The Influence of Social Media Promotion on Purchase Decision of Consumers: A Case Study of the Australian Fashion Sector

This research paper investigates the impact of social media promotion on the purchase decisions of consumers in the Australian fashion sector. It examines the role of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in influencing consumer behavior and explores how fashion brands leverage these platforms to build brand awareness, engage with customers, and drive sales. The study utilizes a qualitative research approach, drawing insights from existing literature, market reports, and industry trends. It analyzes the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of social media promotion in the fashion industry, including the influence of social media influencers, the role of user-generated content, and the impact of social media advertising. The findings of this research provide valuable insights for fashion brands seeking to optimize their social media strategies and enhance their marketing effectiveness.

The Influence of Social Media Promotion on Purchase Decision of Consumers: Case Study
Australian Fashion Sector
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
2. Project Objective.........................................................................................................................4
3. Project Scope...............................................................................................................................5
4. Literature Review........................................................................................................................6
4.1 The notion of Social Media and its difference with digital media........................................6
4.2 The trend of online purchase.................................................................................................6
4.3 The factors influencing the purchase decision of the consumers in the fashion sector.........7
4.4 The impact of social media on the purchasing behaviour of the consumer...........................8
4.5 Literature Gap........................................................................................................................9
5. Research Questions/Hypothesis.................................................................................................10
5.1 Primary Question.................................................................................................................10
6. Research Design and Methodology...........................................................................................11
6.1 Qualitative research.............................................................................................................11
7. Research Limitations.................................................................................................................12
8. Time Schedule (Research plan).................................................................................................13
9. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................14
Reference List................................................................................................................................15
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1. Introduction
At this juncture, social media is a powerful medium of communication. The social media
websites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram are public forum thus provides a global
exposure. Due to the international reach of the social media it has become an impactful
promotional tool. The millennial at present are observed to access these websites largely thus
they lifestyle choices are greatly influenced by the social media. In this context, this research
paper shed light on the influence of social media on the purchase decision of the consumers. In
order to streamline the investigation, the case study of fashion industry of Australia is
considered. Fashion is a quintessential industry among the young population therefore the factor
of advertisement have great deal impact on the customers of this industry. Investigating the role
of social media influencing the behaviour of the consumers is the agenda of the study.
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2. Project Objective
Several market reports have underpinned that in Australia millennial these days are extremely
conscious about their appearance and they are inclined to keep pace with the latest trends. Both
men and women have great interest in picking the style that adds to their personal panache. In
this context, advertisements and endorsement plays a pivotal role. This is because, it has been
observed that the customers of the fashion industry are greatly influenced by the style of their
favourite celebrities and the latest fashion statements presented at various brands. Therefore, the
fashion brands take help of various platforms in promoting their style line and latest designs and
colours. In this context, social media have now become have an impactful medium for promotion
for the fashion brands which influences the purchase decision of the customers. Therefore, in
light of the discussion the prime of the objective of the research is enlisted below:
1. To comprehend the context of social media and its difference with digital media
2. To understand the factors that influences consumer’s purchase decision in fashion
industry
3. To analyse the impact of social media platform on the purchase decision of consumers of
the fashion industry of Australia.
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3. Project Scope
This project deals with the actual role of social media platforms in influencing the purchasing
decision of the customers of the fashion industry. Since the research is enriched with market data
and latest information it can be referred by other scholar in executing a study on a similar subject
matter. In addition to this, the research paper can be used by various fashion retailers for devising
strategies.
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4. Literature Review
4.1 The notion of Social Media and its difference with digital media
Stelzner (2014) have explained that social media refers to that medium of communication that
utilises particular platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for socialising,
communicating and purchasing. This is the latest buzz in the world of marketing as this new
approach of promotion has changed the face of advertising. Social media platforms have huge
user base that makes marketing and purchasing of product effectual. It is the fastest way of
conveying new trends and reaching to a broader target market. This medium of advertising has
become very powerful because it can generate lead very quickly.
Tuten, T.L. and Solomon (2017) have explained that the approach of social media differs than
that of digital media. Digital media utilizes various digital content such as electronic billboards,
TV, radio and other broadcast media for advertising products or service. Digital media generally
practices and promotes one way communication, however can be two ways in certain cases.
Nevertheless, the communication approach in social media is always two ways. This is because;
the providers and users directly interact with each other and then buy the product. Social media
promotion is an integral part of digital marketing as the matter of search engine optimisation is
present and important in case of this marketing medium. The only limitation of social media is
that it scope of marketing is limited to the boundaries of internet only.
4.2 The trend of online purchase
It has been learnt from various market reports that that the trend of online purchase has
augmented drastically. The fashion industry particularly has experienced an influx of consumer
demand. Market data suggests that Australian ecommerce market have made a considerable
contribution in the total online sales of the world.
Figure 1: Online Purchase of Australia
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(Source: Web Alive, 2018)
The above-mentioned figure entails that the in the span four years, Australian ecommerce
industry have delivered a remarkable corporate performance with a sales of AU $32.56 billion.
The annual spend of Australian on online products was USD $4,500 in the year 2016 indicating
the up rise of the online shopping (Web Alive, 2018). It has been observed by the market experts
that high internet usage is one the prime cause for this trend. Stelzner (2014) have opined that the
rise of handled devices, such as smart phones, palm top and other devices have fuelled the online
purchase of products. Moreover, shopping online provides a variety of advantages to the
customers, such as in terms of delivery, payment options and other facilities. Due to a variety of
convenience the Australian consumers are inclined to purchase online. Moreover, the 24/7
customer service is another feature that attracts the customers to online shopping. The young
population are observed to dominate the fashion industry and they prefer to buy from online
websites the most (De Vries, Gensler and Leeflang, 2012).
4.3 The factors influencing the purchase decision of the consumers in the fashion sector
Consumer behaviour is referred to the decision and actions taken by the consumers that influence
their purchase behaviour. Consumer behaviour indicates the drive that influences the customers
to buy a particular product. Reasoning and emotion are two most dominating factors that
influence the purchase decision of the customers. An individual purchase a product which is
either his o her necessity or out of some emotional attachment. Nevertheless, Ling, Chai and
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Piew (2010) has opined that economic conditions is the prime factor that govern the purchase
decision of the consumer. An individual will obviously choose the product kit can afford,
therefore having sufficient money is important. Taste and preference is an influencing factor that
has a great deal impact on the purchase decision of the consumers. The consumers of the fashion
sector are observed to get influenced by various shades of dislikes, likes, precedence and trends
while purchasing the products. Latest styles and designs influence the taste and preference of the
consumers and it keeps changing from time to time. Peer influence is another determining factor
that has an impact on the purchasing decision of the consumers. The young population are
greatly influenced by the style sense of people of their same age. Jiménez and Mendoza (2013)
have highlighted that at present, advertisement has a strong influence in shaping the purchasing
behaviour of the customers. The way latest fashion trends are presented over several marketing
platforms attracts the customers and they decide to buy their desired products accordingly.
4.4 The impact of social media on the purchasing behaviour of the consumer
In accordance with Chan and Wong (2012), presently social media affects the way in which
consumers behave when they are purchasing their desired fashion products. It has been observed
that consumers these days use various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram as information source regarding latest fashion trends. In addition to this, these social
media platforms are used by the users for interacting fashion brands. Social media is an effective
medium of discovering new trends and communicating with them.
McCormick and Livett (2012)have shed light on the fact fashion brands that use social media for
advertising which have helped them to influence the purchasing behaviour of the consumer. A
diagrammatic representation of the above stated facts is provided below:
Figure 2: Social Media and Purchase Behaviour of Consumer
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(Source: Hajli, 2014)
Fashion brands that uses social media websites for promoting their products focuses on winning
the confidence of the customers. In due course of building the rapport with the customers, the
fashion retailers certain properties (Hajli, 2014). The first property is customisation, which
implies that the brands provide customised products and service to the customers. This obviously
influences the purchase decision of the customers. Balakrishnan, Dahnil and Yi (2014) have
elaborated that active communication is another factor that is used by the fashion brand that
helps them to convince the customers about the quality and design of their products. Trend is the
important property used by the fashion brand while advertising on social media platforms. The
fashion retailers flashes the latest fashions on their web page so that it brand the attention of the
customers, which insist to purchase them.
4.5 Literature Gap
The main gap that is identified in the existing literary work is that its represents the theoretical
framework. The literature has not considered any particular case study so that practical
understanding could not be gathered.
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5. Research Questions/Hypothesis
5.1 Primary Question
What is the influence of social media promotion on the purchase decision of the consumers in the
fashion industry?
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6. Research Design and Methodology
6.1 Qualitative research
This research work follows the descriptive research design. The researcher considers the opinion
and viewpoints of different scholar in drawing an individual inference. Therefore in order to
evaluate the agenda of the study from various perspectives, the descriptive research design is
used in this exploration project.
The objective of the research is to gather necessary information from the market reports and
existing literature so that the actuality of the interconnectedness between social media marketing
and purchase decision of the consumer can be comprehended. Therefore this is a qualitative
research that is supported by secondary data. The researcher has congregated data from various
academic journals, books and articles. The data has been collected from various market reports
as well. The researcher has used only updated academic sources and market report that has
copyright. This indicates the authenticity of the secondary data used in the study. The researcher
has accessed all the secondary data, which are not protected. The main variables involved in the
research project are social media promotion (independent variable) and purchase decision of the
customers (dependent variable).
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7. Research Limitations
The research work is an elaborate procedure thus it requires sufficient amount of time. Therefore
one of the major limitations of this study is that all the steps involved in the research have to be
completed within specified time. In addition to this, another limitation of the study is that it is
considering the case of fashion industry only. Therefore the findings of the research might not be
applicable in other sectors. The role of social media might not that be that influential in other
sectors. Therefore the scope of the research is limited to fashion retail sector only or to similar
industry.
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8. Time Schedule (Research plan)
Table 1: Research Plan
Particular 1st week 2nd week 3rd week 4th week
Research about
the selected topic
Developing the
aims and
objectives of the
exploration work
Framing the
literature review
Relating the
agenda with the
literature review
Selecting several
research methods
and data collection
methods
Congregation the
secondary data
Following the
research purpose
while conducting
the data collection
Evaluating the
gathered data
Reaching
individual
Inference
Final Submission
(Source: Created by Author)
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9. Conclusion
The discussion has helped in reaching an inference that at present social media is powerful
medium of communication with the users. As the users of the social media website are increasing
every day, it has become an effective platform of brand exposure. Therefore social media
promotion has a great deal of impact on the purchase decision of the consumer. Reviewing
various literatures has helped in understanding that the fashion brand that uses social media for
marketing their products focus on customisation, communication and trends to build a good
rapport with the customers. In this way, the customers are inclined to buy from these fashion
brands. Therefore, it has been understood that social media promotion is indeed quite impactful
in shaping the purchase intention of the fashion customers.
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Reference List
Balakrishnan, B.K.P.D., Dahnil, M.I. and Yi, W.J., 2014. The impact of social media marketing
medium toward purchase intention and brand loyalty among generation Y. Procedia-Social and
Behavioral Sciences, 148, pp.177-185.
Chan, T.Y. and Wong, C.W., 2012. The consumption side of sustainable fashion supply chain:
Understanding fashion consumer eco-fashion consumption decision. Journal of Fashion
Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 16(2), pp.193-215.
De Vries, L., Gensler, S. and Leeflang, P.S., 2012. Popularity of brand posts on brand fan pages:
An investigation of the effects of social media marketing. Journal of interactive
marketing, 26(2), pp.83-91.
Hajli, M.N., 2014. A study of the impact of social media on consumers. International Journal of
Market Research, 56(3), pp.387-404.
Jiménez, F.R. and Mendoza, N.A., 2013. Too popular to ignore: The influence of online reviews
on purchase intentions of search and experience products. Journal of Interactive
Marketing, 27(3), pp.226-235.
Ling, K.C., Chai, L.T. and Piew, T.H., 2010. The effects of shopping orientations, online trust
and prior online purchase experience toward customers’ online purchase intention. International
Business Research, 3(3), p.63.
McCormick, H. and Livett, C., 2012. Analysing the influence of the presentation of fashion
garments on young consumers’ online behaviour. Journal of Fashion Marketing and
Management: An International Journal, 16(1), pp.21-41.
Stelzner, M., 2014. 2014 Social Media Marketing Industry Report. Social media examiner, pp.1-
52.
Stelzner, M., 2014. Social Media Marketing Industry Report. Social media examiner, pp.1-52.
Tuten, T.L. and Solomon, M.R., 2017. Social media marketing. Sage.
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Web alive, 2018. Australia’s growing ecommerce industry and how it is changing retail trends.
[online] Available at: < https://www.webalive.com.au/future-of-australian-ecommerce/>
[Accessed 23 May 2018]
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