Impact of Social Media Marketing on Online Purchasing Decisions

This study examines the impact of social media marketing on online purchasing decisions, using Amazon as a case study. It explores the role of social media advertising, consumer perception, benefits and challenges faced by Amazon, and provides recommendations for effective social media marketing strategies.

DISSERTATION
(A study on the impact of social-media marketing on online
purchasing decisions; A case study on Amazon)
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Acknowledgement
I would like to pay a great thanks to my supervisors who had provided me high level of
assistance during the entire investigation and make it possible for me to complete the study
successfully and on time as well. There coherent and unconditional support really proven as a great
help for me in completing the investigation successfully without compromising the quality.
Moreover, I am really thankful to every participants and members in the study i.e. my friends &
family members who provided me enough level of support & inspire to not lose hope and devoted
full mind to carry out the investigation.
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Abstract
In the modern period, social media emergence has revolutionised the traditional and earlier
modes of marketing communications used by the corporations i.e. televisions, print media,
magazines, radio and newspaper ads. Social-media marketing (SMM) is a continuous and ongoing
process whereby companies gain excessive user traffic or millennial audience base through the use
of social-media networking channels. In this, companies promote their offerings on social media
platform & foster the relationship with the stakeholders online. Amazon is a leading American
cloud computing and e-commerce business that has a very broad product portfolio and
headquartered in Seattle, Washington, US. The research aimed at finding out the impact of its social
media marketing on the online buying intentions and purchasing preferences of the consumers. For
this a survey has been conducted to gather the responses of 100 regular online customers of Amazon
using inductive approach and intepretivism philosophy which has been examined by thematic
perception test. The findings of the report concluded that SMM greatly helps the audiences in
diversified ways such as delivery of required information online about product quality, prices and
offers. Thus, users can search any information any time just on a single click which helps them to
make solid buying decisions & satisfy their own needs & expectations accordingly. Word of mouth
(WOM) publicity at the social media encourage the buyers to demand a particular goods and service
that Amazon is offering at its e-commerce and also provide them enough information in selecting
the best item. High interactivity is the main reason why they prefer SNS highly in comparison to the
other traditional mediums of marketing such as TV and newspaper ads & others. Under the online
channel, people can easily read the other persons opinion and know their reviews and comments
thus, it delivers trustworthy & reliable information to the user upon which they can easily believe to
make good decisions. Thus, it must be recommended to the Amazon’s marketing division to
consider the reliability of the content, boosting consumer engagement and establishing greater
connectivity and interactivity using social networking medium.
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER – 1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................6
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................6
1.1 Background of the study............................................................................................................6
1.2 Statement of the problem...........................................................................................................7
1.3 Research aims and objectives....................................................................................................8
1.4 Research questions.....................................................................................................................8
1.5 Significance of the study............................................................................................................8
1.6 Structure of the dissertation.......................................................................................................9
CHAPTER – 2 LITERATURE REVIEW..........................................................................................10
2.0 Introduction..............................................................................................................................10
2.1 Concept of social-media marketing.........................................................................................10
2.2 Role of Social Media Advertisements in e-commerce business models.................................12
2.3 Benefits and challenges faced in social-media advertisement.................................................13
2.4 Impact of social-media marketing on online purchasing decisions.........................................15
CHAPTER – 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY..............................................................................18
3.0 Introduction..............................................................................................................................18
3.1 Research philosophy................................................................................................................18
3.2 Research approach...................................................................................................................19
3.3 Research design.......................................................................................................................19
3.4 Research type...........................................................................................................................20
3.5 Data collection.........................................................................................................................21
3.6 Universe and sampling.............................................................................................................22
3.7 Sampling techniques................................................................................................................22
3.8 Data analysis............................................................................................................................23
3.9 Ethical implications.................................................................................................................23
CHAPTER – 4 DATA FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS........................................................................25
4.0 Introduction..............................................................................................................................25
4.1 Data analysis and examination................................................................................................25
CHAPTER -5 CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................37
5.0 Introduction..............................................................................................................................37
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5.1 Conclusion and recommendations...........................................................................................37
5.2 Limitation and future research.................................................................................................39
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................40
APPENDIX........................................................................................................................................44
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CHAPTER – 1 INTRODUCTION
Research title: A study on the impact of social media advertising on online purchasing decision: A
case study on Amazon
1.0 Introduction
In the first section of the thesis, the background & a brief overview of the study has been
presented to have an idea about the area of investigation. Moreover, the problem statement also has
been analyzed to identify the need of the current study and on the basis of it, target aims and
objectives has been framed. Further, the contribution of the study has been presented along with the
structure that how the study will be progressed.
1.1 Background of the study
In modern times, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has witnessed
considerable change in the global corporate scenario with the emergence of wireless technology,
new and unique enterprise software, applications and others. In the past decade, technological
advancement through internet revolutionised major changes in corporate world by the means of
online presence. Now-a-days, internet becomes an important part of everyone’s life because it
provided an opportunity to the people to interact with others using online networking without the
need of physical meetings. According to the recent statistical data, in Australia, 85.1% proportion of
the population totalled to 20,679,490 is the internet users who access various online medium and
channels for different purpose. The emergence of web 2.0 technology can be considered as a unique
advancement which brought significant change in the online commerce & trading functions by
introducing social-networking channels & social media (Tuten and Solomon, 2014). It built a strong
interconnectivity and boosted the active participation on internet. The technology emphasizes more
upon user-centred content and use social media sites as the channel of developing connection with
the public (Heymann-Reder, 2012). With the rise of web connectivity & social-media users,
establishments started incorporating social networking channels like Facebook, blogs, video sharing
channels (YouTube) and other web applications in their marketing and promotional campaign to
attract greater number of audiences from all around the world. Social-media marketing (SMM) is a
continuous and ongoing process whereby companies gain excessive user traffic or millennial
audience base through the use of social-media networking channels. In this, companies promote
their offerings on social media platform & foster the relationship with the stakeholders online
(Hoffman and Fodor, 2010). It has an ability to reach broad market covering both the inbound and
outbound consumers, facilitates online communication, relationship management and boost brand
popularity to fuel competitive success. It made a significant contribution in the e-commerce by
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boosting strong connection in the cyberspace because, now, customers can inquire any sort of
information using internet and make rational buying decisions to satisfy themselves (Kaur, 2016).
Amazon is a leading American cloud computing business that is listed on NASDAQ and
operates worldwide. It is an e-commerce business that has a very broad product portfolio and
headquartered in Seattle, Washington, US. It is the strongest online retailer firm that has a strong
customer base and offers the best online shopping experience to them. It has number of online retail
websites in UK, Ireland, US, Germany, Netherland, Brazil, Japan, India, Mexico, Australia, Spain
and others which shows its worldwide presence. It promote its brand through social networking
channels under the promotional campaign wherein the first post each and every information on
social sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest and others and get amazing results to build a strong
brand popularity and thereby gain competitive edge (Amazon’s Approach to Social Media, 2013).
The thrust of the current research is to investigate the impact of social media marketing and
advertisement practices on the online buying preferences and decisions of the consumers. The study
will investigate that how social sites can influence consumers purchasing intentions by making an
online communication with the users. Furthermore, it emphasized on finding the key benefits and
challenges that Amazon has gained and might faced in their social-media promotional programs.
1.2 Statement of the problem
With the rapid evolution of social networking medium, companies all over the world has paid
attention to devise many SMM promotional plans and strategies to attract million of users on their
websites so as to strengthen their brand popularity inside and outside the domestic marketplace.
Thus, the investigation will find out the key determinates of customers buying decisions in the
online market and thereby identify that how social-media platform influence the users whether to
buy the particular goods or services or not. The main problems towards which the study pays focus
is determining the impact of social-media marketing and advertisement practices of Amazon on the
purchasing intention & behaviour of customers (Shenoy and Prabhu, 2016). It is important to be
studied because currently, almost each & every entity regardless their size and scope of operations
are involved in the online marketing by the means of social-media networking channels. Moreover,
it will be a two-folded study which will carry out a thorough investigation of both the positive &
negative impact of SMM on the Amazon’s performance. Finding out the key challenges in the
marketing practices of the business enable the investigator to make solid plans & strategies that e-
commerce companies might implement so as to foster the strong online connectivity & build sound
relationship with the existing and potential users to gain large customer traffic (Chitra and Sasikala,
2016). Thus, the main emphasize of the thesis will be upon finding out the impact of social media
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ads on customer behaviour.
1.3 Research aims and objectives
Aim: The focus of the research is “To critically investigate the role of social-media marketing
practices upon the online purchasing preferences and decisions of the consumers in the context to
Amazon”.
Objectives:
 To investigate the role and significance of social-media advertisement & marketing
 To explore the relationship between consumer perception towards online shopping & social-
media ads placed by Amazon
 To identify the major benefits and challenges faced by Amazon in their social-media
advertisement
 To recommend the most viable strategies to the Amazon to reach the crowded audiences
during their buying decisions journey
1.4 Research questions
Q.1. What is the concept of marketing through social-media platform?
Q.2. How Amazon’s social media networking channels can influence the buying decisions of the
consumers?
Q.3. What are the opportunities and risks can be faced by the Amazon’s marketing division in their
SMM?
Q.4. How Amazon and other marketers can utilize the SMM tools effectively in order to reach
millennial consumer base?
1.5 Significance of the study
In today’s period, companies invest a large amount of capital in the online marketing, more
importantly, on social media platform to gain a heavy crowd and large audience base. With context
to Amazon, it also invest a huge fund on online marketing to bring attention of the audiences from
inside and outside market for acquisition of more profit. Although, there are enormous studies has
been investigated prior but majority of the scholars has focused the core attention on the benefits &
drawbacks of the SMM for the businesses instead of findings its impact on the buying decisions of
the consumers. Thus, the study is decided to be conducted focusing the impact of the social-media
marketing practices of Amazon on the buying intention, preferences and decisions of the social-
media users. The outcome of the study presents an unique contribution for the e-commerce
businesses like Amazon to create the innovative plans & strategies to effectively utilize the tools of
social-media marketing to reach the larger audience base. In addition to this, scholars who are
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interested in researching various issues in the related area can use the study as a secondary source of
data and develop a conceptual & theoretical base for their own investigation.
1.6 Structure of the dissertation
Chapter - 1: Introduction: Every research starts with a brief overview & background
knowledge, thus, at the starting point; the chapter consists of a description of the overview,
objectives of the study, problem statement and significance of the investigation.
Chapter – 2: Literature review: This part focuses on data gathering from the secondary
sources, more importantly, previous research papers and articles of the scholars, so that, a
conceptual framework can be developed to provide a base to the study. It enables investigator to
find out the gap in previous studies that will be bridge through the current investigation.
Chapter – 3: Research methodology: Under this section, methodology has been framed
addressing the paradigm, approach and research design. Moreover, the data collection method &
analytical technique also has been decided by which the gathered materialistic information has been
examined to identify the impact of social-media ads on the consumer buying decisions.
Chapter – 4: Data findings and analysis: This chapter deals with the data collection and its
analysis adopting technique of thematic perception test wherein a number of themes have been
constructed to assess and investigate the effect of social-media marketing on the purchasing
preferences and decisions of online consumers.
Chapter – 5: Conclusion & Recommendations: This chapter present a brief conclusion of
the whole research in a summarized format. It also suggests upcoming scholars regarding the area
of further investigations and also recommends the entity about the most effective strategies and
promotional plans to effectively utilize the social media marketing tools to provide best online
experiences to the consumers.
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CHAPTER – 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction
This section of the research will design a conceptual base to support the study by gaining in-
depth knowledge and critical research of different theories and use of social media marketing in the
e-commerce model of the businesses. For the same, secondary resources by the means of previous
research papers and articles of the scholars has been studied and examined so that researcher can
develop his or her own opinion and carry out the study in a thoroughly manner.
2.1 Concept of social-media marketing
According to Chung and Muk (2017), shoppers and marketers can now reach or can get
touch directly to the customers through social media. Technology develops the powerful search
engines, social sites etc which connects the people online. Concept of shoppers marketing is a new
that has created an direct communication between business and consumer. It is a planning to
execute the activities that influence the motivation to shop, purchase, recommendation and
repurchase. It can improve product, promoters and can serve as connecting in-store activities.
Besides this, Godey and et.al., (2016), social media is a set which includes blogs, forums or
social networks. It has been a huge platform of web based technology. It is an interactive platform
which brings individual and communities together. Internet has many websites and each of them has
different contributes to different sections of society. Sites like Facebook are for general masses and
linkedIn for professionals networks. You tube etc for media sharing. Social media creates an direct
relationship between organization and customer. Organization can provide information on large
platform to the customers and the customers are also free to publish negative or positive thoughts to
the information.
As per Kedzior and et.al., (2016), culture plays an important role in influencing to individual
on social media. It means that ethnic or culture background influence individual content on social
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media. Social media allows the new culture by new communication ways on sites. Retailers need to
focus on culture to utilize social network. Culture backgrounds and traditions plays an important
role into the formulation of customers attitude towards brand or products. Culture and ethics are
teach to the individual from the birth so it can be the major factor influencing the customer.
(Social media for online shopping decisions in US, 2016)
Despite this, Lamberton and Stephen (2016), stated that social media affects the consumer
attitudes and motives towards the brand or product. In his study he founds those groups on
Facebook response to advertisement and the psychological factor of attitude and self disclosure is
different from the non-member of Facebook groups. Evidencing from the presented graph, it can be
seen that Facebook gains top preferences among online buyers in comparison to the social
networking sites like twitter, Yelp, Google reviews and others. The study concludes that the
members on Facebook are more likely to disclose their personal details than the non-member of
Facebook. Participation in the form of groups online requires personal information because they
promote brand or product through the pass on of advertisement to their friends. Social site users are
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more favourable attitudes towards advertisement on social sites. Positive attitude are more likely to
join brand because they receive the promotional message. He finds that on Facebook mostly the
college-aged users are highly influenced by the advertisement.
However, on the other side, Schivinski and Dabrowski (2016), he founds that the age and
attitude play an important role towards the online advertisement. He found that users between 18-28
have positive attitude towards the video and blogs format of advertisement. This is because they are
eye catching and attractive to them. Online advertisement welcomes positive attributes of customers
more with the pop up or floating format. It also depends on the users perception to the particular
advertisement. Different users from the different age groups, professional etc plays an role in the
influence of customer. The social media connects all the age group of the people at one platform.
2.2 Role of Social Media Advertisements in e-commerce business models
Social media marketing plays a wide role in e-commerce business. We live in a digital age.
In today's era business creates & develops websites, along with having websites for the betterment
& growth. As according to the Lamberton and Stephen (2016), social networking sites like twitter,
facebook etc are essential competitive edges to expand your outreach to social media platform.
The advantages of social media for business are that they can directly interact with the
customer. Improve Responsiveness social media ease the process of receiving instant feedback
about what are the customer's needs & desire. If the customer has any queries regarding business
offers they can let you know all the queries in timely manner. Effective Marketing it is These social
networking sites such as linked, twitter etc. helps to generate interest among customers by advertise
your product on social media without make the customer feel that they are overwhelmed by
marketing campaign. Affordable social media doesn't require any expensive budget to advertise the
business product, this make it fair with the small companies who are competing with the well
known brands. Companies use social media with the aim of creating, boosting their sales &
spreading their brand product digitally. According to the views of Ferguson and et.al. (2014), the
social media should be the part of marketing business because it creates connection with the target
audience. From Instagram to linked, there are many way to interact, give & share the information
related with product to end user. It gives instant value, as if social media is performing effectively
in the organisation. Some examples of popular social media applications are as - Facebook it create
ideal platform for creating brand awareness among the customers.
Twitter helps to encourage interaction among customers & make it easier to share valuable
content. You tube is the excellence choice of businesses to promote their brand & increase their
visibility through videos. Acc. to the Singh, S. and et.al. (2017), firstly organisation should set target
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or goals that what you include in your social media marketing strategies, you can't move forward
without knowing what are u working for. Few strategies that all companies should adopt for the
betterment & growth of organisation which include retaining customer, reducing product cost, and
increasing brand awareness are relevant to everyone. Marketing strategies cherish unfulfilled goal
to successful fulfil goal. There are various approaches that determine the objectives of organisation
such as SMART approach, S – Specific, M- Measurable, A- Achievable, R- Reasonable/ relevant
and T stands for Time bond. Firstly you should know the likes, dislikes, habits, interest of customer,
then its easier to achieve target through social media. Then choose channel & tactics that which
platform is best suitable for you for examle if your customer tells you that they spend 40% time on
Instagram & 20% time on linked, then you know which is your primary source of advertising &
which is your secondary source you should focus on. Always try to incipit & adopt new changes to
overall strategies to sustain the organisation for long run in competitive world. As the marketing
strategies isn't written in stone there may be some tactics while working on the marketing strategies
so always try to adopt new & innovative strategies to solve those tactics/problems. When everyone
knows his/her role, then evaluate & execute the social media strategies for sustaining long run in the
market.
According to Rapp and et.al. (2013), e-commerce business can only be possible through the
social media. The e-commerce is fully dependent on social media. It is the platform with lots of
benefits. It is the new opportunity or the new way to grow the business by selling of goods. The
advertisement of e-commerce business is important because the business is based on the social
media and the advertisement should also be through the social media. The advertisement can be
business to consumer or business to business. These are the two main categories on which the e-
commerce depend upon.
Despite this, stated that Perloff (2014), the advertisement of e commerce will increase or
promote the business because both the organizations and the advertisement are based on electronic
technology. The number of users are available on the social media and now they found easy to shop
from social media. Recommendation plays an important role to influence the customer.
Advertisement of the e commerce business on social sites will be huge potential customers because
they are the only one those who are the target customers for the organizations. Advertisement
attracts the customer to the business to buy the particular product.
2.3 Benefits and challenges faced in social-media advertisement
According to Jin, Liu and Austin (2014), there are many benefits of social media
advertisement. The most important benefits are high rate of increase in traffic and increase in
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exposure. Social media has given exposure to the business. Increase in the traffic is the positive
result. Content is the backbone of the advertisement. The information is fresh available on social
media. Engagement of the users or customers are also the reason for the successful run of the
advertisement on social media. Relation of the user and the company becomes friendly. Consistency
is the another benefit of social media marketing. Users are constantly using the social media. It
increases the presence of the user on the social media. It improves the relation which increases the
sales of the product or services on social media. Marketing on the social media for the long duration
time gives the huge platform to the business to get successful.
However, on the critical note, Holt and et.al. (2013), organizations have to face many
problems on the social media for marketing. The social media may clash with the social
networking. The clashes can also be in between the technology and new social network. It is
always a major issue for the organization to select the technology or the platform of the social
media. Management of the companies might want to select the latest platform of social media
because they will find the huge traffic over their but it will increase the budget of the advertisement.
As per Gainous and et.al. (2016), social media grew the business partnership. Social media has
attracted the investors to invest in the business which can be done through the social media.
Business on social media generating the leads to influence the customers. Social media has reduced
the marketing expenses. It improves the rankings of the search engine. As the information is
searched on search engine which increases its uses traffic rates has increased on the internet. The
social media gas the most effect on the relation in the B2C. It is the medium where the business
can directly connect to customers.
On the contrary side, Perse and Lambe (2016), argued that the negative effects of the social
media marketing can affect the organization brands image. In social media the fraud can be
executed but for that the laws are made by the government. The social media the parties can't
connect face to face. The trust has to be gain by the organization of the users of the social media.
Small scale organization can't afford the high level of social platform because they are highly
expensive. They can approach the users or the potential customers. The small scale organizations
are still lacking to be on the social media. It's a challenge for the small business to compete in the
market where the large scale industry is using the platform of social media. Another aspect of social
media is the connectivity. The marketers have to get connected to the right user at the appropriate
time. Advertisement through the social media some time delivers the wrong message to the public
or the message that the organization want to pass in the public but the users are misunderstanding
the message and that gives the negative respond to the particular advertisement.
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2.4 Impact of social-media marketing on online purchasing decisions
According to the views of Hajli (2013), internet and virtual communities has transformed
corporation, societies and consumer with wide access to information, communication, more better
social networking. Social network connects millions of users among all over the world with same
interest hobbies etc. Social media has influenced consumer behaviour about the brand , product or
the company. Last few years online networks has influence the consumers purchase decision. Social
media sites provide an platform with the opportunity for the business to get in touch with the
potential customers. It built the relationship between the organizations and the potential consumers.
As per Harshimi (2015), the inter connectivity between consumers has expanded on the
internet. Brand image and positing of the organization differentiate the two different organizations.
He believes that marketers should aggressively promote only one advantage in the market so that it
can be attractive to in the online environment which will influence the purchasing decision of the
buyer. Higher level of social media will impact on the marketing in the positive manner.
Communication of brand and the user create a positive or negative image of others who read
information or purchase.
Despite this, Srinivasan, Rutz and Pauwels (2016) stated that unfavourable or negative
information from reviews or posting can impact the online purchasing decision of the potential
customers. Individual needs an emotional bond with the particular brand to buy online. The relation
between brand and the consumer is important for the organization to gain loyalty of the consumer
and to influence him to purchase. More and more people are on the social media and are connected
to each other which helps brand to pass the information from one to another. Social media is the
new stream in the field of e-commerce.
The study of Yadav and Rahman (2017), says that shopping through social media has always
been a social experience. It allows the consumers to interact with each other. Many of them are
stranger's online. Culture aspect has influence on consumer's usage of social media and it has a
great impact on social media marketing on online purchasing decision. Review or the person who
has purchased the particular product his review or information about the particular product is the
major factor to influence the consumer. Social media has collaborated the business and the potential
consumers. Social media content and offer valuable advice to make the purchase decision.
According to Stephen (2016), the high rise in the social platforms or social network a new
era of content creation has emerged where it is ready for an individual to share the personal
experience and the information. This new era where the information is been quickly exchange
impact the purchasing decision by the rates and review of the consumers those who has already
consume the particular product. Those platforms where the consumers have social interaction
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become more familiar with each other by providing a positive trust this influence user intention to
buy. Social media has popular the marketing online. Consumers use social sites daily it is a positive
factor to advertise the brand to attract the consumer and to influence to purchase.
According to the Borah and Tellis (2016), social media is the advantage to the business. It
facilitates the interaction of social consumer's. It leads to trust and to purchase. Trust has the direct
effect in the purchasing decision. Social media delivers the different value to the company because
it facilitates the communication or interaction with the consumer, increase the sales, share
information. Social media is the networking through which the marketers can get in touch with the
customers so that they can gain the trust of the customer and influence the potential customers to
purchase the particular product. Consumers are into many groups this impact the decision of
purchase because the information is not just through one sites. Consumers now prefer to many
social sites to get the information. The decision depends on the environment in which the user is
using the social media. The purchase decision is influenced by the information he sees at the social
sites.
As per Kumar and et.al., (2016), here are many social groups that influence the consumer's
purchasing decision. Primary groups are based on the relationships and the size of the groups.
Secondary groups are of more than one primary groups. Informal groups are built with the common
interest. Formal groups are organized more flexible in nature than others. Virtual groups are the
groups through social networks. Reference group are based on culture, ethics . Informal groups are
the major group which helps to influence to purchase. The exchange of experience opinions helps
the product or services to sell. There are many ways to influence the purchasing decision on an
individual. Information influence about various kind of products. Satisfaction to the user and his
review.
Besides this, in the study of Ferguson and et.al. (2014), it is said that purchasing decision of
consumer's has several steps. That consist recognition of the problem, search of problem,
alternatives evaluation, post purchase experience. Consumers are not aware of these steps but
unfortunately they are following these steps. Consumer may be in problem to make the decision
because of his desire and wants, at the next step, information can be accessed by various means like
advertisement, online promotion and marketing, physical locations of the stores and other.
Thereafter, it is being evaluated by the decision
However, Zhang and Kizilcec (2014), says that purchasing depends on several segments.
Online insiders are very active on social sites and have a huge hand in the influencing to purchase.
Social clickers are the young generation those who have heavy online communicators. Content
kings are the persons who are addicted to the social media. Everyday pros are the ones who
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sometimes participate in the social shopping activities. There are number of platforms that provides
the online purchasing and to share the information but has not been to share the information such as
at amazon the customers can rate or review about the product. The individuals are free and
interdependent on each other. There are number of social media that facilitates all such activities
such as amazon, Wikipedia, Facebook, twitter etc.
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CHAPTER – 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction
To take the decisions in an organization, It is the process to collect the information and the
data. The data or information may include research publications, surveys or interview. It may
include historic data as well as current data. It is to bring out the new ideas to the organizations. The
study requires a lot of tools such as collection of data, approaches, philosophy, type of research and
the analysis of data. Information or data can be secondary or primary. It provides an overview of
research paradigms. Research methodology is done to find the new data to understand the current
scenario of the particular project.
3.1 Research philosophy
It refers to the way in which the data is gathered and analyses to use. Research philosophy is
the large field and has two elements the first one is epistemology and the second one is doxology.
The research philosophical can be divided into positivism, realism and Interpretivism. It is used to
investigate the data to obtain the required information.
Positivism- Reality stables in the positivism, it is a scientific method of investigation is used to
positivism. Experiments and survey is the method of scientific method. In this, researcher is very
much concerned about knowledge taken from the scientific ways of investigation. Various statistical
tools are used in this type of approach (Baker and et.al., 2013). The information obtained through
some logic. Hence, this approach is said to be highly structured approach. It focuses mainly on
objectivity.
Interpretivism- it believes that reality can be describe through subjective interpretation. In
this approach information is derived from qualitative data. It is based on the actions of the humans
with their interaction among their own and not with the external environment. It relies on the
subjective meaning. It is a time- bound approach and reality is made through the meanings which
are created by humans.
Realism- it believes that the several aspects of reality is dependent on concept. It relies out of
the human mind. It is basically a mix of positivism and interpretivism.
Based upon the present research, interpretivism research philosophy has not been used as
interpretive research approach mainly targets the qualitative aspect of data whereas positivism
approach relies on quantitative data. It is one of key reason that the positivism philosophy has been
used. In this study, researcher targets on the online purchasing decisions of the people so
quantitative approach can be used. That’s why positivism can best purchasing decisions.
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3.2 Research approach
Research approach can be defined as the detailed method or a way to collect, analyse and
interpret the data as well. Adopting research approach, research problem can be easily identifies and
solved. Research approach can be easily classified in two:
Deductive approach: it is also known as top-down approach as it moves from very
general level of focus to specific ones. Researcher always focus on already existing theories which
other have done in past and hypothesize it (Creswell, 2013). After making an hypotheses of an
existing research, researcher analyze the data accordingly.
Inductive approach: this approach is exactly opposite of the deductive approach. It is based
on the concept of bottom-top approach i.e. It moves from very specific observations to more
generalized concepts. It usually starts from the observation then it moves towards hypotheses and
theorize. This approach involves a high degree of uncertainty.
In the current research, deductive approach is used as this study starts with the more
generalise idea or point of view and moves to the specific perspective. In this, researcher always
focus on already existing theories which other have done in past and hypothesize it. By applying
this approach, it has given new knowledge or information to the researcher (Miller and et.al., 201)).
It has been able to derive more interesting facts or findings during the research.
3.3 Research design
It can be defined as a master plan which describes methods, ways or procedures for data
collection and analyzing the data. The research strategies are to be adopted to solve research
problems. Research strategies include descriptive, exploratory, causal, analytical etc.
Descriptive: It can be defined as the research which describes the attributes of the whole
population which is to be studied by the researcher. It explains the problem, issue or any situation in
depth accurately. Whenever a researcher wants to understand any problem or a topic in a better
manner, this research strategy should be selected by the researcher (Robinson, 2014)
Exploratory: this research design is adopted by the researcher when no research has been
conducted in a particular area earlier. It is not suitable for conducting in the area which includes
large population. it can be applied when the problem is at a very initial stage i.e. It can be applied
on new problems. Therefore, it provides a basic understanding of the problem in the particular area.
Analytical research: in this type of approach, researcher critically examines the facts or
information already available. It is an in-depth approach of evaluating and analysing the
information on a selected problem and provides their viewpoint regarding the facts derived from the
problem in an effective way.
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Causal research: In this, it describes the causes of the research problem and effect of one
variable on the other variable. It determines the cause and effect relationship of the variables. This
is considered as a very complex type of research and provides a very deep investigation of the
selected problem.
Case study research design: this design deals with the specific or a particular research
problem and analyse a selected topic. It enables to narrow the broader perspective i.e. It narrows the
generalized viewpoint to the specific context (Hair and et.al., 2010). This is very helpful in realizing
and analyzing whether this theory applies in the real world or not.
In the particular study, case study research design is used as this is a study on Amazon which
needs to be analyzed. It is really helpful as it provides a very deep investigation. The main benefit
of this study is that this strategy had been applied in the real world also. No sampling method is
used in the case study research. Case study strategy is specifically used in this current research
because it helps in the formulation of questionnaires and helps in conducting surveys.
3.4 Research type
It includes mainly two types of research which are quantitative and qualitative.
Quantitative research is basically a numeric set of data which is used to quantify a selected
problem. It measures in the data in the form of numbers and analyze the data to generate various
facts and figures. In this sample size is large as this type of research includes online surveys,
questionnaires, interviews whether it is face-to-face interview or telephonic interview, polls etc
(Friend and et.al., 2013.
Various experiments are done in case of quantitative research. This approach is based on
generalized data. It follows a particularistic view of approach.
Qualitative research deals with subjective aspects of information. It defines the particular
problem in the real world by the persons who are experiencing it personally. Basically, this
approach includes direct interaction of the problem with the human beings. For analyzing any
problem, various statistical tests are applied. It follows inductive approach of research that is starts
from the specific level to more generalized level of focus (O’Reilly and et.al., 2013). Sample size is
small as compared to the quantitative research approach. In this approach researcher is able to
conduct the study in a more unbiased, objective and an effective manner.
In the current study, quantitative research approach had been used. It was used as using this
approach researcher was able to analyze the impact of social media marketing on the online
purchasing decisions in case of Amazon. It is helpful in analyzing the behavior of individuals.
Selecting this approach provides an added advantage of formation of open-ended questions which
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allows the respondents to respond in a detailed manner. It helps to avoid omission of information or
data.
3.5 Data collection
Data collection can be defined as a method of gathering or collecting information or data in
order to analyze the results as well as evaluating the outcomes. Data can be collected by adopting
two different ways namely, primary method and secondary method.
Primary method: This method can be defined as the method in which data is collected
using first hand information. It is the process of collecting original and fresh data about the market.
Raw data is collected to analyze the behaviour of individuals. Primary data is collected by the
researcher by adopting various methods of surveys, observations or experiments. This method
remains a very common method for researcher to analyze the attitudes and behaviour of respondents
by asking them about their purchasing decisions face-to-face. This method doesn’t enables the
researcher to get involved in any type of manipulative practices.
Data can be collected by means of doing surveys, performing experiments or by directly
asking questions from the people in order to assess their attitude and behaviour. Several methods of
conducting primary research are observation method, interview method, questionnaire method,
schedules etc.
Some of the advantages of primary research includes researcher can obtain more specific
information or effective data for the company, it involves enquiring actual customers which are
appropriate, data interpretation is effective, greater control over respondents, behaviour can be
easily analyzed by directly observing them etc.
Some of the disadvantages are conducting research through primary sources are
considered as much costlier especially for the new firms entered in the market, respondents may not
answer truthfully, or sometimes they may not take these surveys seriously, time-consuming process
as conducting surveys or observing them takes much more time than conducting secondary surveys.
Secondary method: Data with is already collected and analyzed by any other person.
Secondary data can be obtained by internal and external means (Knobe and et.al., 2013). Internal
sources includes: Reports of the company i.e sales reports, purchase reports, financial statements of
the company, details of the customers, management information system, etc. However, external
sources includes: Census of the government, internet, journals, magazines, libraries, etc.
Secondary research is helpful in performing research on the previously collected and
analyzed data making it easier to conduct. It is considered as time- saving approach of data
collection as research has already been done by the previous researcher so time is saved in
21

collecting data. This method covers larger as well as smaller samples of the population as it includes
both internal and external sources of data therefore, sample size can be larger and smaller both.
Secondary data is already have a degree of reliability, so the researcher need not have to test the
data to check whether it is reliable or not. It is also considered as a cost- efficient method because it
is a pre -collected data and researcher need not have to spend on collection.
Some disadvantages are the data may be sometimes considered as inaccurate or redundant. Data can
be sometimes considered as inappropriate unlike primary research in which data was collected by
the researcher himself (Le Roux, 2017)). Secondary data is sometimes not according to the needs of
the researcher. Sometimes researcher cannot fully rely on the data because it is out of date. While
doing secondary research data is considered irrelevant to the current situation as it sometimes
provide outdated information.
In the current study of Amazon, primary method was used as it conducted surveys through
observation, questionnaire methods to analyze the impact on the online purchasing decisions of
customers.
3.6 Universe and sampling
An entire set of population which are having homogeneous characteristics is known as
target population or universe. It includes all the elements that are required to do the survey.
Universe can include a group of persons, objects, events etc.
Sampling can be defined as a process of selection of subsets or a portion of the population
and estimating the characteristics of the entire population on the basis of these samples. The greater
benefit of sampling is data collection is faster because entire population can be measured on the
basis of samples selected quickly and efficiently.
3.7 Sampling techniques
Sampling can be done either on the basis of probability sampling or non-probability
sampling..
Probability sampling: In this, every element of an entire population gets an equal chance of
being selected. It can be further divided into simple random, systematic and stratified random
sampling. This sampling is unbiased in comparison to non- probability sampling as every member
gets an equal opportunity.
Non- probability sampling: In this sampling, every member does not get equal opportunity
of getting selected from the entire set. They gets selected either on the basis of their convenience,
opinion, quota etc. So it is divided into convenience sampling, quota sampling, and purposive
sampling. Its main advantage is that it is cost and time effective method of sampling. It is
22

conducted according to the convenience of the researcher. But it has a biggest disadvantage too i.e.
Samples selected are sometimes inaccurate as they are selected according to the researcher.
According to the current research, simple random sampling is used as every respondent got an equal
chance of getting selected for surveys. Probabilistic technique had been selected as it is considered
as this is used to collect unbiased information in order to accurately assess the behavior of
respondents.
3.8 Data analysis
Data analysis is the process of analyzing the data in order to identify the relationship between
the variables and to describe the data in an efficient manner so as to predict the results of the
research. Data analysis can be further defined as arranging the order and structure of the collected
data in a more meaningful manner. Data analysis can be done using various different tools like
spreadsheets, SPSS etc. Data analysis can be done using two techniques that is qualitative and
quantitative approach.
Quantitative data can be referred to as collected using numbers and figures and further it
can be analyzed using mathematical tools (Nuttin, 2014). Researcher can analyze quantitative data
in the form of assigning numbers. Various statistical tools have been used to analyze data like mean,
standard deviation etc. Analyzing quantitative data is difficult as compared to qualitative data as
dealing with numbers and figures results in inaccurate findings. Qualitative data can be defined as
the subjective data which needs to be analyzed focusing on human’s behaviour, attitudes, opinions
etc.
As per the current study, thematic numric analysis had been used which is included in the
quantitative research. Thematic analysis is used as it focuses on patterns within the data and helps in
evaluating themes in the data. Multiple theories have been applied using thematic analysis of data.
As this study points large population therefore, thematic analysis is used.
3.9 Ethical implications
It is very much necessary to take into account some of the ethical considerations needed to
conduct research. It helps to define the quality and effectiveness of the research work. Ethical
standards must be adhered so that there remains the clarity of the research work. At the time of
collecting data through primary research, questionnaires must be prepared without any biasness
attached whereas at the time of collecting data through secondary research, genuine sources of
collecting data must be referred. The ethical issue of anonymity and confidentiality must be
resolved. In case of secondary research, as the data has already been collected therefore, it needs to
23

be analyzed again in order to check the accuracy and reliability of the information. Data should be
kept confidential without having any unauthorized access. Privacy should be respected as in data
should be collected and analyzed in private. It should not be disclosed to everyone before any
findings or conclusion. Further, prior consent must be taken from the participant before conducting
any research. Anonymity should also be kept of the participants and they should be informed about
the anonymity of their names. Hence, confidentiality and anonymity are considered as a very
important aspect of ethics in the research.
Researcher must assure that whether the respondents are willing to participate in the research
or not. Data must be re-identified before any conclusion or findings. Data must be encrypted
properly which is again considered one of the ethical issue in the research. So, some guidelines or
procedures related to the ethics needs to be made to ensure re-use of data, protection of data and to
maintain confidentiality.
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CHAPTER – 4 DATA FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
4.0 Introduction
The next chapter after the methodology is data collection and its analysis. This section
particularly deals with the examination and evaluation of the gathered data that has been obtained
and acquired by the investigator by the means of conducting an online survey of the selected target
members. The chapter gains considerable importance in every research investigation which is
developed to drive the expected outcome of the study in an effective manner. The current research is
about to analyze the influence of social-media marketing practices of Amazon on the buying
preferences and decisions of the consumers. Therefore, the survey has been carried out to gather
consumer responses using online platform where participants has been asked various questions so
as to present the fair outcome of the study. However, in order to effectively examine and analyse the
findings, it has been decided to apply the thematic perception tests, wherein, multiple of themes on
the basis of the questions framed has been devised to present the findings in a suitable manner.
Moreover, for presenting the finding effectively, graphical technique has been employed.
4.1 Data analysis and examination
Theme: 1. Large proportion of the population spend 11 to 15 hours online per week
Response count Percentage Cumulative percentage
1 – 5 hours 6 6% 6%
6 – 10 hours 16 16% 22%
11 – 15 hours 56 56% 78%
16 and more 22 22% 100%
100
25

Findings and interpretation: The graph clearly elucidates that in the current times, majority
of the people spend 11 - 15 hours in a week online. The survey founded that out of 100, 56%
members access web for distinctive purposes and stay online for about 11 to 15 hours each week.
However, least numbr of respondents had replied that they spend only 1-5 hours in the world of
online connectivity as only 6 participant in the survey had replied it. In contrast, 16% customers
remains online for around 6-10 hours whilst some participants use online for a long duration of
more than 16 hours. Growing craze towards social networking sites (SNS) among society, more
importantly, youth generation people highly prefers online networking for the internet connectivity
to interact with the friends, families and others without the need of physical meetings (Schivinski
and Dabrowski, 2016).
Theme: 2. Majority of the consumers access internet for the social-networking purpose
Response count Percentage Cumulative percentage
Social media networking 48 48% 48%
Accessing information 21 21% 69%
Online shopping 14 14% 83%
Browsing 11 11% 94%
Other (Kindly specify) 6 6% 100%
100
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Findings and interpretation: The designed graph clearly reflects that maximum proportion
of the internet users use web for the purpose of using SNS like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube,
Twitter, LikedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat and others. The results of the survey founded out that out of
100 consumers, 48% said that they access social sites to chat with others so as to connect with the
others through online channel. However, 21 internet users use it to access required information, 14
use it only for the online shopping, 11 just for browsing and 6 for other users. It may be because, in
the present age of advanced technology, social networking sites provides a platform to the users to
stay-in-touch, up-to-date, entertainment, share pictures & videos and share information about their
everyday life (Chune and Muk, 2017). Moreover, they also use it to share opinion with the others
about & meeting and interacting with the new people from all over the world. All these factors
encourage the people to use a number of social sites and thereby meet their demand.
Theme: 3. Facebook is the most popular social networking site among online audiences
Response count Percentage Cumulative percentage
Facebook 48 48% 48%
LikedIn 5 5% 53%
YouTube 14 14% 67%
Twitter 22 22% 89%
Instagram 10 10% 99%
Other (Specify) 1 1% 100%
100
27

Findings and interpretation: Looking to the outcome of the graph, it is presented that
maximum number of the surveyed people has replied that they gives high preferrence to the
Facebook in the online communication medium as data supports that 48% audience said that they
spend high time on Facebook. Secondary data also evident the same as currently, Amazon has a a
strong user base of above 26.5 million likes on Facebook. Retail industrial statistics reported that
firm use it as an effective tool of marketing under the e-commerce activities for advertising &
marketing their own offerings to the online user community (Gainous and et.al., 2016). They
provide the valuable and enticing content to the consumers about their products and services which
assists people in making solid buying decisions to satisfy their own desires and expectations
perfectly. Amazon also has several accounts on the Faecbook related to their products like
PrimeVideo which is used to draw the attention of the grater number of audiences to the offered
goods and services so as to drive excessive engagement for the ultimate purpose of gaining
excessive sales (How Do Amazon Use Social Media, 2016).
After Facebook, Twitter stand on second position evident from the survey’s outcome, 22%
respondents said that they use Twitter. On Twitter, currently, Amazon has a following list of 108
million followers. In this regards, #AmazonCart allows the Twitter user to add the goods in the cart
by tweeting on the link and helps them in the online shopping. It works as a new business model for
the Amazon to generate crowded audiences on the online world and thereby grain popularity of the
brand. However, on the other side, other social networking sites like LikedIn, YouTube, Instagram
and others like Pinterest, MySpace, SnapChat were preferred only by 5%, 14%, 10% and 1% people
(Stambor, 2014). Thus, the results concluded that social-media marketing Facebook gains top
preference among web users in comparison to the other networking channels. Keeping into account
the outcome of the survey, it becomes clear that social site is a very vibrant & sensational platform
28

for the Amazon.
Theme: 4. People greatly use social-networking sites (SNS) to find information about different
goods and services
Response
count Percentage
Cumulative
percentage
To find information about products &
services 42 42.00% 42.00%
Entertainment purpose 12 12.00% 54.00%
Networking 10 10.00% 64.00%
Stay in touch 20 20.00% 84.00%
Deals & promotional offers 16 16.00% 100.00%
100
Findings and interpretation: This partcular questions was asked to the participant to
identify the reason behind growing use of social-networking sites among the people. On asking the
regular clients, it is traced that maximum number of internet users stay online on social sites to
search information about the goods and services so that they can select the best on and satisfy
themselves. The results of the survey reveals that out of 100, 42% use SNS to gather information
about new offerings by accessing Facebook. It is because, social media allows consumers to make a
great deal as sitse are highly devoted to the consumers which bring a significant change in the
online buying preferences and choies of the consumers. Larger the availability of the information
helps them to select the best product that perfects fits his or her particular choices. However, on the
contrary site, networking gains least preference as only 10% replied it. However, stay-in-touch,
entertainment and deals & promotional offers has been favored by 12%, 20% & 16% members. The
responses of the consumers with the curent theme evidenced that online buying gains top
29

preferences among buyers through accessing social networking sites because by using it, they can
gain multitutde of information about Amazon’s offering, thus, this is the main reason why people
log on the sites, acess information and compare variety of goods to choose the best item that will
satisfy his or her own demand. It reflects that social-media advertisement is really helpful that fuel
the growth of the company by word of mouth publicity and increase brand visibility to million of
consumers.
Theme: 5. Social media sites gains extrcuciating usefulness for the online consumers
Response count Percentage Cumulative percentage
Extremely useful 62 62% 62%
Useful 30 30% 92%
Not very useful 8 8% 100%
I don’t prefer online purchasing 0 0% 100%
100
Findings and interpretations: Finding the outcome of the result, it is founded that SNS
gains extreme level of usefulness for the online buyers as in the survey, out of 100, 62% of the
clients had resond this. They have responded it because social media provides an online platform to
the buyers where they can easily acess multi purpose inforation about the Amazon’s offerings,
goods and services, special discounting offers, gather other friends, fmailies and strangers’ opinion
about the variety of products, share any information, check comments on the innovative offerings
and thereby make their own buying decisions that which of the project will perfectly match their
own buyuing preferences and expectations (Holt and et.al., 2013). However, 30% of the population
has ranked it as a useful online tool which assists them in making good and solid purchasing
30

decisions and only 8% people had said that it is not very useful may be because they have some
worst or ineffective experience with the online buying and others.
Theme: 6. Majority of the online buyers connects with the social sites to write & read comments of
the others and get others opinion
Response
count Percentage
Cumulative
percentage
Product information 20 20% 20%
Opinion 22 22% 42%
Write and read comments 26 26% 68%
Faster way of communication 20 20% 88%
Promotional and discounting offers 12 12% 100%
100
Findings and interpretation: On-asking this question, majority of the audience of the
Amazon has said that by using social networking channel, they are able to write and read comments
about various products and services offered by the company. This is the main reason of using SNS
like Facebook, YouTube and others instead of using the webpage of the business. The finding of the
survey evident that out of total number of 100 customers surveyed, 26% said that the feature
avaiable on social sites to write and read the comments of others is the most important reason of
using Amazon’s Facebook page. Thereafter, 22 replied that with the help of this, they can get other
person, friends, family members, relatives and strangers opinion regarding various deliverings of
the Amazon. Thus, word of mouth (WOM) publicity is one of the factor that encourage or motivates
you whether to buy or not a particular or specific product (Holt and et.al., 2013). Before ordering
any item, people get others opinion that what they think about the particular offering and also know
31

their post buying reviews. Higher the number of favorable comments, excessive likes, positive
thoughts and opinion and excellent post-purchasing satisfaction level leads to encourage the
individual to buy the item or vice-versa. Thus, both the features provides great level of assistance to
the consumers to make effective buying decisions. With the platform they are being abl eot share
their buying experiences, knolwedge, opinion and others using the features of the social sites and
cause a significant impact on the buyer’s behaviour (Gainous and et.al., 2016). Thus, they use brand
pages of the Amazon and thereby make the strong buying decisions. In contrast, 20% use it to
search information about product quality, price and other features and the same number of users
said that online platform is the faster mode of communication which is the reason behind growing
popularity of social sites. Besides this, only 12% use it to know the attractive discounts and special
offers that will provide benefits to the consumers by availability of goods at discounted prices.
Promotional strategies of the Amazon is of great significance to drive larger consumer base by
availing discounts on the business offerings (Hajli, 2013).
Theme: 7. Majority of the online buyers said that they very likely prefer Amazon’s goods & services
after becoming a part of social sites
Response
count
Percentag
e
Cumulative
percentage
Very likely 58 58% 58%
Likely 24 24% 82%
Don't know 8 8% 90%
Unlikely 10 10% 100%
Not likely at all 0 0% 100%
100
32

Findings and analysis: Above results of the survey determined that very high proportion of
the online buyers very likely demand Amazon’s offerings after becoming a follower or fan on its
Facebook page, #Amazoncart and other social sites like Myspace, YouTube and others. They said
that Amazon’s social media advertisement highly attracts them to make buy of its offerings
evidencing from the results of the survey, 58% users replied that. In such regards, straggering
numner of people’s replied and comments on Amazon’s Facebook pages highly influence their
likes, dislikes and preferences & encourage them to purchase the offerings. Apart from this, its
Twitter campaign at Amazoncart heavily pay attention to the promotional offerings and drawing
consumer attention for the better engagement (How Amazon Inspires Buyers to Drive Social Media
Revenue, 2017). Apart from this, use of other social networking sites such as Youtube & Instagram
works as a strong platform for the company to promote their goods and services either as a part of
brand relationship or as a medium of revenue stream. Recently, Amazon also had launched
“Amazon Influencer Program” which provides beta details and designed for the SNS users with
high following list by which influencrs can have unique vanity URL on the domain (Perez, 2017).
However, 24% intended it as a likely channel, 8% respondents have confusion regarding it that’s
why they said that they don’t know. However, only 10% means 10 respondents ranked it as a very
less likely platform for the buying decisions. Thus, the results demonstrated that online audience
base of Amazon prefers SNS as a very likely medium because on that platform, they can share their
views, opinion, thoughts, buying experience & respond very quickly (Miley, 2017).
Theme: 8. Online buyers highly prefers Amazon’s SNS in comparison to the traditional
marketing channels
Response count Percentage Cumulative percentage
Both are same 18 18% 18%
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Prefer social media ads 72 72% 90%
Prefer traditional marketing tools 8 8% 98%
None of them 2 2% 100%
100 100%
Findings and analysis: Looking to the presented graph, it is clearly visualized that
maximum number of online users highly prefers social media sites like Facebook, Twitter,
Myspace, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, LikedIn and others in comparison to the traditional
marketing mediums i.e. TV & Newspaper ads evident from the survey, very high population to 72%
give high importance to the social networking tools because it is highly interactive channel and
online platform. Thus, majority of the consumers prefers online activities at SNS i.e. chatting,
messaging, blogging & interaction with the others via social media presence. Thus, it become a
more credible & reliable source where social influence can change the people’s opinion, buying
actions, feeling and behaviours (Ferguson and et.al., 2014). They said that social media users follow
their favoriate item and servies delivered by Amazon. Thus, strong interactivness is the most useful
feature of the social media and facilitites users through online chatting, interacting, commenting,
reviews & rates and assist them in varied ways under the buying decisions. Product with positive
reviews and comments, favorable opinion and high rates influence the buyers to purchase the items
or vice-versa (Godey and et.al., 2016). However, on the other side, 18% consider both the
traditional (TV, radio, newspapers ads) and social-media marketing (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
and others) as same. On the other side, very less number to 8% of the target audiences has
preferred traditional marketing tools whilst only 2% said they did not prefer any of them.
Theme: 9. High credibility and trustworthy information is the main key element behind the use of
social sites by the consumers
34

Response
count
Percentag
e
Cumulative
percentage
High credibility 53 53% 53%
Easy to use 23 23% 76%
Effective web platform 16 16% 92%
Others 8 8% 100%
100 100%
Findings and analysis: Receiving the responses of the people, research examined that
people consider social-media networking as a reliable, credible and trustworthy platform which
gains top preferences among the audiences. The outcome of the conducted survey reported that 53%
population favored or prefere SNS because of its credible, reliable and valid content, due to this,
people believe in this and go to the Amazon’s Facebook page and others before buying any item.
Under the traditional marketing, there is a risk of unauthentic and misleading information about the
quality of the deliverings so as to influence the buyers to come and demand the particular business
offerings (Heymann-Reder, 2012). However, on the other hand, on the social sites, although
company promotes their goods & services, still, decisions is made by the consumers after knowing
the opinions & thoughts of the other friends, relatives & strange person as well. It is because it is
the web platform where any one can leave comment, like the item, post reviews and complaints also
for the worst experience which is really more valid and consider trustworthy, as a result, they can
make good quality of buying decisions. However, easiness to use is preferred by 23%, effective web
platform by 16% and others like blogging, chatting and so on by 8% people only.
Theme: 10. Social Networking sites have a large level of impact on the online buying intentions
and preferences of the consumers
Response Percentag Cumulative
35

count e percentage
To large extent 62 62% 62%
To some extent 28 28% 90%
Don’t know 7 7% 97%
Have no effect 3 3% 100%
Not effective at all 0 0% 100%
100 1
Findings and analysis: Here, with the findings, it can be said that maximum number of
online buyers replied that SNS influenced their buying decisions to an extreme level evident from
the survey, 62% audiences has responded it. However, on the other side, 28% said that it affects
their online prefernes and buying behaviour to a some extent. Besides this, 7% said they don’t know
the level of impact on their buying decisions and only 3% said that it has no impact on their buying
preferences and decisions (Hoffman and Fodor, 2010). Thus, from the results of the survey, it
becomes clear that SNS features i.e. blooging, commenting, posting reviews, number of likes, video
sharing and others features facilities the consumers in their online buying decisions.
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CHAPTER -5 CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS
5.0 Introduction
Conclusion is the judgemental or reasoning based summarized results with sufficient
evidences that end with the right solution & solid decisions to derive the correct solution of the
problem that had been researched. This is the closure section of the thesis which summarize or
presents the major findings of the report and sum up the whole report briefly and also gives proper
recommendation to the Amazon to overcome the key challenges in SMM to drive success and fuel
growth.
5.1 Conclusion and recommendations
As per the conducted research, it can be concluded that with the emerging era of advanced
role of ICT, more importantly wireless communication, social media sites became a popular and
highly attractive platform that brought considerable change in the global corporate scenario with the
emergence of wireless technology, new and unique enterprise software, applications and others.
Now-a-days, internet becomes an important part of everyone’s life because it provided an
opportunity to the people to interact with others using online networking without the need of
physical meetings. With the rise of web connectivity & social-media users, establishments started
incorporating social networking channels like Facebook, blogs, video sharing channels (YouTube)
and other web applications in their marketing and promotional campaign to attract greater number
of audiences from all around the world.
The report bring out the fact into consideration that SMM greatly helps the audiences in
diversified ways such as delivery of required information online about product quality, prices and
offers. Thus, users can search any information any time just on a single click which helps them to
make solid buying decisions & satisfy their own needs & expectations accordingly. Moreover,
people can also see the number of likes, others reviews, comments, blogs and know the post buying
experiences of the buyers whether the particular goods and services has perfectly meet out their
demand or not. Online visualization, video sharing and others options or features allows or
facilitates the existing as well as potential buyers to make good buying decision by knowing other
feelings, thoughts, reviews and satisfaction level.
From the data analysis, it can be concluded that out of all the social-networking channels,
Facebook gains top popularity wherein the users access the site mainly to access and search
information about the offerings. Majority of the people access Amazon’s Facebook page to find out
the essential information about its goods and services. The feature that allows user to write their
own comments and reviews and reviewing the other known and strange person’s comments is of
37

great importance that helps users to compare different type of goods and thereby choose the most
effective ones that will perfectly fits their own expectations and desires. Word of mouth (WOM)
publicity at the social media encourage the buyers to demand a particular goods and service that
Amazon is offering at its e-commerce and also provide them enough information in selecting the
best item.
Besides Facebook, the second highly preferred SNS is Twitter and with reference to
Amazon, the business has used its twitter campaign as an innovative business model, in which, it
has designed an online platform, named #AmazonCart so as to drive excessive web traffic. In this
regards, it has utilized the twitter as a unique consumer acquisition & retention approach by better
follower engagement, organizing contests, arrangement and management of multiple accounts and
so forth. Images & videos posting on Twitter & user-generated content help the organization to
survive & stay in the competitive market. However, on the other side, consumer looks the content
and analyzes the same to compare all the offerings to appeal the best product.
High interactivity is the main reason why they prefer SNS highly in comparison to the other
traditional mediums of marketing such as TV and newspaper ads & others because in this there is a
risk of misleading information however, under the online channel, people can easily read the other
persons opinion and know their reviews and comments thus, it delivers trustworthy & reliable
information to the user upon which they can easily believe to make good decisions. Internet users
replied that SNS has a high level of effect on the buying preferences of the consumers as majority
of the users have agreed with this. Thus, from the results, it becomes clear that social-media
marketing is of extreme significance for the buyers to boost connectivity, interaction and build trust
as well. It significantly affects the buyer intention to buy the item. This in turn, Amazon became
able to create relationship with the larger audience base across worldwide and drive into larger sales
revenues and great amount of profitability. The results concluded strong social interconnections,
interactivity and credibility are the major elements that plays a strong role in the online buying
decisions of the consumers & influence their purchasing preferences and intentions.
Thus, from the findings, it must be recommended to the Amazon’s marketing division to
consider the reliability of the content, boosting consumer engagement and establishing greter
connectivity and interactivity using social networking medium. They must provide reliable and
authentic content specific information regarding products and services that are offered to the public
and thereby meet their information searching requirement. By this, firm can effective utilize the
social-media networking and empower their current and potential consumers to demand the goods.
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5.2 Limitation and future research
This research study has been carried out to investigate the impact of social-media
advertisement on the buying intentions and preferences of the consumers by carried out an online
survey thus it is under the subject with all the limitations of the online survey. Thus, in the
successive years, upcoming scholars can decides to gather data by either the field survey or
structured interview as well. Besides this, study examined the social factors in devising an e-
commerce model by the use of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Myspace,
LikedIn and others. Thus, in future years, researcher can also put their focus to consider other
factors such as recognising the problems which consumers often face in online buying like poor
quality, risk of receiving a different kind of product in the actual, financial risk and others which
discourage the users to not prefer online buying.
The results or outcome of the current research study delivered managerial implications for
the Amazon and other online traders to maintain their content quality & presentation of the
offerings so as to provide useful & essential information to the consumers and thereby satisfy their
information need. In despite of this, it is conducted to study and investigate the impact of all the
social-media networking on the online buying intentions of the globalized consumer base. Out of all
SNS, Facebook is founded as highly popular means or medium of online dealing. Thus, in the
future years, researcher can decide to focus their key attention only on the Amazon’s Facebook
marketing and thereby investigate that how it impacts the user perceptions, their preferences, like
and dislikes, so that, quality recommendations can be given to the business to create an unique
social media marketing at Facebook so as to draw the high level of attention of the users. This in
turn, business will be able to achieve a sustainable progress over the long-run period at an effective
competitiveness.
39

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APPENDIX
Questionnaire
Demographic questions
Name: __________________________
Nationality: ______________________
Age Group: _______________________
Annual income______________________
Q.1: How many hours do you spend online in a week?
 1 – 5 hours
 6 – 10 hours
 11 – 15 hours
 16 and more
Q.2. Which is the main purpose of accessing internet?
 Social media networking
 Accessing information
 Online shopping
 Browsing
 Other (Kindly specify)
Q.3. In your opinion, which one is the highly preferred social media channel that affects your
buying preferences and choice?
 Facebook
 LikedIn
 YouTube
 Twitter
 Instagram
 MySpace
 Other (Specify)
Q.4. Why do you make use of social media networking channels?
 To find information about products & services
 Entertainment purpose
 Networking
 Stay in touch
 Deals & promotional offers
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Q.5. To what extent, social media marketing has been proven as an effective medium for the online
buying?
 Extremely useful
 Useful
 Not very useful
 I don’t prefer online purchasing
Q.6. How social media networking helps you in making effective online purchasing decisions?
 Product information
 Opinion
 Write and read comments
 Faster way of communication
 Promotional and discounting offers
Q.7. How likely do you prefer Amazon’s goods and services since becoming a follower of the brand
on social sites?
 Very likely
 Likely
 Don’t know
 Unlikely
 Not likely at all
Q.8. How do you consider an advertisement on social networking sites on Facebook, Twitter and
others in comparison to the traditional media tools like TV & newspaper ads?
 Both are same
 Prefer social media ads
 Prefer traditional marketing tools
 None of them
Q.9. What comes in your mind first when you use social-media sites as an information tool?
 High credibility
 Easy to use
 Effective web platform
 Others
Q.10. Based on your online experience, to what extent, Amazon’s social media marketing affects
your online buying decisions?
 To large extent
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 To some extent
 Neither
 Have no effect
 Not effective at all
Q.11. Give reasons why you believe that social media is an effective tool to reach the larger
consumer base, here you may share your personal online buying experiences as a reason?
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