A Study on the Influencing Factors of Tiktok Local Life Service Impulse Consumption Behavior - Taking Chinese Digital Natives as an Example

With the rapid spread of digital technology, social media platforms have become vital venues for information dissemination, social interaction and consumer behavior. TikTok, one of the most popular short-video applications in China, has attracted hundreds of millions of users, including China's digital natives, which happen to constitute a significant portion of TikTok users [1]. 

The concept of "digital natives" refers to the generation that grew up in the Internet age, which was proposed by Marc Prensky, an expert in educational gaming, in 2001 to describe the people who grew up in the Internet age [2], and who occupies an essential position in multiculturalism with unique characteristics, including a unique perspective on traditional culture, social interactions and consumer behaviors in a unique way. Due to their ability to adapt to digital information and media, digital natives use digital media platforms such as TikTok, Xiaohongshu, and Zhihu more frequently. 

In view of this, this study considers digital natives as the primary research object, aiming to explore the triggers of individuals' consumption behaviors of local living services on TikTok. To date, relatively limited research has been conducted on digital natives' impulsive consumption behaviors of local lifestyle services on Shakeology and their influencing factors. Therefore, the goal of this study is to delve deeper into this topic in order to provide new insights into consumption behavior and social media interactions, as well as to describe the concept and definition of Shakeology lifestyle services. 

TikTok Local Life is a new feature launched by TikTok aimed at helping small local shops and businesses expand their market online, allowing users to place orders for local goods and services online on TikTok. It is also a convenient shopping channel for users on TikTok to be able to enjoy the benefits and services of neighbouring businesses without going out. For merchants, TikTok Local Life can help them gain more exposure and customers through the TikTok platform. Merchants can post their shops and product information to TikTok Local Life so that more potential customers can discover their shops and products [3]. In addition, merchants can also use various marketing tools on the TikTok platform to push promotional activities such as advertisements and coupons in a targeted manner to attract target customers more precisely. Overall, TikTok Local Life is a very attractive marketing channel for merchants, which can help them expand their customer base and business online. For consumers, TikTok Local Life is a convenient shopping channel and a reference platform for enjoying local services [4]. 

TikTok's local life service business has gone through three key phases, including the starting period (2018-2020), the period of strength (2021-2022) and the period of acceleration (2022-2023). From 2018 to 2020, TikTok gradually realized the construction of the essential functions of the local life segment from 0 to 1. In the second stage, during the period of strength, a "local direct business centre" was set up, which is specifically responsible for the local life business. The third stage is a period of acceleration, with rapid growth in GMV since 2022. In the first half of 2022, the GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) of Joyo's local life was about 22 billion yuan, surpassing last year's target of a full year's GMV in just half a year, and Joyo's full-year GTV (Gross Transaction Volume) is estimated to be about 1.5 billion yuan. Local life GTV (Gross Transaction Value, the total transaction value is the full value of original price transactions) can reach 70+ billion [5]. TikTok mainly attracts traffic through infomercial push and relies on service providers for light operation in most cities. TikTok's marketing strategy covers shallow discounts and low-priced pop-ups, targeting different types of merchants. These initiatives meet the needs of both merchants and users and make profound economic sense. 

What's more, the accelerated growth of TikTok's local life business in 2022 responds to the trend of merchants clearing their inventory and users' strong demand for discounts under the pressure of the macro environment. It has profound economic significance for merchants and users. Merchants under the pressure of the macro-environment in 2022 hope to broaden channels and operate in private domains on the one hand; on the other hand, from the perspective of the capital chain, merchants need to obtain funds quickly. For users the slowdown in disposable income growth makes users more willing to receive low-priced pop-up packages. TikTok's ecological adjustment of commercialized traffic has also fuelled the rapid development of its local life business. In the context of limited traffic growth, TikTok needs to do different business models to carry out the distribution of traffic. The number of active users of TikTok slowed down significantly after breaking through 600 million. According to Quest mobile data, the number of monthly active users of the TikTok APP reached 680 million in the first half of 2022, with a year-on-year growth of 5.5%, and the growth rate decreased by 20 percentage points compared with that of last year [6]. 

It can be seen that TikTok life services are developing rapidly and have begun to gradually penetrate into the lives of Chinese consumers. However, the current academic research on the consumer behaviour of TikTok life service is relatively weak. In this context, it is necessary to conduct in-depth research to explore the factors that lead to the consumption of Shakeology life services.

Past research has shown that impulse spending is an essential concept in consumer psychology that involves the behavior of customers who make rapid, emotionally driven purchase decisions when stimulated. In addition, advertising exposure, cultural factors, and social factors have all been identified as essential influences on impulse consumption. However, there is a relative dearth of research addressing the impulse consumption behavior of digital natives on the Shakeology local life platform. This study attempts to fill this research gap by exploring the impulse consumption behaviors of digital natives on the TikTok platform and the driving factors behind them. 

Theoretical Basis 

The term "Digital natives" refers to those who were born, learned and grew up together with high technology [2]. Marc Prensky, an expert in educational games, first proposed the concept of "digital natives" in 2001 and called the generation that grew up in the Internet era "digital natives". For digital natives, the Internet is not only a convenient and fast way to get the information they need, but also a way to interact with information that breaks down the interpersonal barriers in real life. The Center for the Study of the Network Society at Harvard University in the United States and the Center for Information Law Studies at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland are collaborating to study the problem of networked existence from another angle. They have put forward a new concept - Digital Natives, meaning that the post-80s and even younger generations, once born, are confronted with a ubiquitous cyber world; for them, the Internet is their life, and digital survival is their way of life since childhood. 

Regarding the definition of loneliness, early studies have mainly elaborated on it from three perspectives: individual needs perspective, cognitive perspective and emotional perspective. First, the individual needs perspective. It is believed that loneliness is an unpleasant subjective experience that occurs when an individual is socially isolated, and their needs for intimacy or social relationships are not met [7,8]. Individuals have a fundamental need to belong, and the fulfilment of interpersonal relationships can help them establish a sense of belonging. And when such relationships are absent, individuals may feel very lonely [9]. The second is the cognitive perspective. This perspective suggests that loneliness is a psychological state that arises when an individual subjectively perceives a discrepancy between the desired connection and the actual connection of an intimate (or social) relationship [10,11]. Third is the emotional perspective. This perspective considers loneliness as an aversive emotional state in which individuals feel isolated from others. Petitte et al. [12], combined the above three perspectives. They defined loneliness as a subjectively perceived distressing emotional experience when the quality of intimacy or social relationships does not meet the desired expectations or fails to satisfy one's own need for belonging [12]. These definitions show that loneliness has two essential characteristics: first, loneliness is subjectively perceived by individuals; second, loneliness is a negative emotional experience. 

Loneliness gives people negative information cues in external situations, causing them to develop negative perceptions that reduce their initiative and behavioural intentions. Loneliness, as a subjective experience, is usually defined as the perceived social isolation or the feeling of being cut off or separated from others [13], which, on the one hand, can bring spiritual freedom to individuals and, on the other hand, may induce a tendency to consume because of having no one to understand and nothing to do. 

Social presence, also known as social presence, social representation, and social presentation, is an essential concept in the field of technical and social studies in communication, and the theory was initially developed by three scholars, including University of Maryland professors John R. Short, Ederyn Williams, and Bruce Christie. Three scholars proposed it in 1976. According to them, "social presence" refers to the degree to which a person is perceived as a "real person" and connected to others in the process of communicating through the media. Short et al. define this concept as a characteristic of communication media. Some media may be perceived as having a high level of social presence, while others have a low level of social presence. Media with a high level of social presence are often considered social and welcoming, while media with a low level of social presence are considered dehumanizing. In the 1980s and 1990s, the theory of social presence was applied to the study of dehumanizing attributes of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) due to the fact that CMC this is because CMC filters out non-verbal messages and other relevant cues that are usually found in face-to-face communication. This phase of research focuses on CMC in a business context, with researchers such as Richard L. Daft, Sara Kiesler, Joseph B. Walther, and others. Beginning in the mid-1990s, when the intervention of Internet technology enabled the development of online education, researchers began to focus on online learning, applying the theory of social presence to the field of educational technology. The primary researchers at this stage were Charlotte N. Gunawardena, Randy D. Garrison, and others. 

Mindfulness is a Buddhist meditation practice introduced into the field of psychology by Professor Kabat-Zinn, which essentially refers to conscious awareness, focusing attention on the present moment and non-judgment of all current concepts. In 1979, Professor Kabat-Zinn introduced it into the field of psychology and created a mindfulness-based mindfulness approach, namely Mindfulness-Based Intervention (MBI). In 1979, Professor Kabat-Zinn introduced it into the field of psychology and created a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI), on the basis of which mindfulness was developed into a systematic psychotherapy based on "mindfulness" [14]. Positive thinking therapy includes various forms of practice, such as positive thinking meditation practice, breathing attention training, body sensory scanning, walking meditation and eating meditation [15]. In short, the training of mindfulness trains the perception of the here-and-now state of the three parts of one's natural breathing process, the perceived movement of the body, and the activity of one's mind. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of the use of mindfulness in stress reduction, suicide intervention, and emotional and chronic pain relief [16,17]. Some of the training and regulation methods developed in conjunction with mindfulness, such as mindfulness music, mindfulness exercise, and mindfulness courses on campus, have been shown to have positive effects on improving blood pressure, sleep, reducing alcohol or drug abuse, enhancing well-being, and regulating interpersonal distress [18]. Positive Mindfulness (Mindfulness) emphasizes openness and acceptance, experiencing and accepting all one's thoughts and feelings as they arise in the process from a position of knowing, accepting, and non-judgmental, reflecting a more frequent or sustained awareness of ongoing events and experiences, with relatively high levels of attention and awareness [19,20]. Positive thoughts play an important role in distinguishing between an individual's automatic thinking as well as unhealthy behavioral patterns, contributing to the formation of good self-behavioural regulation and enhancing an individual's sense of well-being. 

Impulsive consumption was first seen in the 1940s in the DuPont Institution and is defined as a type of consumption that is unplanned and without deliberation. Stern subdivided impulsive consumption into pure impulsive consumption, reminder impulsive consumption, suggestion impulsive consumption, etc., and Rook argued that impulsive consumption refers to the immediate purchase of certain goods as a result of a sudden, powerful, and emotionally charged impulse. To purchase certain goods. In early studies, impulse consumption tendency refers to the consumer's desire to consume without intending to buy the commodity, which is influenced by external factors [21]. Subsequently, scholars combined with the current situation of society to point out that impulse consumption tendency is not completely irrational; after being influenced by external factors, consumers will also be based on the current collection of information to make a comprehensive judgement in order to make the best decision at the moment. 

In the early marketing literature, impulse buying was simply described as unplanned buying, a definition that is not accurate. Beatty et al. expanded the definition of impulse buying on the basis of previous research, arguing that it is a sudden [22], immediate, and spontaneous behaviour with no pre-emptive purchase intention to buy a specific product category or complete a particular task of purchase, and is a spontaneous action without sufficient consideration of the consequences. So far, there is a consensus among scholars on the definition of the concept of impulse buying as a behaviour that includes emotional and hedonic elements to better satisfy the emotional needs of consumers in the shopping process, including a variety of positive and negative situations [23]. Wang Weinan [24], pointed out that as the economy develops, consumers are more likely to engage in hedonic consumption more often. This is because hedonic consumers aim to satisfy their emotional needs through consumption and thus are more likely to relinquish self-control in favor of impulsive emotional control [24].

Research Hypotheses 

Current research on loneliness has more widely adopted Perlman and Peplau's definition that loneliness is a negative emotion felt by individuals when they think that social connections, in reality, fail to fulfil expectations. It is additionally that humans created loneliness during the evolutionary process. Loneliness is a negative emotion that individuals feel distressed when they experience inconsistency between expected personal interactions and actual social relationships [25]. Individuals with high levels of loneliness often have unmet emotional and interactional needs, and mobile phone use may be a coping method to relieve loneliness. In addition, individuals with high levels of loneliness are more likely to suffer from mobile phone addiction problems due to a lack of self-control and a lack of external monitoring during mobile phone use [26]. Loneliness as a subjective experience is usually defined as the perceived social isolation or the feeling of being cut off or separated from others, which, on the one hand, can bring mental freedom to an individual, and on the other hand, it may also induce the tendency to consume online due to the fact that there is no one to understand and nothing to do [27]. 

As an individual's sense of isolation increases, their reliance on social media increases, creating a sense of social presence when using platforms such as TikTok. In media communication, social presence is used to describe the degree to which other users are perceived as "real people" and the perceived level of connection to others Lee [28]. Specifically, social presence is influenced by the social cues presented in a network, and the ability to perceive these cues and the presence of others varies across individuals. Early experiments have shown that aggressive behaviour is more likely to occur in computer-mediated communication that lacks social presence. Recent research has found that online environments presenting more social cues enable individuals to perceive the presence of others better and, in turn, exhibit less online aggression and more pro-social behaviour. Individuals who are more trusting of other users in the network are more likely to exhibit online altruistic behaviours [29]. Thus, perceiving the sense of social presence from rich cues in online media may motivate individuals to restrain their behaviour and be less likely to engage in online excesses. 

Therefore, this paper considers that digital natives, as a group with high internet usage, online interactions have become an integral part of their interactions and their primary modality. However, regarding the relationship between loneliness and social presence, in summary, this paper proposes the following hypotheses:

• H1: Loneliness has a Positive Effect on Social Presence 

Consumption is one of the most important ways for individuals to detoxify loneliness. In 2017, only 15.68 per cent of over 10,000 white-collar workplace loneliness groups surveyed by Pulse Data Research Institute claimed that they didn't have consumption as a result of detoxifying their loneliness. This series of activities shows that the lonely group has a huge consumption potential. Gong Xiaoxia et al. [30], pointed out from an emotional perspective that impulsive consumption tendency usually arises after negative emotions and impulsive consumption enables consumers to generate positive emotions. Xie Ying et al. [31], pointed out that although consumers are still able to make consumption decisions through perceived value, at this point, consumer cognition has been affected. Thus, they are more likely to make emotional judgements. Early marketing literature described impulse buying as simply unplanned purchasing, a definition that is not accurate. Online shopping is more likely to trigger impulse buying behaviour than offline shopping, and most of this behaviour is driven by product displays or marketing stimuli. Since consumers first generate impulse purchase intention and then transform it into impulse purchase behaviour when they swipe on the TikTok platform, the following hypotheses are proposed in this paper:

• H2: Loneliness has a Positive Effect on the Tendency to Spend Impulsively 

Simon [32], showed that the richer the information about the social presence, the more frequent the purchasing behaviour of website users. Cyr [33], showed that social presence positively affects online shopping user loyalty. Recent studies have found that online environments presenting more social cues make individuals more aware of the presence of others and, in turn, show less online aggression and more pro-social behaviour. A high level of social presence promotes individuals' online interpersonal trust [34], and individuals who are more trusting of other users in the network are more likely to exhibit online altruistic behaviours [35]. Therefore, perceiving the sense of social presence from rich cues in the online medium may motivate individuals to restrain their behaviour and be less likely to engage in online consumption excesses. Therefore, in summary, this paper proposes the following hypothesis: 

• H3: Social Proximity has a Positive Effect on Impulse Spending Tendency 

Combining the hypothesised conditions H2 and H3, the following hypothesis H4 is proposed. 

• H4: Social Presence Plays a Positive Mediating Role in the Effect of Loneliness on Impulsive Spending Propensity 

According to Cahn et al. [36], state prosopagnosia is the perceptual and self-cognitive awareness that produces changes when an individual is in a state of prosopagnosia. In contrast, trait prosopagnosia refers to the persistent changes that an individual obtains in areas such as perception and self-consciousness, which are in a relatively stable state. Examining the relationship between an individual's self-esteem, anxiety, depression, etc., and attentional perceptions and levels can provide further evidence to support the role of positive thinking levels on physical and mental health. In addition, researchers have suggested that positive thinking levels can be improved through meditation training [37-39], and it was found that positive thinking levels rated by the MAAS in meditation practitioners could be enhanced through meditation training. There is a consensus that positive thinking training can effectively improve the physical and mental state of individuals. Therefore, this study combines the hypothesis condition H1, mainly to explore the relationship between trait positive thinking regulation of loneliness and social presence, in order to provide countermeasure support and empirical evidence for the integration of exploring more flexible and targeted psychological counselling methods. 

• H5: Trait Positivity Moderates the Relationship between Loneliness and Impulsive Spending Tendencies 

Positive thoughts play an important role in distinguishing between an individual's automatic thinking as well as unhealthy behavioral patterns, helping to form good self-behavioural regulation and enhancing an individual's sense of well-being [40]. Some training and regulation methods developed in conjunction with positive thinking such as positive music, positive exercise, and campus positive thinking courses have been shown by relevant research data to have a positive effect in easing emotions, enhancing well-being, and regulating interpersonal distress. Therefore, this paper combines the hypothesis condition H3 and focuses on the relationship between trait positivity regulating social proclivity and impulsive consumption. The following hypothesis H6 is proposed. 

• H6: Trait Positivity Positively Moderates the Relationship between Social Presence and Impulsive Consumption Tendency 

Based on the above analysis, this study proposes the following hypothesis: for digital aboriginal individuals, their sense of loneliness positively affects their sense of social presence and impulsive consumption tendency, with the sense of social presence playing a mediating role, and trait positivity is able to effectively attenuate the negative impacts of loneliness and the sense of the social presence of digital aboriginal individuals, and then attenuate their effects on impulsive consumption tendency. Based on this, the following theoretical model is constructed (Figure 1). 

 Figure 1: Concept Model.

Research Objects and Investigation Process 

This study used convenience sampling to collect data, and the participants involved 1,120 post-90s digital natives within four major regions of China: north-west, south-west, south-east and north-east. All questionnaires were anonymous, and all participants gave informed consent on the first page of the questionnaire. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Chengdu University of Information Engineering. After screening, a total of 73 questionnaires were excluded. The final data sample consisted of 1,047 screened eligible digital natives; the current survey was conducted from 16 August to 16 September 2023, and in order to minimize common methodological bias, the research adopted a cross-lagged design to collect data by distributing the questionnaires in three batches, approximately two weeks apart. In the first batch, participants were surveyed on demographic variables and Social Media Use Scale measurement questions, while the second batch of research measured relative deprivation and loneliness, and the third batch measured social support. 

Measurement of Variables 

In this study, the independent variable is social media use, the mediating variable is relative deprivation, the moderating variable is social support, the dependent variable is loneliness, and the control variables include gender, age, education, and years in the profession. 

Social Presence 

Social presence was assessed using a scale adapted from Khalifa and Shen and modified by Gao. The scale consists of five items: "In the online world, I feel a sense of contact with others." Respondents used a 7-point scale, with one representing "strongly disagree" and seven representing "strongly agree." The scale demonstrated good validity in this study with fit indices: χ2/df = 2.21, RMSEA = 0.026, CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.92, SRMR = 0.01. The Cronbach's α coefficient for the scale was 0.87. 

Trait Mindfulness 

Trait mindfulness was measured using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), initially developed by Brown and Ryan [38], and adapted by Deng. The scale comprises 15 items, rated on a 6-point scale ranging from "almost always" to "rarely." All items were reverse-scored, and the scores were summed to create a trait mindfulness score. Higher scores indicate higher levels of mindfulness. The scale exhibited good fit indices in this study: χ2/df = 2.83, RMSEA = 0.027, CFI = 0.91, TLI = 0.92, SRMR = 0.01. The Cronbach's α coefficient for the scale was 0.89. 

Loneliness 

Loneliness was assessed using an adapted version of the Short Loneliness Scale, which measures an individual's subjective experience of the disparity between desired social interactions and actual circumstances. The scale comprises six items, rated on a 4-point scale. The total score on the scale ranges from 6 to 24, with higher scores indicating higher levels of loneliness. The scale exhibited good fit indices in this study: χ2/df = 2.51, RMSEA = 0.032, CFI = 0.92, TLI = 0.92, SRMR = 0.02. The Cronbach's α coefficient for the scale was 0.89. 

Impulsive Buying Tendency 

Impulsive buying intention was measured using a 4-item Impulse Buying Intention Scale. Items included: "When I see a live stream by a host, I immediately want to own the product (props) or give a reward," "When I watch a live stream by a host, I have a strong desire to make a purchase or give a reward," "As soon as I see a host promoting a product (service) in a live stream, I feel it is something I want," "I have seen many products I had no plans to buy before, but after seeing them recommended in a live stream, I want to purchase or reward them." The scale demonstrated good fit indices in this study: χ2/df = 2.14, RMSEA = 0.022, CFI = 0.92, TLI = 0.92, SRMR = 0.02. The Cronbach's α coefficient for the scale was 0.89.

Data Analysis and Hypothesis Testing

• Common Method Bias and Validity Testing 

In this study, the participants self-reported all data, which might lead to common method bias. Therefore, Harman's single-factor test was used to examine this bias. The results revealed four factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, and the first factor accounted for only 27.35% of the variance, below the critical threshold of 40%. Therefore, there is no severe standard method bias in this study. 

Regarding reliability, based on the widely accepted criterion of Cronbach's alpha coefficients greater than 0.7, an additional assessment was conducted using Churchill's criterion, which states that the Corrected Item-Total Correlation should not be less than 0.5. As shown in table, the results indicate that Cronbach's alpha coefficients for all latent variables exceeded 0.70, and the Composite Reliability (CR) was also above the acceptable threshold of 0.7. This suggests that the data has high reliability. 

Regarding validity, the criteria for convergent validity analysis include the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) and factor loadings, which should exceed 0.5. This analysis demonstrated that the data has good convergent validity. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) values, as indicated in tables (1 & 2), were all greater than 0.7, which suggests that the data has good structural validity. Furthermore, the square roots of the AVE values for each variable exceeded the inter-variable correlation coefficients, confirming good discriminant validity among the variables. 

Table 1: Reliability and validity tests. 

Table 2: Descriptive statistical correlation analysis.

• Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis 

Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were performed on the samples; the results are shown in table 3. The correlation analysis shows a positive correlation between loneliness and social presence (r = 0.414, p < 0.01). A positive correlation exists between social presence and impulsive spending tendency (r = 0.309, p < 0.01). All of the above correlations are significant at the 0.01 level, preliminarily supporting the hypothesis of a direct effect in the present study. At the same time, there is a correlation between trait positivity and social presence and impulsive spending tendencies. 

Table 3: Regression analysis.

Regression Analysis

• Mediation Analysis 

To examine the mediation effect of social presence, this study employed the PROCESS Model 4 with bootstrapping to calculate the 95% confidence interval for the mediation effect. A bias-corrected confidence interval was set at 95% with 5,000 resamples. The results indicate that the mediation effect of social presence in the relationship between loneliness and impulsive buying tendency is 0.12, with a 95% confidence interval of [0.121, 0.197], which does not include zero. The mediation effect accounts for 26% of the total effect. Thus, Hypothesis 4 is supported.

• Moderation Analysis of Trait Mindfulness 

To test the moderating effect of trait mindfulness on the relationship between loneliness and impulsive buying tendency, this study focused on relative deprivation and social support, constructing an interaction term, GDZN, and performing a hierarchical regression analysis. As shown in Table 3, the interaction between loneliness and trait mindfulness significantly negatively impacts impulsive buying tendency (b = -0.12, p < 0.001). This suggests that trait mindfulness moderates the impact of loneliness on impulsive buying tendencies. An interaction term, LCZN, was also constructed and analyzed through hierarchical regression to test the moderating role of trait mindfulness in the relationship between social presence and impulsive buying tendency. As shown in table 3, the interaction between social presence and trait mindfulness significantly negatively impacts impulsive buying tendency (b = -0.07, p < 0.001). This indicates that trait mindfulness moderates the effect of social presence on impulsive buying tendencies. 

To further clarify the size and direction of the moderation effects, this study employed Aiken and West's method. This method involves dividing social support into high and low levels based on mean values, with one standard deviation added or subtracted, and then conducting regression analyses for the relationships between relative deprivation and loneliness. Simple slope tests showed that when social support is at a lower level, relative deprivation has a more substantial positive impact on loneliness (b = 0.39, p < 0.001). Conversely, when social support is at a higher level, the positive impact of relative deprivation on loneliness is weaker (b = 0.12, p < 0.05). This suggests that social support exerts a negative moderating effect on the impact of relative deprivation on loneliness. Hypothesis 5 is supported. To provide a more precise visualization of the moderation effects, moderation effect plots are presented in figures (2 & 3).  

 Figure 2: Moderating effects of Trait Mindfulness on loneliness and impulsive spending tendencies.

 Figure 3: Moderating effects of Trait Mindfulness on social presence and impulse spending tendencies.

Research Conclusion 

The research findings indicate that loneliness positively impacts the social presence and impulsive consumption tendencies of digital natives. Additionally, social presence positively influences impulsive consumption tendencies. Moreover, social presence mediates the relationship between loneliness and impulsive consumption tendencies. As loneliness intensifies, the social presence and impulsive consumption tendencies of digital natives also strengthen. 

Trait mindfulness plays a negative moderating role in the relationship between loneliness and impulsive consumption tendencies. At higher levels of trait mindfulness, the impact of loneliness on impulsive consumption tendencies is significantly reduced. This moderation mechanism suggests that the extent to which loneliness influences impulsive consumption tendencies depends on individuals' levels of trait mindfulness. This implies that enhancing trait mindfulness among digital natives can reduce the adverse effects of loneliness and social presence on impulsive consumption tendencies. Furthermore, trait mindfulness exhibits a similar negative moderating effect in the relationship between social presence and impulsive consumption tendencies. 

These results demonstrate that trait mindfulness is an effective coping mechanism for TikTok users prone to impulsive consumption tendencies. Promoting mindfulness cultivation can mitigate the adverse effects of impulsive consumption tendencies.

Mindfulness training helps individuals regulate their emotions, alleviate and eliminate negative emotions, enhance positive emotions, and foster a wide range of adaptive responses, thereby increasing personal coping resources. Mindfulness training enhances cognitive flexibility, expands an individual's attention, cognition, and behavioral scope, and builds enduring psychological and social resources. Individuals with higher levels of mindfulness exhibit greater inner peace, tolerance, and openness, are adept at dispelling negative emotions, and refrain from making critical judgments. Therefore, it can effectively restrain impulsive emotions in individuals and reduce the impact of loneliness and social presence on impulsive consumption tendencies among digital natives. Hence, individuals and organizations should promote mindfulness as a positive and effective cognitive tool.

TikTok's local lifestyle business primarily employs a model that combines low-priced popular items with shallow discounts. In 2022, TikTok's local lifestyle business experienced accelerated growth, aligning with the trend of businesses clearing inventory and strong user demand for discounts under macroeconomic pressures. The current monetization efficiency of TikTok's local lifestyle business needs to catch up to other businesses, such as e-commerce and advertising. The estimated per VV income from group-buying pages is approximately 1/2. From short video e-commerce business. However, local lifestyle is a category that is more preferred by users, which can contribute to achieving a balanced overall commercial ecosystem. 

Compared to live streaming e-commerce, TikTok's short video e-commerce has a lower monetization efficiency. TikTok's local lifestyle business absorbs this portion of e-commerce traffic. In the long term, as TikTok's local lifestyle users' awareness and conversion rates grow, its monetization efficiency will continue improving. TikTok's local lifestyle business's current development focus remains primarily on the food and beverage sector. 

As online consumption platforms, TikTok and Meituan offer distinct platform values. 

(1) User Value Comparison: Meituan and Dianping's rating system aids users in making consumption decisions, and users have the mindset of finding a place to eat. TikTok helps users save money, but their search mindset needs further cultivation.

(2) Merchant Value Comparison: TikTok and Meituan have areas of overlap in meeting merchant demands, but there are also irreplaceable aspects. TikTok excels in rapidly expanding traffic and building brands. Meituan relies on the long-standing stable natural traffic from Dianping's rankings, which TikTok cannot achieve in the short term. 

From a business perspective, TikTok and Meituan engage in both mismatched and positive competition. 

(1) TikTok: The "goods find people" format limits the upper scale of TikTok merchants, and businesses with solid follower attraction and high-profit margins are well-suited for continued operation on TikTok. TikTok is better suited for large chain businesses (comprising approximately 4% of the restaurant merchant market), internet-famous establishments, and new businesses (about 26% of the restaurant merchant market).

(2) Meituan: Meituan's merchant base primarily comprises small and medium-sized businesses, partly resulting in competition that misaligns with TikTok. High-quality businesses that perform well in Meituan do not require intensive operations on TikTok. TikTok accommodates the marketing needs of businesses with average performance in Meituan.

Research on Online Public Opinion Guidance for College Students in Higher Education, Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of Sichuan Provincial Department of Education, WLWH23-8, September 2023.

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