PurposeA rarely discussed type of indulgence good is “virtual” goods featured in freemium games, one of the most important platforms for online retailing. The freemium business model becomes popular amid the growth of mobile games and smartphones. The purpose of this research is to look into the factors that influence the intention to play freemium games and purchase in-game virtual goods, as well as to compare male and female millennial gamers in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest mobile gaming market. This research discusses the phenomenon in the context of compensatory consumption.Design/methodology/approachThis quantitative research used an online questionnaire for data collections. A total of 275 millennial mobile gamers were selected via purposive sampling. In total, there are six factors incorporated in this research: utility, self-indulgence, social interaction, competition, the intention to play freemium games and the intention to pay for virtual goods. This research used structural equation modelling (SEM) via AMOS software to test the hypotheses.FindingsThis research reveals that (1) utility is a negative predictor of the intention to pay for virtual goods, (2) self-indulgence is a positive predictor of the intention to play freemium games, (3) there is a mediation effect of the intention to play freemium games on the relationship between self-indulgence and the intention to pay for virtual goods, (4) social interaction is a positive predictor of the intention to pay for virtual goods, (5) competition is a positive predictor of the intention to play freemium games, (6) there is a mediation effect of the intention to play freemium games on the relationship between competition and the intention to pay for virtual goods and (7) the intention to play freemium games is a positive predictor of the intention to pay for virtual goods.Research limitations/implicationsThis research has several limitations: first, half of the study’s millennial respondents were students whose gaming expenditures might depend on their parents or guardians' willingness to accommodate their gaming activities. Therefore, there might be some biases in the intention to pay for virtual goods. Second, the numbers of female respondents outweigh male respondents (44.4% males), hence the sample representativeness issue in a slightly male-dominated gaming industry in Indonesia. Third, the game genres the millennial respondents mostly played were the battle royale and the shooter games. Other game genres (e.g. puzzles) might involve a different mechanism. Lastly, the authors measured the compensatory consumption concept indirectly, such as by measuring variables associated with lack of time (utility), the need for virtual achievements or online recognitions (competition), mood-related issues (self-indulgence) and lack of belongingness (social interaction).Practical implicationsGame developers and online retailers (e.g. Google Play Store, Android App Store and Microsoft Store) should incorporate competition, indulgence and social interaction elements when designing and promoting freemium games. Based on the results of this research, a combination of these three elements improves the likelihood of purchasing virtual goods via online retail platformsOriginality/valueThis is the first research to demonstrate a link between online retailing and compensatory consumption, particularly in the context of freemium games. This research extends the literature on online retailing in the context of freemium games, which has received little attention. In addition to theoretical support, this research provides new empirical evidence for previously unexplored and unsupported relationships.

This article facilitates deeper insight into label‐related consumer information acquisition behaviour. An integrated framework of label information search (LIS) has been developed based on a synthesis of related literature and explorative research conducted by analysing online discussions among customers (netnography). The framework focuses on three main groups of personal factors that serve as antecedents of LIS: general personal factors (e.g. health consciousness and socio‐demographics), label‐related personal factors (e.g. label‐related self‐efficacy, trust in labels and the perceived usefulness of labels) and product category‐related personal factors (trust in food products, enduring involvement, experience and perceived quality differences). Important characteristics of the framework are its process‐oriented nature and the dynamically changing relationships among its concepts. LIS is an antecedent to and a consequence of influencing factors. This article offers managerial implications and serves to incite future inquiry in this field.

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PurposeThe recent advancements in smartphone technology and social media platforms have increased the popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) color cosmetics. Meanwhile, China is a lucrative market for various foreign beauty products and technological innovations. This research aims to investigate the adoption of AI color cosmetics applications and their electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) intention among Chinese social media influencers. Several key concepts have been proposed in this research, namely body esteem, price sensitivity, social media addiction and actual purchase.Design/methodology/approachAn online questionnaire design was used in this research. A combination of purposive sampling and snowball sampling of AI color cosmetics users who are also social media influencers in China yields 221 respondents. To analyze the data, this research employs Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) method via SPSS and AMOS software. A 2-step approach, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), is implemented to prove the hypotheses and generate the results.Findings1) Social media addiction is a positive predictor of AI color cosmetics usage, (2) AI color cosmetics usage is a positive predictor of actual purchase, (3) actual purchase is a positive predictor of e-WOM intention and lastly, (4) there is a full mediation effect of actual purchase.Originality/valueThis research draws on the uses and gratification (U&G) theory to investigate how specific user characteristics affect Chinese social media influencers' adoption of AI color cosmetics, as well as how this may affect their decision to purchase branded color cosmetics and their e-WOM.

PurposeIn general, Muslims consider Islamic consumption to be a religious obligation. Previous research, however, suggests that various socio-psychological factors may influence Islamic consumption. Failure to comprehend the true motivations for purchasing Islamic products may lead to marketing myopia. This research investigates the less explored motivational factors of religious compensatory consumption, namely religious hypocrisy, religious social control and religious guilt.Design/methodology/approachThis research relied on an online questionnaire. Purposive sampling yielded a total of 238 Muslim respondents. The authors employed PLS-SEM analysis with the ADANCO software to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results reveal the following: (1) Higher religious hypocrisy leads to higher religious social control. (2) Higher religious hypocrisy leads to higher religious guilt. (3) Higher religious social control leads to higher religious guilt. (4) Higher religious hypocrisy leads to higher religious compensatory consumption. (5) Higher religious social control leads to higher religious compensatory consumption. (6) Religious social control partially mediates the relationship between religious hypocrisy and religious compensatory consumption. (7) Higher religious guilt leads to higher religious compensatory consumption. (8) Religious guilt partially mediates the relationship between religious hypocrisy and religious compensatory consumption.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, religious compensatory consumption in this research is limited to Muslim consumers. Future research may investigate compensatory consumption in different contexts, such as Judaism and Christianity, which have some common religious tenets. Second, compensatory consumption is a complex concept. The authors’ religious compensatory consumption scale only incorporated a few aspects of compensatory consumption. Future studies may retest the authors’ measurement scale for reliability. Lastly, the samples were dominated by the younger generation of Muslims (e.g. generation Z). Future studies may investigate older Muslim generations.Practical implicationsFirst, this research illustrates how religiosity, guilt and social control may contribute to Islamic compensatory consumption. Islamic business practitioners and retailers targeting Muslim consumers can benefit from this research by knowing that Islamic consumption may be driven by socio-psychological factors, such as religious hypocrisy and guilt. As a result, businesses targeting Muslim consumers can develop marketing strategies that incorporate these religious elements while also addressing their socio-psychological issues in order to promote Islamic products. Second, Islamic business practitioners and retailers may consider the social environments in which Muslims are raised. The authors’ findings show that religious social control has direct and indirect effects on Muslims' preferences for Islamic products as a form of compensatory strategy. Islamic business practitioners may design marketing programs that revolve around Muslim families and their Islamic values. It is in line with the previous studies that suggest the connections between religions, local cultures and buying behaviours (Ng et al., 2020; Batra et al., 2021). In some ways, Islamic products can be promoted to improve the well-being and cohesion of family members and Muslim society in general. In this research, the authors argue that businesses' failures to understand the socio-psychological motives of Islamic consumption may lead to marketing myopia.Social implicationsAs previously stated, religion (i.e. Islam) may be a source of well-being and a stable relationship among Muslims. Nevertheless, it may also become a source of negative emotions, such as guilt, because of one's inability to fulfil religious values, ideals or standards. According to the authors’ findings, Islamic products can be used to compensate for a perceived lack of religiosity. At the same time, these products may improve Muslims' well-being. The creations of products and services that revolve around Islamic values are expected to improve Muslims' economic conditions and strengthen their faith and love toward Islam in the globalized world. Moreover, Muslims, both as majority and minority groups, face increasing social pressures. On one hand there is the (in-group) pressure to uphold Islamic values and on the other hand there is the (out-group) pressure to preserve the local values and cultures. Indeed, living in the globalized world may require certain compromises. This research calls for various institutions and policymakers to work out solutions that enable all religious groups to work and live in harmony.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to study religious compensatory consumption quantitatively. This research operationalized variables previously discussed using a qualitative approach, namely religious hypocrisy, social control, guilt and compensatory consumption. The authors designed and adapted their measurement scales to fit this context, paving the way for future research in this field. Second, this research provides new empirical evidence by examining the relationships among less explored variables. For instance, this research has proven that several aspects of religiosity (e.g. hypocrisy, social control and guilt) may influence compensatory consumption in the Islamic context. This research also reveals the mediation roles of religious social control and religious guilt that were less explored in the previous studies. To the best of their knowledge, previous studies had not addressed social control as a predictor of compensatory consumption. Therefore, the theoretical model presented in this research and the empirical findings extend the theory of compensatory consumption. Third, Muslims are underrepresented in the compensatory consumption research; therefore, this research fills the population gap. Finally, this research focuses on Islamic compensatory behaviour as the future direction of Islamic marketing. Previous Islamic marketing research had not addressed the sensitive motives of Islamic consumption, which have now been highlighted in this research.

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