Impact of Text and Image Information on Community Group Buying Performance: Empirical Evidence from Convenience Chain Stores

Abstract

Although the importance of the content of a webpage in retail business performance is widely recognized, there are few empirical studies on the importance of text and image information on the homepage in retailer performance. How will consumers sift through this information? Does text and image information affect consumers’ purchasing behavior? Using a data set of a Chinese convenience chain store, we attempt to clarify the influence of the brand in the title, the emotional atmosphere on the picture, and the product images of the homepage on the picture on retail business performance by employing a panel fixed-effects negative binomial regression model and a panel fixed-effect regression. Our results show that mentioning the product brand in the event title and presenting clear product images significantly enhance retailer performance in online community group buying. It is noteworthy that emotional descriptions have a greater impact on retailer performance compared to rational descriptions. In practice, this study provides a new perspective and reference for online community group buying platforms to better attract consumers and maintain sustainable development.