Nudging in the Pre-Purchase Phase: On the Effectiveness of Social Norm Nudges, Previous TikTok Usage and Potential Interactions

Digital nudges are used to guide users’ attention and behavior in different phases of the customer journey. This paper focuses on the application of digital nudges in the pre-purchase phase of customer journeys by analyzing the potential effect of a social norm nudge on information consumption intentions. The study further aims to explore the extent that social media usage prior to a specific task may strengthen or weaken the nudging effect. An experiment was conducted asking participants (n = 209) to imagine planning their summer vacation and inform themselves about travelling during the Covid pandemic. The results show that while age significantly affected the intention to consume information, neither the social norm nudge nor prior social media usage appeared to be effective in the chosen context.