Unveiling a channel determinant of new product adoption: how perceived social presence mediates the effectiveness of social commerce over traditional e-commerce

Purpose Given a mere 5% success rate for new product launches, identifying effective launch channels in a competitive multi-channel environment is critical for marketers. This study aims to examine how digital search channels (social commerce vs. traditional e-commerce) impact new product adoption. Design/methodology/approach This research adopts a multi-method approach. Study 1 analyzes a secondary dataset to test the main and interaction effects. Study 2 conducts an online experiment to establish causality and examine the underlying mediating mechanism. Findings The most insightful finding is that social commerce outperforms traditional e-commerce in driving new product adoption via perceived social presence. Another key insight is that this effect is stronger for male consumers, small brands and during daytime hours. Originality/value This study enriches the interactive marketing research by identifying a novel channel determinant for new product adoption, empirically validating perceived social presence as a mediator, and offering a context-specific omnichannel framework that integrates consumer, brand and temporal moderators.