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Trust has always been a critical issue in online shopping environments. However, it is even more important in social commerce platforms, due to the salient role of peer-generated contents on users' purchase intentions. This study investigates the relationship between trust of social commerce and users' purchase intentions and proposes a mechanism explaining the relationship. Thus, we present a main and two alternative models by drawing on the critical notions related to purchase intention, including social commerce information seeking, familiarity with platform, and social presence. The models clarify mechanisms by which trust, familiarity, social presence and social commerce information seeking influence behavioral intentions on social commerce platforms. Results of the survey gathered among Facebook users indicates that trust of a SNS increases users' information seeking in informational channels, such as communities and forums, reviews and ratings, and recommendations and referrals. Information seeking elevates users' familiarity with the platform as well as the sense of social presence. Moreover, the familiarity and social presence raises users' purchases intentions. Results indicate that the main model of the study is a better explanatory mechanism than the alternative models. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

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