Do "Likes" in a Brand Community Always Make You Buy More?

This article investigates the impact of the Like feature—a one-click social plug-in enabling customer-to-customer (C2C) interactions—in online brand communities (OBCs) on users' purchase behavior across online and offline retail channels. Using proprietary data from a prominent Chinese apparel firm and a scenario-based online experiment, the study finds that, on average, adoption of the Like feature leads to a 4.1% decrease in order numbers and a 25.0% reduction in expenditure, with more pronounced declines in online purchases than offline. The effect varies over time and by user: initially, the feature increases community participation and online purchases for about two months, but subsequently induces negative purchase effects primarily due to unflattering social comparison when users receive few Likes. Conversely, users receiving more than two Likes experience positive effects on online purchases. The experiment further reveals that brand attachment mediates these effects and that users with higher social comparison orientation are more sensitive to the Like feature's influence. The findings highlight potential unintended negative consequences of the Like feature in OBCs and suggest managerial strategies to mitigate these effects, such as fostering supportive community environments and customizing user feedback.