Review of Related Literature:

Mukbang

People from our generation are starting to live with different social media
platforms. But each and every one of us has their own unique purpose in using social
media apps. Some are using it for entertainment purposes, information purposes, work
related and even business purposes. YouTube is one of the most popular and visited
apps in our time. Because of the different contents that can be viewed from different
creator, viewers are being hooked up. One of these contents is “mukbang” wherein a
creator will film him/herself consuming a various quantities of food from a specific food
company while interacting with the viewers.

McCarthy (2017) claimed that the concept of eating thousands of calories in just
a single moment is the main reason why mukbang contents become viral in the internet
world.

McCarthy (2017) explains that American’s mukbang adaptation is different from

Korea where it is originated. In Korea, mukbang is very silent wherein the host is just
focusing on consuming the food. Meanwhile American adaptation collide the idea of
consuming the food and entertaining its viewers. Wherein hosts were sharing his/her
thoughts and experiences while eating.

Popularity Improvement

In the business world product’s popularity is one of major target of marketing.

Marketing is the act of introducing or promoting your product to consumers. If a
company improves the popularity of their product then there is a high possibility for an
increase to their sale. Based on our personal experience as consumer, we often buy the
products that we are familiar with. Meaning the popularity of the brand literally affect our
willingness to purchase.

Yoo (2016) investigates the effects of time pressure and brand popularity on
consumer’s responses in a context of social commerce. Wherein the results from the
study stated that brand popularity influenced perceived risk and purchase intention.
 Yoo’s study clearly shows the relevance of brand popularity when it comes to
consumer’s purchasing behaviour.

Goedegebure (2019) the study shows the neurological and psychological

mechanism that affect consumer’s behaviour toward product’s popularity. The study
confirms the existence of two distinct patterns on a neurological level, reflected by
different brain regions, and on a psychological level, reflected by different inferences.

These studies strongly shows that product’s popularity were able to influence
consumer’s willingness to purchase. It will stand as a support for the objective of this
study wherein if the mukbang content shows that it can contribute to the improvement of
the product’s popularity then it can also influence the purchasing behaviour of
consumers which is very important characteristic of a marketing technique.

Consumer’s curiosity

As a personal consumer it is very evident that curiosity has the ability to affect
purchasing behaviour. Companies tend to caught consumer’s curiosity by conducting
advertisements and promos. Through these techniques companies were depending on
the ability of their marketing strategy to influence consumer’s curiosity.

Kidd & Hayden, n.d. stated that curiosity was associated with decision making
wherein decision makers were least curious when they had no clue about something.
Meanwhile they are most curious when they had some idea about something.

It will support our study in terms of activating consumer’s curiosity because

mukbang content provides information about the featured product. Such as its taste,
smell, variety of food, and its texture which will be described by the host. This
information or idea will boost the curiosity of consumers as stated in the study of Kidd &
Hayden.

The study of Hill et al. (2015) shows that consumers that were offered moderate
information about the product reported higher purchase motivation than those who
exposed with minimal information.
 These studies show that if consumers were exposed with the ideas and
information about the product their willingness to purchase will increase. Which is very
connected to mukbang contents wherein hosts were stating ideas and information about
the featured product.

Consumer’s Purchasing Power

In marketing it is very necessary to influence the purchasing power of the

consumers. If the company can influence the purchasing will of consumers then they
can expect an increase to their sales.

A consumer’s buying power represents his or her ability to make purchases. And
the economy has the ability to affect consumer’s buying power. (Saylor Academy, 2020)

However there are several factors which affect the purchasing behaviour of consumers.

Study of Ramya & Mohamed Ali (2016) states that a man is a social animal.
Hence, our behaviour patterns, likes and dislikes are influenced by the people around
us to a great extent. We always seek confirmation from the people around us and
seldom do things that are not socially acceptable. The social factors influencing
consumer behaviour are a) Family, b) Reference Groups, c) Roles and Status

This study supports that people around us or around social media platforms can
influenced the behaviour of consumers. As it is stated to Ramya & Mohamed’s study
our behaviour patterns, likes and dislikes can be influenced by the people around us.
This can be related to our purchasing behaviour which can also be influenced by the
likes and dislikes by the people around us or around social media platforms.
 References:
Forsey (2021) What is marketing and what’s its purpose?. Retrieved April 9, 2021, from:
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/what-is-marketing

Goedegubre (2019). Why we buy what others buy: The role of product popularity in
consumers. Retrieved April 9, 2021, from:
[https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/why-we-buy-what-others-buy-the-role-of-
product-popularity-in-cons]

Hill et al. (2016). Shopping under the influence of curiosity: How retailers use mystery to
drive purchase motivation. Retrieved April 9, 2021, from:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296315003525

Kidd & Hayden, n.d. The psychology and neuroscience of curiosity. Retrieved April 9,
2021, from: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4635443]

McCarthy (2017). This Korean food phenomenon is changing the internet. Retrieved
April 9, 2021, from:[ https://www.eater.com/2017/4/19/15349568/mukbang-
videos-korean-youtube]

Ramya & Mohamed Ali (2016). Factors affecting Consumer Behavior. Retrieved April 9,
2021, from:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316429866_Factors_affecting_consum
er_buying_behavior

Saylor Academy. (2020). Consumer Buying Power. Retrieved April 9, 2021, from:
https://learn.saylor.org/mod/page/view.php?id=8865#:~:text=Consumer
%20Buying%20Power,consumers%20have%20greater%20buying%20power

Yoo (2016). The Effects of Product Popularity and Time Pressure on consumer
responses in social commerce. Retrieved April 9, 2021, from:
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305028663_The_Effects_of_Product_
Popularity_and_Time_Pressure_on_Consumer_Responses_in_Social_Commerc
e]