Offline social interactions and online shopping demand: Does the degree of social interactions matter?

Offline social interactions and online shopping each have been studied extensively. Despite the importance of each construct, little is known about the effects of offline social interactions on online shopping. This study examines three research questions: (1) how offline social interactions affect online shopping in general, (2) how active and passive offline social interactions exert different influences on online shopping, and (3) how online shopping preferences moderate the influences from the two types of offline social interactions. Our empirical analyses provide three substantive findings. First, overall offline social interactions have a positive impact on online shopping demand. Second, while active offline social interactions have a positive informational influence on online shopping demand, passive offline social interactions have a negative normative influence on it. Third, online shopping preferences weaken both the positive informational and negative normative influences from both of offline social interactions. We also discuss theoretical and managerial implications.