obsessive shopping. There is less study on materialism in Saudi Arabia, despite the significant research on it among youngsters in industrialized countries. The current study significantly contributes to the body of literature in several ways to fill this research gap. The objectives of this study were to investigate the causes of materialistic views among Saudi Arabian youth, we first offer a conceptual model based on the body of literature already in existence. Secondly, by incorporating numerous antecedents and consequences of materialism among adolescent, we evaluate and validate the conceptual model, broadening the breadth of the research. Thirdly, we concentrate on materialism as a potential mediating variable among TV advertisements, social media sites and university student’s compulsive shopping behavior.

Literature Review and Theoretical Support

Theoretical Support

The theory of reasoned action was employed to support this conceptual framework in this research. Ajzen⁴² suggested this theory. According to this theory, one of the most important indicators of behavioral intention is the attitude toward behavior.^43–45 The definition of attitude is “an internal evaluation of an object such as a branded product”. According to Kaur, Hundal,⁴⁶ customer attitude and behavior toward advertisements influence shopper exposure, attention, and reaction to specific advertisements via several cognitive and emotional processes. Attitudes toward ads, compulsive shopping, and materialism are regularly employed factors in consumer compulsive buying behavior research to predict the efficacy of marketing communications across various media.^47,48

TV Advertisement and Social Media Sites

Advertising is an operational strategy for transforming individual’s opinions and enticing them to a product.⁴⁹ Advertisement is a marketing message that uses television and social media sites to urge customers to continue or adopt an activity through sponsored content.⁵⁰ It is a non-personal way of spreading information about an item or goods a sponsor supplies through media.⁵¹ Oparaugo, Dogo Daji, Kawoh⁵² claimed that advertising is a sponsored, non-personal manner of publicizing concepts, goods or services, ideas, and information via media (verbal and visual) and discovered promoter impact behavior. According to Zhang, Jeong, Olson, Evans,⁵³ an organization’s use of mass media is critical to accomplish communication and marketing objectives, and all-out information about the goods is delivered to the specific market. According to Dangelico, Nonino, Pompei,⁵⁴ the objective of advertising is popular all over the globe. Almost all companies spend money on advertising to get consumers to shop for their goods and services. In line with Išoraitė, Gulevičiūtė,⁵⁵ such advertising is a visual expressing the entire tale or textual form that the spectator cannot overlook, and it is useful for various advertising mediums.

Advertising is a marketing approach used to entice consumers to goods or services. Individuals choose brands with which they have an emotional connection.⁵⁶ You are free to choose your media. Television and social media sites.

1. Television is the quickest means of telecommunication for getting and sending multicolor images and visuals frequently seen by individuals all over the globe.⁵⁷

2. Social Media: Using the most popular platform among consumers, marketers focus their clients by providing links on social media sites.⁵⁸

Materialism

Materialism is a trait of modern civilizations, manifesting as possessiveness, jealousy, and lack of generosity.⁵⁹ Materialism is a personality characteristic that highlights goods as fundamental to a person’s identity and success.⁶⁰ Similarly, Richins⁶¹ defines materialism value as the conviction that acquiring material possessions is a primary life goal, as well as a key to satisfaction and self-definition. The quest for societal status over material things has led to extravagant spending in this competitive society.⁶² Materialists frequently pursue exterior fulfillment through material goods, enlarged financial position, and the utilization of money.¹³ They feel that some material items are required to enjoy life’s pleasures, making them a significant pattern of utilization in which young people consistently utilize material products to transmit their enlarged selves.^63,64 Status consumption, for example, has been discovered to have a substantial optimistic link with materialism among students in Malaysia.⁶⁵ Materialistic people are less content, more willing to use money, more likely to favor borrowing money for lavish items, and more likely to be compulsive consumers.⁶⁶ They have a deep emotional tie to objects and find respite from bad emotions through purchases.

Aside from compulsive purchasing, materialism has been linked to high fashion engagement O’cass,⁶⁷ lavish item purchases Sharda, Bhat,⁶⁸ ostentatious spending, and impulsive shopping.⁶⁹ Materialistic youngsters are always driven to make extravagant purchases since acquiring riches and material possessions is one of their primary objectives in life. They utilize pricey things to symbolize their social standing, reputation, and prosperity. According to researchers, materialistic conduct is elicited in young people by external and internal inputs. According to Kasser, Ryan, Couchman, Sheldon 70, materialistic values are driven by two key factors: socialization inputs and psychological stimuli. Social agents such as social media exposure and television commercials comprise the socialization component. The psychological element, on the other hand, is internal and comprises of stress and subjective well-being.²⁴

Compulsive Shopping Behavior

Compulsive shopping behavior is a contemporary disorder gaining traction among researchers.^1,2 This problematic shopping behavior has increased quickly in recent years, especially among young adults, and has had negative psychological and economic impacts. Compulsive purchasing is a chronic aberrant type of shopping and spending depicted by an excessive, uncontrolled, and persistent need to buy regardless of the consequences.³ Several scholars defined compulsive shopping behavior as an emotional state in which a person who is lonely with low self-esteem and low impulse control looks for excitement.^4–6 Compared to non-compulsive consumers, obsessive buyers feel that owning a costly item is crucial to happiness and success.⁷⁰ The act of purchase, rather than the goods themselves, assists in alleviating the negative state of mind.⁷¹ However, the improvement in mood is only short, as compulsive shoppers expressed feelings of remorse, guilt, and humiliation after a compulsive buying session.^72,73 As a result, a spiteful cycle of adverse mood states followed by buying behavior is created.⁷⁴ Many research treats compulsive shopping as a binary behavior, with customers classified as compulsive or non-compulsive.⁴ However, differences in levels of compulsive buyers may occur. For example, Nataraajan, Goff⁷⁵ argue that compulsive shopping behavior should be treated as a constant variable ranging from low to high. Similarly, Edwards⁷⁶ recognizes five different groups of obsessive consumers, ranging from the least to the most compulsive shopping. Non-compulsive, recreational, borderline, compulsive, and addicted are the levels.

Scholars determined that materialism, television ads, and SNS media exposure might lead to highly compulsive purchase behavior.¹⁸ The present study treats the last two factors as precursors of materialism. Dittmar⁷⁰ concluded that Adults with a substantial predisposition to materialism are also prone to demonstrate compulsive shopping behavior, directing to unrestrained shopping, and this link is the topic of this present research.

Figure 1 shows the proposed research paradigm, in which the mediating role of materialism is explored among the study variables after the direct impacts of TV advertisements and social media sites on compulsive shopping behavior among young people have been evaluated.

Figure 1 Hypothesized model.

TV Advertisements and Compulsive Shopping Behavior

According to Mikołajczak-Degrauwe, Brengman,⁷⁷ buyers are bombarded by hundreds of advertising messages daily. The primary goal of advertising for producers and merchants is to entice customers and encourage them to make purchases. Nevertheless, ensuring that customers view advertising favorably has always been difficult. Various study findings have deduced that individuals’ attitudes toward advertising have been generally unfavorable since the 1970s.^78,79 However, studies have shown that favorable attitudes toward advertising impact attitudes toward the products they promote.⁸⁰ For instance, a costly and effective advertising effort is interpreted as an indication of excellent product quality.⁸¹ Even though advertisements do not precisely enhance readiness to pay, customers are likelier to purchase advertised goods than unadvertised goods.⁸² Advertising may boost a company’s earnings in this way.⁸³

Additionally, studies have shown a link between brand cognition and promotion attitude.^84,85 The intent to purchase a brand is also greatly influenced by one’s attitude toward it.⁸⁵ Therefore, it follows that positive attitudes toward advertising influence intentions to purchase advertised products.

Yüksel, Eroğlu⁸⁶ examined how opinions about advertising and compulsive buying relate. Compulsive purchasing inclinations are conceptualized as producing unfavorable attitudes about advertising. Furthermore, they contend that viewing TV programs and commercials has a moderating effect on this relationship. The latter seems accurate in a sample of Korea but not in America. However, Kwak, Zinkhan, DeLorme⁸⁷ study’s findings surprised us; the authors concluded that CB had a bad relationship with attitudes about advertising based on the findings. But in our conceptualization, we anticipate a favorable relationship. The social comparison hypothesis Festinger⁸⁸ contends that people are fundamentally driven to assess their own beliefs and skills in light of those of others. They could be upward or downward comparisons. Negative self-evaluations result from comparisons with “better” people, whereas positive self-evaluations result from comparisons with “worse” people. Exposure to such commercials may cause an adverse comparison and a stronger desire to buy the promoted material things because most advertising content is made up of idealized pictures.⁸⁹ We think these favorable sentiments can boost compulsive buying in the same manner that optimistic attitudes about commercials fortify the desire to purchase advertised products.⁸⁵ This is because compulsive consumers frequently experience sadness,^90,91 low self-esteem,⁹² and high levels of materialism.¹⁸ They could consequently be more likely to purchase marketed goods due to poor self-evaluation and social comparison (through advertisements). Hence, we postulate that:

H1: TV advertisements are positively correlated with compulsive shopping among university students.

SMSs and Compulsive Shopping Behavior

In the consumer behavior literature, compulsive shopping is well-documented.^4,90,91,93 The phrase itself refers to a chronic, recurrent, and uncontrolled temptation to buy that is largely motivated by negative feelings and is frequently connected with severe psychological, societal, and fiscal effects.^70,92,94 Compulsive buying is a persistent, tricky behavior in which people cannot control compulsive purchasing patterns.^4,95 It occurs when a person feels the urge to buy something without carefully considering whether they need it.^6,24,33 Compulsive shopping has been described as an unhealthy, “senseless” consumer behavior.^73,96,97 In the past few years, there has been some empirical investigation of the emergence of compulsive shopping behaviors among customers.^93,98,99 Earlier research assumed that using the Internet may be equally favorable to “rational” purchases as traditional retailers by reducing marketing distractions and allowing information search of information and price and product evaluations.⁷⁰ However, empirical research demonstrates that the Internet and social media sites can cause compulsive behavior, including compulsive shopping.^73,100,101

“Consumers can shop the world from the comfort of their homes, with unlimited access twenty-four hours a day”. The purchasing procedure is both simple and distant. After credit card information is provided (typically with the option of storing it for future transactions), all that is necessary is a single “click” of a “button”.⁷⁰ In effect, the latest empirical research findings corroborate the latter Hypothesis, indicating that Internet and social media site usage exacerbates such a propensity.^73,102,103 Müller, Arikian, De Zwaan, Mitchell,^104,105 in particular, showed that some Internet use features appear to force customers to make purchases compulsively. The time consumed on online purchasing websites and the overall “severity” of Internet usage are examples of such features.¹⁰⁶ More directly connected to the present research is the discovery that Internet consumers who devote more time to SMSs have a considerably greater propensity for compulsive purchases.¹⁰⁰ In fact, in the existing research, both extensive SMSs and compulsive shopping have been defined as addictive behaviors that are commonly followed by negative repercussions.³³ Henceforth, the subsequent Hypothesis is established.

H2: SMS use has a beneficial impact on compulsive shopping behavior among university students.

Mediating Effect of Materialism

Materialism is a trait of modern civilizations, manifesting as possessiveness, jealousy, and lack of generosity.⁵⁹ Materialism is a personality characteristic that highlights goods as fundamental to a person’s identity and success.⁶⁰ Similarly, Richins⁶¹ defines materialism value as the conviction that acquiring material possessions is a primary life goal, as well as a key to satisfaction and self-definition. Materialism is the view that obtaining material possessions, achieving financial security, achieving status, and projecting the right image are the main objectives of life.²⁴ Materialism is a cognitive type that leads to compulsive shopping, according to the I-PACE model.¹⁰⁷ Compulsive buying can satiate the psychological demands of those with materialistic values and seek material fulfillment.^108,109

This study investigates whether materialism mediates the relationship between several technological elements and compulsive shopping. Theoretical underpinnings supporting the mediating impact of materialism on compulsive behavior have been shown in many research.^66,110,111 Peer communication was evaluated empirically by Weaver, Moschis, Davis¹¹² as a mediating variable between the dependent variables (materialism and obsessive behavior) and the independent factors (gender and family). Materialism was looked at by Kukar-Kinney, Ridgway, Monroe⁷³ as a potential predictor of compulsive shopping.^70,113 Researchers have comprehensively examined how sociological elements like social media sites and TV advertisements are connected to “materialism” and compulsive shopping among adolescents. We suggest that materialism is a potential mediating variable between the sociological aspects of social media sites, TV commercials, and compulsive behavior based on existing literature. Consequently, the following hypotheses are put forth:

H3: Materialism mediates the relationship between television advertisements and compulsive shopping behavior among university students.

Materials and Methods

The present research aims to determine how television advertisements and social media sites (SMSs) influence compulsive shopping behavior systems among university students with the possible mediating impact of materialism. This research is empirical and descriptive. However, this research followed a logical reasoning approach as the basis of the research is connected with current literature. Likewise, this research used a cross-section scheme to collect data from participants. Purposive sampling was used with a survey method to gauge customer response.

Measurement of Variables

The study’s questionnaire was modified based on previously published research. A five point likert scale was used to gauge all the items. We assessed the mediating variable “materialism” utilizing six items from.¹⁵ The “Materialism” variable was evaluated by asking participants to describe how much they agreed with certain statements. For instance, “Acquiring valuable things is important for my happiness”. The independent variable television advertisement impact was evaluated employing four items from.¹¹⁴ A “television advertisement” variable was assessed by asking participants, for instance, “Advertisements help me decide what things to buy”.

The dependent variable, compulsive shopping behavior, was evaluated using five items from.¹¹⁵ The “Compulsive Shopping” variable was assessed by asking participants questions: ”I sometimes feel that something inside is pushing me to go shopping”. Mueller, Mitchell, Peterson, Faber, Steffen, Crosby, Claes⁶ developed an 8-item measure to assess social media site use (independent variable). “Internet” was swapped with “social media sites” to be appropriate for the research (for instance, “I spent more time than I planned using SMS”).³³

Data Collection

The Data for this study were obtained from the students of universities. There were 487 participants. The survey technique was opted to improve the validity of the data. For empirical research, the questionnaire is an appropriate technique for investigating the relationship among studied variables, and questionnaires are usually used by researchers in social sciences.¹¹⁶ The data were collected in the spring of 2023 from university students located in the capital, the financial hub (Riyadh) of Saudi Arabia. Students of universities are the appropriate population for this research, generally as students of universities have leisure time and some more money than students in other kinds of schools.^34,117 A structured questionnaire was dispersed to participants through lectures in the attendance of their teachers. Beforehand, the participants were requested to fill, they were briefed about the introduction of the research’s variables. 68 out of 487 responses were cast off because of the missing data. Henceforth, the ultimate sample included results from 419 participants. Among the participants, 51.2% were male, and 48.8% were female students.

Common Method Bias (CMB)

As data is acquired all at once and from a single source, bias issues may arise that raise serious questions about the study’s validity. The Harman single-factor test was used to examine the biases issue.¹¹⁸ The findings showed that each component of the proposed model could be divided into four factors, with the first factor accounting for just 38.82% of the variance. This statistical number suggests that typical biases should be less than 50%. As a result, there is no bias issue with our statistical data.

Data Analysis and Results

We tested our study hypotheses using a structural equation modeling approach with AMOS 25.0. We first performed “confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)” to assess the appropriateness of the model following Anderson, Gerbing¹¹⁹ suggestion for a two-step SEM technique. The relationship between all the variables was then determined by examining a final structural model that had been suggested. In Table 1, several fit indices, including 2/df, the Tucker-Lewis index (TLI), the comparative fit index (CFI), the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR), the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), were performed.

Table 1 Model Fit Statistics

Descriptive Statistics

Table 2 shows the statistical values for each observed variable for the mean, standard deviation, AVE, and Pearson’s correlations. The mean values varied from 2.91 to 3.41, while the standard deviations ranged from 0.43 to 0.85. Table 2 reveals the strong and substantial relationships between all the study variables. Table 2 also displays the discriminant validity of each component for which empirical “average variance extracted (AVE)” values exceed intercorrelations values and are more than 0.5.¹²⁰

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics and Correlation

Measurement Model Assessment

The standard factor loadings, alpha reliability, and Cronbach’s reliability (CR) of each component are shown in Table 3 of this study’s measurement model, which was verified using “Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)”.¹²¹ TV advertisements, social media sites, materialism, and compulsive intention to buy’s respective alpha coefficients are 0.95, 0.96, 0.95, and 0.97. The proposed alpha is 0.70, yet these alpha are greater.¹²² Whereas standardized factor loadings of TV advertisements varied from 0.73 to 0.89, for social media sites ranged from 0.78 to 0.83, for materialism from 0.74 to 0.83, and for compulsive intention to buy from 0.76 to 0.82. Every factor loading exceeds 0.50¹²² and makes a considerable contribution. The (CR) varied from 0.94 to 0.96 for television advertisements, social media sites, materialism, and compulsive intention to buy, above the recommended threshold of 0.60.¹²³

Table 3 CFA and Measurement Model

Hypothesis Testing

We employed a comprehensive SEM model with maximum likelihood estimation in “AMOS” software to evaluate the hypotheses of our study. At the same time, correlations (given in Table 2) and SEM results corroborated hypotheses 1–2 (shown in Table 4). As indicated by hypothesis 1, there is a substantial positive connection between TV advertisements and the compulsive shopping behavior of university students. We discovered evidence for the first Hypothesis (β = 0.45, t= 7.25, p <0.01), as shown in Table 2 and 4. The second Hypothesis anticipates a positive relationship between social media sites and the compulsive shopping behavior of university students. Hypothesis 2 had support (standardized β = 0.31, t= 7.81, p < 0.01). In the following stage, Hypotheses three and fourth are analyzed by reviewing the 4 Baron, Kenny¹²⁴ prerequisites for mediating analysis: (1) the explanatory variable has to forecast the dependent variable, (2) the projected mediating variable has to be forecasted by the explanatory variable, (3) the projected mediating variable forecast the dependent variable, and (4), the direct relationship between the explanatory variable and the dependent variable has to lessen (if possible need to be not significant for complete mediation) once the mediating variable is inserted.

Table 4 β Coefficients for Testing Hypotheses 1 and 2

As shown in Table 4, TV advertisements accomplished Baron, Kenny¹²⁴ first prerequisite (1), as TV advertisements exhibited substantial paths to compulsive intention to buy (β = 0.45, p < 0.01) and social media sites to compulsive intention to buy (β = 0.31, p < 0.01). Concerning 2nd prerequisite of mediation, materialism accomplishes Baron, Kenny¹²⁴ criteria. In Figure 2, TV advertisements considerably anticipated materialism (β = 0.43, p < 0.01) and social media sites to materialism (β = 0.39, p < 0.01), whereas in the third criterion, the mediating variable, materialism forecasted dependent variable work compulsive intention to buy (β = 0.27, p < 0.01). In the last prerequisite, the direct association between TV advertisements and compulsive intention to buy in the attendance of mediating variable materialism is reduced (from β = 0.45 to β = 0.11) and is numerically significant. It offered partial mediation. Likewise, the direct association between social media sites and compulsive intention to buy in the attendance of mediating variables vanishes and turns insignificant (β = 0.07, see Figure 2), displaying whole mediation influence. Altogether, these outcomes statistically backed Hypothesis 3 and Hypothesis 4.

Figure 2 Structural equation modeling (SEM) results for the hypothesized mediation model H3 and H4. **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05. Abbreviation: NS, Non Significant.

Discussion and Conclusion

The current study assessed the association among social media sites and TV advertisements, materialism, and consumer-compulsive intention to shop behavior among university students in Saudi Arabia and discovered that University students in Saudi Arabia are more materialistic than ever. The findings may offer useful contributions for further knowing the Saudi Arabian markets and shoppers. Founded on the existing literature,^14,125 we split our conceptual research model into two models. The first research framework investigated two substantial aspects: TV advertisements and social media sites. With the research framework, we investigated the impact of materialism on compulsive intention to buy behavior among university students.

This research’s findings backed our proposed hypotheses, ratifying that “materialism” is one of the crucial reasons for compulsive intention to buy behavior among university students. The findings of our research are related to existing literature.^{10,34,126–128} According to Hypothesis H1, university students in Saudi Arabia appear to be more likely to adopt compulsive shopping and materialistic behavior due to watching TV advertisements. People’s perceptions are influenced by television. Thus, those who watch it often tend to have more compulsive shopping and materialistic views. Because of the propensity for high materialistic values, previous research suggested that these values may significantly impact the level of compulsive buying. Companies have dedicated large sums to advertising campaigns since youngsters have become a significant market segment for international corporations pushing products. Advertising frequently induces customers to make purchases by depicting attractive or well-known product users, highlighting a societal enticement for product use, and linking the product to the wealthy.¹²⁹ Previous research revealed that watching too much television may make you more compulsive shopper and materialistic. Chan, Prendergast 133 confirm this and the most recent survey in Saudi Arabia.

Hypothesis 2 shows a link between using social media sites and young people’s compulsive purchasing behavior. The results reveal that young Saudi Arabian individuals who use social media sites more obsessively have more compulsive buying urges. The users of these social networking websites “buy not so much to obtain utility or service from a purchased commodity as to achieve gratification through the buying process itself”.⁴ The findings confirm earlier research that repeatedly demonstrated a connection between internet/social networking site use and online addiction and compulsive purchase.^130,131 This relationship may result from the “impulse-inducing” features of social media sites, such as the continual exposure to online marketing and the ease of online purchases. According to Sharif, Khanekharab,³³ the adverse impacts of using SMSs on young people’s identities may cause this beneficial relationship among young adults. Young adult SMS users experience identity confusion due to exposure to several identities.¹³² Young people may then turn to material consumerism and obsessive shopping to deal with their divided identities.¹⁸

In terms of hypotheses 3 and 4, they are consistent with the research of Weaver, Moschis, Davis,¹¹² who looked at the role of materialism in mediating the relationship between the predictors’ variables of gender and family and the outcome variable of compulsive buying. However, no one has specifically looked into the direct impact of TV advertisements and social media sites on compulsive buying behavior in Saudi Arabian youth, with materialism as a mediating factor. The current study evaluated this gap and found that materialism strengthens and mediates the link between adolescent compulsive buying behavior, social media sites, and television commercials. The results of the mediation study also demonstrated the complete acceptability of the purported theories.

Our findings demonstrate that social and commercial elements have a comparable impact on young adults in Saudi Arabia as on young people worldwide. That may be inferred from the fact that the present research results are comparable to those of investigations done in other cultures.^10,34 Despite the country’s strong Islamic traditions, globalization has led to buyer attitudes in Saudi Arabia comparable to elsewhere. Following the research results, Saudi Arabian youth share the same materialism as young people in other industrialized countries. Culture in Saudi Arabian society is evolving. These modifications are caused by the characteristics above middle-class population growth, growth of mass media (Television and social media sites), and technical advancements. Although the public has been responding to these cultural shifts, their impact has permeated every aspect of life.

The cultural transition has led to the changes that are listed below. First, society’s overall purchasing patterns have altered due to substantial growth in middle-class income. Young adults today are very interested in material goods and buying expensive items since it seems like this is a big part of contemporary life. Consequently, the family structure is changing from one that favors collectivism to one that favors individuality. The predominant factor is the large percentage of young adults. The media have impacted second, personal lifestyles. Media has substantially influenced how people behave, and it has a big impact on young people. As social media sites and television use boost materialistic behavior in youth, media use is included in this study as a control variable. Saudi Arabia is an emerging nation that is experiencing cultural and societal changes. The nation’s youth use social media extensively, which is the cause of these changes. Youth in Saudi Arabia utilize social media sites for various things, such as learning about companies, goods, and sales, and today’s youth are more exposed to media than youth in the past (ie, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn).¹³⁰ This has had a big impact on compulsive buying and materialistic attitudes. The empirical research discussed here clarifies these points. It demonstrates that youth in Saudi Arabia, a contemporary Islamic nation, have materialistic outlooks similar to those of other cultures. Finally, based on the research findings, it is concluded that young adults in Saudi Arabia are primarily affected by materialism and compulsive buying due to our study variables (TV advertisements and social media sites). The association between the research variables, which indicate societal determinants, and compulsive shopping was mediated by materialism.

Practical Implications

The new research findings provide policymakers with further recommendations to reduce early adolescents’ demand for material possessions. These findings, which display that youth in Saudi Arabia are either already affected by materialism or are at risk of turning so, are also instructive for government policy administrators. Officials might want to think about what they can do to stop this expanding tendency. If so, given that this study suggests that this is a global issue, solutions that function well in very diverse civilizations must be considered. Governments should launch an educational program for young individuals to foster a good buyer mindset to prevent materialism and obsessive shopping. Second, since TV advertisements and social media sites are strongly linked to consumer-compulsive behavior and material consumption, officials must implement rules to reduce the impact. New aesthetic and ethics courses should be implemented at the university level to reduce the materialism that affects young adults.

Fourth, materialism goes against the customs of Saudi Arabia since it constantly emphasizes individual values, a country where the collective family system is dominant. Families should spend time with their children and teach them their core beliefs. Children should not be allowed to compare their consumption habits to those of their peers.

Theoretical Implications

Our study adds to the body of knowledge already available. First, by putting to the test and confirming the determinants of compulsive shopping behavior in young people, our study expands a theoretical model. The findings showed that all assumptions contained in the theoretical framework were accepted. Our research offers theoretical support for views on the causes of compulsive buying behavior in the existing literature that addresses a range of sociocultural circumstances. However this study is the first to empirically investigate the relationships between TV advertisements and social media sites, compulsive intention to buy behavior, and materialism among youth in Saudi Arabia and, by extension, other cultures with a predominance of Islamic impact. Secondly, this research confirms the findings of Chan, Prendergast¹³³ and Chan, Fang¹³⁴ and extends them by including materialism as a mediating variable in the theoretical framework. TV advertisements and social media sites are the key components for the formation of compulsive buying in modern Islamic culture. Third, our suggested model offers a fresh, theoretical viewpoint on materialism beliefs and compulsive buying. This is because only a small number of research have found that materialism can mediate between the antecedents of compulsive buying. This research thus adds to the body of knowledge regarding the causes of compulsive consumer buying behavior.

Limitations and Future Research

Our research has several limitations. We began by collecting information from the responders, who were all students of the universities. The study’s conclusions have limited external validity since the model’s outcomes could vary depending on the context and the study’s intended audience. The theoretical framework should be retested and validated in more circumstances by subsequent scholars.

Secondly, the data was gathered from Saudi Arabia’s business capital region, where youths are more influenced by contextual variables (TV advertisements and social media sites) than those in the countryside youth. The findings of the research are thus restricted to a major metropolis. Future studies should use a sizable sample size and gather information from around the nation to provide a more complete picture of young adults’ opinions regarding the study components. Third, cross-sectional data were employed in our study. Longitudinal research might aid in the clarification of this idea since behavior evolves, and compulsive intention to buy behavior is not a one-dimensional entity. Fourth, more research should consider product type (luxury vs affordable) as a predictive variable of materialism and compulsive intention to buy. Future research may also look at how family communication affects consumerism.