The role of FOMO in digital marketing: a case study of Thai Air Asia’s influence on consumer purchase decisions

FOMO has been implemented in digital marketing across various industries with different strategies. Understanding how customers respond to these marketing strategies can help marketers profoundly adjust the campaigns to suit individual preferences, resulting in more efficient use of digital marketing resources. However, studies on low-cost carriers and FOMO in the Thai context are limited. The main objective of this qualitative study is to identify and categorize FOMO strategies used in low-cost carriers’ digital marketing and to investigate their impact on consumer decisions to purchase a plane ticket. Data were collected from a cross-sectional study of Thai AirAsia Facebook posts from September 2024 to January 2025; words, sentences, and pictures of the posts were kept for content analysis to identify themes for thematic analysis from in-depth semi-structured interviews from participants through the lens of Prospect Theory, Scarcity Theory, Social Proof Theory, and Impulse Buying Theory and to examine their responses to various FOMO-driven marketing strategies, including limited offers, pricing tactics, destination attractions, influencer endorsements, event-driven campaigns, and service promotions. The findings revealed that among highly frequent posts and many post types, Book Now (จองด่วน) and Reserve Now (จองเลย) are the most frequently used. Limited offers and pricing strategies effectively trigger urgency and impulse buying, whereas influencer endorsements and destination imagery evoke aspirational desires and social proof, reinforcing consumer engagement. Additionally, thematic analysis identified key patterns of FOMO techniques, such as the prevalence of urgent language, scarcity cues, and visually captivating content. The study concludes that while FOMO-based strategies can effectively drive consumer purchase intention, their impact varies depending on the nature of the promotional content and perceived value. Implications for digital marketing practitioners and recommendations for future research are discussed.